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The Song of Solomon (also called The Song of
Songs)
This book of the Bible is sometimes called two different names. Some
people call it the "Song of Songs." That means it is the greatest song
or poem that is part of a group of poems. Other people call it the
"Song of Solomon." That means it was written by King Solomon. Solomon
was the son of King David. You can read about him here:
King Solomon and his reign.
This book is a collection of poems
about two people who are in love and get married. Some scholars
say the two people are Solomon and one of his wives. Other
scholars say it is not Solomon, but a different man.
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The Bible Projects's summary of the Song of Songs.
This is the greatest poem that Solomon wrote.
[1] The song of songs, which is Solomon's.
The woman speaks:
I want my love to kiss me with his mouth. Your love is better than wine.
[2] Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth: for thy love is better than wine.
You smell very good. All of the young women have crushes on you.
[3] Because of the savour of thy good ointments thy name is as ointment poured forth, therefore do the virgins love thee.
Come and take me to the palace.
[4] Draw me, we will run after thee: the king hath brought me into his chambers:
The group of young women speaks:
We will be happy for you. We will praise your love.
we will be glad and rejoice in thee, we will remember thy love more than wine: .
The woman speaks:
Good people love you. I have dark skin, but I am pretty, ladies of Jerusalem. I am pretty like tents in Kedar (the desert) or Solomon's palace curtains.
the upright love thee
[5] I am black, but comely, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents of Kedar, as the curtains of Solomon.
Don't stare at me because my skin is dark. I am dark because I was out working in the sun. My brothers and sisters were mad at me. They made me work in their vineyards. But I didn't take care of myself and my skin.
[6] Look not upon me, because I am black, because the sun hath looked upon me: my mother's children were angry with me; they made me the keeper of the vineyards; but mine own vineyard have I not kept.
O my love, please tell me where you take your sheep for rest and water. I don't want to be one of the women the shepherds turn away.
[7] Tell me, O thou whom my soul loveth, where thou feedest, where thou makest thy flock to rest at noon: for why should I be as one that turneth aside by the flocks of thy companions?
The man speaks:
If you don't know where I am, you can follow the footsteps of the sheep. You can feed your goats by the shepherds' tents.
[8] If thou know not, O thou fairest among women, go thy way forth by the footsteps of the flock, and feed thy kids beside the shepherds' tents.
You are very graceful when you move. I think you are graceful like the beautiful horses that pull the Pharaoh's chariots.
[9] I have compared thee, O my love, to a company of horses in Pharaoh's chariots.
You look beautiful wearing jewelry with jewels, gold, and silver.
[10] Thy cheeks are comely with rows of jewels, thy neck with chains of gold.
[11] We will make thee borders of gold with studs of silver.
The woman speaks:
While you sit at your table, you can smell my perfume. You are precious like the spice myrrh on my chest. You are like flowers from the vineyards in the place named En-gedi.
[12] While the king sitteth at his table, my spikenard sendeth forth the smell thereof.
[13] A bundle of myrrh is my wellbeloved unto me; he shall lie all night betwixt my breasts.
[14] My beloved is unto me as a cluster of camphire in the vineyards of En-gedi.
The man speaks:
Look, you are beautiful, my love. Your eyes look pretty like doves' eyes.
[15] Behold, thou art fair, my love; behold, thou art fair; thou hast doves' eyes.
The woman speaks:
Look, you are handsome and nice, my love. The green grass will be our bed. Our house is made of cedar, and the rafters are made of fir trees.
[16] Behold, thou art fair, my beloved, yea, pleasant: also our bed is green.
[17] The beams of our house are cedar, and our rafters of fir.
Chapter 2
The woman speaks:
I am a flower like the rose of Sharon and the lily of the valley.
[1] I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys.
The man speaks:
A beautiful lily is sometimes in the middle of thorny thorns. You are like the lily among the other women.
[2] As the lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters.
The woman speaks:
Sometimes an apple tree is in the middle of the woods. You are like the apple tree among the other men. I sat down under your shadow. Your fruit was sweet.
[3] As the apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the sons. I sat down under his shadow with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste.
You brought me to the place for large dinners. You loved me very much.
[4] He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love.
I am hungry with love. Bring me raisins and apples.
[5] Stay me with flagons, comfort me with apples: for I am sick of love.
Your left hand is under my head. Your right hand hugs me.
[6] His left hand is under my head, and his right hand doth embrace me.
To my female friends, don't wake up my love until he wakes up by himself.
[7] I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes, and by the hinds of the field, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, till he please.
After winter is finished
The woman speaks:
I heard my love's voice. He is coming over the mountains.
[8] The voice of my beloved! behold, he cometh leaping upon the mountains, skipping upon the hills.
The man I love is like a deer. Look and see, he is standing behing the wall looking out the window. He is talking to me.
[9] My beloved is like a roe or a young hart: behold, he standeth behind our wall, he looketh forth at the windows, shewing himself through the lattice.
[10] My beloved spake, and said unto me,
The man speaks:
Get up, my love, my beautiful one and come with me.
Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away.
See, the winter is finished. The rain is gone. Flowers are growing, and the birds are singing. The turtle doves (birds) are singing.
[11] For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone;
[12] The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land;
The fig trees are making their fruit. The grape vines have grapes and smell good. Come, my beautiful love, let's go.
[13] The fig tree putteth forth her green figs, and the vines with the tender grape give a good smell. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.
You are my little bird that hides in the rocks and stairs. I want to see your beautiful face. I want to hear your sweet voice.
[14] O my dove, that art in the clefts of the rock, in the secret places of the stairs, let me see thy countenance, let me hear thy voice; for sweet is thy voice, and thy countenance is comely.
