Song of Solomon 1:1–2:17

Title

1 The Song of Songs,a which is forb Solomon.

The Maiden’s Soliloquy

2 Mayc he kiss me ⌊passionately with his lips⌋,d

for your love is better than wine.e

3 As fragrance, ⌊your perfumes⌋f are ⌊delightful⌋;g

your name is poured out ⌊perfume⌋;h

therefore young women love you.

4 Draw me after you, let us run!

May the king bring me into his chambers!i

Let us be joyful and let us rejoice in you;

let us extol your love more than wine.

Rightly do they love you!

The Maiden’s Self-Description

5 I am black but beautiful,j ⌊O maidens of Jerusalem⌋,k

like the tents of Kedar, like the curtains of Solomon.

6 Do not gaze at me because I am black, l

because the sun has stared at me.

The sons of my mother were angry with me;

they made me keeper of the vineyards,

but my own “vineyard”m I did not keep.

Dialogue between Shepherdess and Shepherd

7 Tell me, you whom my ⌊heart⌋n loves,

where do you pasture your flock,

where do your sheep lie down at the noon?

⌊For why should I be like⌋o one who is veiledp

beside the flocks of your companions?

8 If you do not know, O fairest among women,

follow ⌊the tracks⌋q of the flock,

and pasture your little lambsr beside the tents of the shepherds.

The Man’s Poetic Praise of His Beloved

9 To a mares among the chariotst of Pharaoh,

I compare you, my beloved.

10 Your cheeks are beautiful with ornaments,

your neck with strings of jewels.

11 We will make ornaments of gold for you

with studsu of silver.

The Maiden’s Poetic Praise of Her Beloved

12 While the king was on his couch,

my nard gave its fragrance.

13 My beloved is to me ⌊a pouch⌋v of myrrh,

he spends the nightw between my breasts.

14 My beloved is to me a cluster of blossoms of henna

in the vineyards of En Gedi.

Mutual Admiration

15 Look! You are beautiful, my beloved.

Look! You are beautiful;

your eyes are doves.

16 Look! You are beautiful, my beloved,

truly pleasant.

Truly our couch is ⌊verdant⌋;x

17 the beams of our house are cedar;

our rafter is cypress.

Dialogue between the Maiden and Her Beloved

2 I am a rosea of Sharon,

a lily of the valleys.

2 Like a lily among the thorns,b

so is my love among the maidens.

3 As an apple tree among the trees of the forest,

so is my beloved among the young men.

In his shade ⌊I sat down with delight⌋,c

and his fruit was sweet to my palate.

Banquet Hall of Love

4 He brought me to the house of the wine,

and his intention was love toward me.

5 Sustain me with the raisins,

refresh me with the apples,

⌊for I am lovesick⌋.d

Double Refrain: Embrace and Adjuration

6 His left hand is under my head,

and his right hand embracese me.

7 I adjure you, ⌊O maidens of Jerusalem⌋,f

by the gazelles or by the does of the field,

do not arouse or awaken love until it pleases!g

Rendezvous in the Countryside

8 The voice of my beloved!

Look! Here ⌊he⌋h comes leaping upon the mountains,

bounding over the hills!

9 My beloved is like a gazelle or ⌊a young stag⌋.i

Look! ⌊He is⌋j standing behind our wall,

gazing ⌊through⌋k the window,

looking ⌊through⌋l the lattice.

10 My beloved answered and said to me,

“⌊Arise⌋,m my beloved! ⌊Come, my beauty⌋!n

11 For look! The winter is over;

⌊the rainy season⌋o ⌊has turned and gone away⌋.p

12 The blossoms ⌊appear⌋q ⌊in the land⌋;r

⌊the time of singings has arrived⌋;t

the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land.

13 The fig tree puts forth her figs,

and the vines are in blossom; they give fragrance.

⌊Arise⌋,u my beloved! ⌊Come, my beauty⌋!”v

14 My dove, in the clefts of the rock,

⌊in the secluded place⌋w x ⌊in the mountain⌋,y z

Let me see your face,

let me hear your voice;

for your voice is sweet and your face is lovely.

15 Catch for us the foxes,

the little foxes destroying vineyards,

fora our vineyards are in blossom!

Poetic Refrain

16 ⌊My beloved belongs to me and I belong to him⌋;b

he pastures his flock among the lilies.

