Song of Solomon 1

Solomon’s Love for a Shulamite Girl

1. The song of songs, which is Solomon’s.

The Banquet

The. Shulamite[a] 2 Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth— For your[b] love is better than wine.

3. Because of the fragrance of your good ointments, Your name is ointment poured forth; Therefore the virgins love you.

4. Draw me away! The Daughters of Jerusalem We will run after you.[c] The Shulamite The king has brought me into his chambers. The Daughters of Jerusalem We will be glad and rejoice in you.[d] We will remember your[e] love more than wine. The Shulamite Rightly do they love you.[f]

5. I am dark, but lovely, O daughters of Jerusalem, Like the tents of Kedar, Like the curtains of Solomon.

6. Do not look upon me, because I am dark, Because the sun has tanned me. My mother’s sons were angry with me; They made me the keeper of the vineyards, But my own vineyard I have not kept.

(To. Her Beloved) 7 Tell me, O you whom I love, Where you feed your flock, Where you make it rest at noon. For why should I be as one who veils herself[g] By the flocks of your companions?

The. Beloved 8 If you do not know, O fairest among women, Follow in the footsteps of the flock, And feed your little goats Beside the shepherds’ tents.

9. I have compared you, my love, To my filly among Pharaoh’s chariots.

10. Your cheeks are lovely with ornaments, Your neck with chains of gold.

The. Daughters of Jerusalem 11 We will make you[h] ornaments of gold With studs of silver.

The. Shulamite 12 While the king is at his table, My spikenard sends forth its fragrance.

13. A bundle of myrrh is my beloved to me, That lies all night between my breasts.

14. My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blooms In the vineyards of En Gedi.

The. Beloved 15 Behold, you are fair, my love! Behold, you are fair! You have dove’s eyes.

The. Shulamite 16 Behold, you are handsome, my beloved! Yes, pleasant! Also our bed is green.

17. The beams of our houses are cedar, And our rafters of fir.

Footnotes:

a. Song of Solomon 1:2: A Palestinian young woman (compare 6:13). The speaker and audience are identified according to the number, gender, and person of the Hebrew words. Occasionally the identity is not certain.
b. Song of Solomon 1:2: Masculine singular, that is, the Beloved
c. Song of Solomon 1:4: Masculine singular, that is, the Beloved
d. Song of Solomon 1:4: Feminine singular, that is, the Shulamite
e. Song of Solomon 1:4: Masculine singular, that is, the Beloved
f. Song of Solomon 1:4: Masculine singular, that is, the Beloved
g. Song of Solomon 1:7: Septuagint, Syriac, and Vulgate read wanders.
h. Song of Solomon 1:11: Feminine singular, that is, the Shulamite