The Young Shulammite Bride and Jerusalem’s Daughters
[b]The Bride
2 “May he kiss me with the kisses of his mouth!
For your love is [c]sweeter than wine.
3 Your oils have a pleasing fragrance,
Your name is like [d]purified oil;
Therefore the [e]young women love you.
4 Draw me after you and let’s run together!
The king has brought me into his chambers.”
The Chorus
“We will rejoice in you and be joyful;
We will praise your love more than wine.
Rightly do they love you.”
The Bride
5 “I am black and beautiful,
You daughters of Jerusalem,
Like the tents of Kedar,
Like the curtains of Solomon.
6 Do not stare at me because I am [f]dark,
For the sun has tanned me.
My mother’s sons were angry with me;
They made me caretaker of the vineyards,
But I have not taken care of my own vineyard.
7 Tell me, you whom my soul loves,
Where do you pasture your flock,
Where do you have it lie down at noon?
For why should I be like one who [g]veils herself
Beside the flocks of your companions?”
Solomon, the Lover, Speaks
8 “If you yourself do not know,
Most beautiful among women,
Go out on the trail of the flock,
And pasture your young goats
By the tents of the shepherds.
My mare among the chariots of Pharaoh.
10 Your cheeks are delightful with jewelry,
Your neck with strings of beads.”
The Chorus
11 “We will make for you jewelry of gold
With beads of silver.”
The Bride
12 “While the king was at his table,
My [i]perfume gave forth its fragrance.
13 My beloved is to me a pouch of myrrh
Which lies all night between my breasts.
14 My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blossoms
In the vineyards of Engedi.”
The Groom
15 “[j]How beautiful you are, my darling,
[k]How beautiful you are!
Your eyes are like doves.”
The Bride
16 “[l]How handsome you are, my beloved,
And so delightful!
Indeed, our bed is luxuriant!
17 The beams of our house are cedars,
Our rafters, junipers.
Footnotes
- Song of Solomon 1:1 Or Best of the Songs
- Song of Solomon 1:2 The speaker identifications are not from the Hebrew text nor the Septuagint, but reflect an ancient tradition which appears in some manuscripts.
- Song of Solomon 1:2 Lit more pleasant
- Song of Solomon 1:3 Lit oil poured from one vessel to another
- Song of Solomon 1:3 Or virgins
- Song of Solomon 1:6 Or swarthy, blackish
- Song of Solomon 1:7 Some ancient versions wanders
- Song of Solomon 1:9 Lit I have compared you to
- Song of Solomon 1:12 Lit nard
- Song of Solomon 1:15 Lit Behold
- Song of Solomon 1:15 Lit Behold
- Song of Solomon 1:16 Lit Behold