17 Until the day breathes and the shadows flee,

turn, my beloved!

⌊Be like⌋c a gazelled or ⌊young stag⌋e on the cleft mountains.f

Read more Explain verse Share

a	This construction conveys a superlative connotation, e.g., “The most exquisite song”
b	Or “by Solomon” or “about/concerning Solomon”
c	In the maiden’s soliloquy, she thinks about her beloved in her thoughts (“May he kiss me!”), then poetically speaks to him as if he were in her presence (“for your love is better than wine”). To avoid confusion, the translation uses the second-person form throughout vv. 2–4
d	Literally “with the kisses of his mouth”
e	The shift from the third person “he … his” to the second person “you … your” in vv. 2–4 should not be interpreted as suggesting two different referents, that is, one male whom the maiden is addressing as “you,” and another to whom she refers as “he.” Rather, this shift is a poetic device (called “grammatical differentiation”) that is not uncommon in Hebrew poetry (e.g., Gen 49:4; Deut 32:15; Psa 23:2–5; Isa 1:29; 42:20; 54:1; Jer 22:24; Amos 4:1; Mic 7:19; Lam 3:1; Song 4:2; 6:6). This shift is characteristic of a soliloquy, a dramatic or literary form in which a character reveals her thoughts without addressing a listener who is actually present (e.g., 2 Sam 19:4). In this case, the maiden’s private thoughts about her beloved (v. 2a) shift to an imaginary address to her beloved (vv. 2b–4a)
f	Literally “your oil lotions”
g	Literally “good”
h	Literally “oil lotion”
i	Or “The king has brought me into his chambers”
j	Or “black and beautiful”
k	Literally “O daughters of Jerusalem”
l	This is figurative for the maiden’s physical appearance; her skin was darkly tanned
m	Literally “my vineyard that for me”
n	Literally “soul”
o	Literally “For to what will I be like”
p	The reading of the MT (“like one who is veiled”) is supported by the LXX. However, several ancient versions (Syriac Peshitta, Latin Vulgate, Symmachus) reflect an alternate Hebrew textual tradition in which two letters are transposed, resulting in the reading “like one who wanders about.” This makes good sense contextually, since the maiden does not know where her beloved would be at noon
q	Literally “in the tracks”
r	Or “your kids”
s	Or “my mare”
t	Or “chariot horses”
u	Or “droplets”
v	Literally “the bag”
w	Or “he lays”
x	Literally “green”
a	More likely “meadow saffron” or “crocus.” Hebrew scholars and botanists suggest the term refers to Ashodelos (lily family), Narcissus tazetta (narcissus or daffodil), or Colchicum autumnale (meadow saffron or crocus) (e.g., Isa 35:1). The location of this flower in Sharon suggests a common wild flower rather than a rose. The maiden compares herself to a simple, common flower of the field
b	Or “brambles”
c	Literally “I sat down and I delighted”
d	Literally “for I myself am sick with love”
e	Or “would embrace me”
f	Literally “O daughters of Jerusalem”
g	Or “Do not stir up or awaken the love until it is willing,” or “Do not disturb or interrupt our lovemaking until it is satisfied”
h	Literally “this one”
i	Literally “the fawn of the stag”
j	Literally “This is he”
k	Literally “from”
l	Literally “from”
m	Literally “Arise, you”
n	Literally “And come, you”
o	Literally “the rain”
p	Literally “is over; it is gone”
q	Literally “is seen”
r	Literally “on the earth”
s	Most likely, a subtle word play occurs here since there are two different words in Hebrew spelled the same way: “pruning” and “singing.” The former plays upon the first line and the latter upon the third line
t	Literally “the time of the song arrived”
u	Literally “Arise, to you!”
v	Literally “My beauty, come, you”
w	Literally “in the secret place”
x	Or “in the covering”
y	Literally “foothold in the rock”
z	Or “cliff”
a	Or “while”
b	Literally “My beloved for me and I for him”
c	Literally “Be like for you”
d	Or “a buck gazelle”
e	Literally “the fawn of the stag”
f	Or “the mountains of Bether”

A service of Logos Bible Software

Sign up for the Verse of the Day

Get beautiful Bible art delivered to your inbox. We’ll send you a new verse every day to download or share.