• The Young Shulammite Bride and Jerusalem’s Daughters

  • 1 The Song of Songs, which is Solomon’s.

  • 1:2 The speaker identifications are not from the Hebrew text nor the Septuagint, but reflect an ancient tradition which appears in some manuscripts.The Bride

  • 2 “May he kiss me with the kisses of his mouth! For your love is sweeter than wine.
  • 3 “Your oils have a pleasing fragrance, Your name is like purified oil; Therefore the young women love you.
  • 4 “Draw me after you and let’s run together! The king has brought me into his chambers.” “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 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 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.
  • 9 “To me, my darling, you are like 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 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 “How beautiful you are, my darling, How beautiful you are! Your eyes are like doves.”

  • The Bride

  • 16 “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.