We must catch the little foxes that try to eat the young grapes on our grape vines.
[15] Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines have tender grapes.
The woman speaks:
My love is mine. I am his. He feeds his sheep in fields with lilies until morning. Then, he is like a deer running through the mountains.
[16] My beloved is mine, and I am his: he feedeth among the lilies.
[17] Until the day break, and the shadows flee away, turn, my beloved, and be thou like a roe or a young hart upon the mountains of Bether.
Chapter 3
The woman speaks:
I had a dream. In my dream, I was looking for my love. I couldn't find him. I went outside in the city to look for him.
[1] By night on my bed I sought him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, but I found him not.
[2] I will rise now, and go about the city in the streets, and in the broad ways I will seek him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, but I found him not.
I asked the city watchman if he had seen my love.
[3] The watchmen that go about the city found me: to whom I said, Saw ye him whom my soul loveth?
A little later, I found him. I held him tightly and wouldn't let him go. I brought him to my mother's house.
[4] It was but a little that I passed from them, but I found him whom my soul loveth: I held him, and would not let him go, until I had brought him into my mother's house, and into the chamber of her that conceived me.
Women of Jerusalem, I am telling you not to wake my love up until he wakes up by himself.
[5] I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes, and by the hinds of the field, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, till he please.
The Wedding
The friends speak:
We see him coming out of the desert like smoke. He smells like expensive spices.
[6] Who is this that cometh out of the wilderness like pillars of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, with all powders of the merchant?
Solomon is riding on a throne, and 60 of his soldiers are walking with him. They carry swords to keep him safe.
[7] Behold his bed, which is Solomon's; threescore valiant men are about it, of the valiant of Israel.
[8] They all hold swords, being expert in war: every man hath his sword upon his thigh because of fear in the night.
King Solomon's throne is made of wood from Lebanon.
[9] King Solomon made himself a chariot of the wood of Lebanon.
He made the pillars of the throne with silver and gold. The seat is covered with purple. The daughters of Jerusalem decorated it beautifully.
[10] He made the pillars thereof of silver, the bottom thereof of gold, the covering of it of purple, the midst thereof being paved with love, for the daughters of Jerusalem.
Go and see King Solomon. He is wearing the crown his mother gave him on his wedding day.
[11] Go forth, O ye daughters of Zion, and behold king Solomon with the crown wherewith his mother crowned him in the day of his espousals, and in the day of the gladness of his heart.
Chapter 4
The man speaks:My love, you are beautiful. Your eyes are beautiful like doves' eyes. Your hair is beautiful and moves around like goats from the mountain Gilead. Your teeth are beautiful like sheep that have just been washed. They are even and straight. They all look the same.
[1] Behold, thou art fair, my love; behold, thou art fair; thou hast doves' eyes within thy locks: thy hair is as a flock of goats, that appear from mount Gilead.
[2] Thy teeth are like a flock of sheep that are even shorn, which came up from the washing; whereof every one bear twins, and none is barren among them.
Your lips are red like scarlet thread. Your words are sweet. Your cheeks are round and rosy pink like a pomegranate.
[3] Thy lips are like a thread of scarlet, and thy speech is comely: thy temples are like a piece of a pomegranate within thy locks.
Your neck is straight and tall like the tower that David built for his army. That is where he hung up shields for decoration.
[4] Thy neck is like the tower of David builded for an armoury, whereon there hang a thousand bucklers, all shields of mighty men.
Your breasts are like two young deer who are in a field of lilies.
[5] Thy two breasts are like two young roes that are twins, which feed among the lilies.
I will go to the sweet-smelling mountains until morning.
[6] Until the day break, and the shadows flee away, I will get me to the mountain of myrrh, and to the hill of frankincense.
Your are perfect and beautiful, my love.
[7] Thou art all fair, my love; there is no spot in thee.
Let's leave Lebanon, my wife. Look down from the mountains named Amana, Shenir, and Hermon. Look down from the lions' dens and the leopards' mountains.
[8] Come with me from Lebanon, my spouse, with me from Lebanon: look from the top of Amana, from the top of Shenir and Hermon, from the lions' dens, from the mountains of the leopards.
You have stolen my heart, my wife. You stole my heart with one look from your eyes and with your necklace.
[9] Thou hast ravished my heart, my sister, my spouse; thou hast ravished my heart with one of thine eyes, with one chain of thy neck.
You are very beautiful, my wife. Your love is better than wine. Your perfume smells better than all of the spices.
[10] How fair is thy love, my sister, my spouse! how much better is thy love than wine! and the smell of thine ointments than all spices!
My wife, your lips are as sweet as honey. Milk and honey flow from your tongue. Your clothes smell good like the cedar trees in Lebanon.
[11] Thy lips, O my spouse, drop as the honeycomb: honey and milk are under thy tongue; and the smell of thy garments is like the smell of Lebanon.
My wife, you are beautiful like a fountain in a beautiful garden. But your gates are shut for anyone but me.
[12] A garden inclosed is my sister, my spouse; a spring shut up, a fountain sealed.
| About spices
in the Bible |
[13] Thy plants are an orchard of pomegranates, with pleasant fruits; camphire, with spikenard,
[14] Spikenard and saffron; calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense; myrrh and aloes, with all the chief spices:
[15] A fountain of gardens, a well of living waters, and streams from Lebanon.
The woman speaks:
North wind, wake up! Come south. Come and blow on my garden so that the smell of the spices will flow out. My love will smell them and come into his garden and eat his fruit.
[16] Awake, O north wind; and come, thou south; blow upon my garden, that the spices thereof may flow out. Let my beloved come into his garden, and eat his pleasant fruits.
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