Bible Gateway passage: Song of Songs 1 - New International Version (2024)

1Solomon’s Song of Songs.^(A)

She^[a]

²Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth—
for your love^(B) is more delightful than wine.^(C)
3Pleasing is the fragrance of your perfumes;^(D)
your name^(E) is like perfume poured out.
No wonder the young women^(F) love you!
⁴Take me away with you—let us hurry!
Let the king bring me into his chambers.^(G)

Friends

We rejoice and delight^(H) in you^[b];
we will praise your love^(I) more than wine.

She

How right they are to adore you!

⁵Dark am I, yet lovely,^(J)
daughters of Jerusalem,^(K)
dark like the tents of Kedar,^(L)
like the tent curtains of Solomon.^[c]
6Do not stare at me because I am dark,
because I am darkened by the sun.
My mother’s sons were angry with me
and made me take care of the vineyards;^(M)
my own vineyard I had to neglect.
⁷Tell me, you whom I love,
where you graze your flock
and where you rest your sheep^(N) at midday.
Why should I be like a veiled^(O) woman
beside the flocks of your friends?

Friends

⁸If you do not know, most beautiful of women,^(P)
follow the tracks of the sheep
and graze your young goats
by the tents of the shepherds.

He

⁹I liken you, my darling, to a mare
among Pharaoh’s chariot horses.^(Q)
10Your cheeks^(R) are beautiful with earrings,
your neck with strings of jewels.^(S)
11We will make you earrings of gold,
studded with silver.

She

¹²While the king was at his table,
my perfume spread its fragrance.^(T)
13My beloved is to me a sachet of myrrh^(U)
resting between my breasts.
¹⁴My beloved^(V) is to me a cluster of henna^(W) blossoms
from the vineyards of En Gedi.^(X)

He

¹⁵How beautiful^(Y) you are, my darling!
Oh, how beautiful!
Your eyes are doves.^(Z)

She

¹⁶How handsome you are, my beloved!^(AA)
Oh, how charming!
And our bed is verdant.

He

¹⁷The beams of our house are cedars;^(AB)
our rafters are firs.

Footnotes

1. Song of Songs 1:2 The main male and female speakers (identified primarily on the basis of the gender of the relevant Hebrew forms) are indicated by the captions He and She respectively. The words of others are marked Friends. In some instances the divisions and their captions are debatable.
2. Song of Songs 1:4 The Hebrew is masculine singular.
3. Song of Songs 1:5 Or Salma

Cross references

1. Song of Songs 1:1 : S 1Ki 4:32; Ps 45 Title
2. Song of Songs 1:2 : ver 4; SS 4:10; 8:6
3. Song of Songs 1:2 : S Ge 14:18; S Jdg 9:13
4. Song of Songs 1:3 : S Est 2:12; S Ps 45:8
5. Song of Songs 1:3 : S Ecc 7:1
6. Song of Songs 1:3 : Ps 45:14
7. Song of Songs 1:4 : Ps 45:15
8. Song of Songs 1:4 : SS 2:3
9. Song of Songs 1:4 : S ver 2
10. Song of Songs 1:5 : SS 2:14; 4:3
11. Song of Songs 1:5 : SS 5:16
12. Song of Songs 1:5 : S Ge 25:13
13. Song of Songs 1:6 : SS 2:15; 7:12; 8:12
14. Song of Songs 1:7 : Isa 13:20
15. Song of Songs 1:7 : S Ge 24:65
16. Song of Songs 1:8 : SS 5:9; 6:1
17. Song of Songs 1:9 : 2Ch 1:17
18. Song of Songs 1:10 : SS 5:13
19. Song of Songs 1:10 : Isa 61:10
20. Song of Songs 1:12 : SS 4:11-14
21. Song of Songs 1:13 : S Ge 37:25
22. Song of Songs 1:14 : ver 16; SS 2:3, 17; 5:8
23. Song of Songs 1:14 : SS 4:13
24. Song of Songs 1:14 : S 1Sa 23:29; S 2Ch 20:2
25. Song of Songs 1:15 : SS 4:7; 7:6
26. Song of Songs 1:15 : Ps 74:19; SS 2:14; 4:1; 5:2, 12; 6:9; Jer 48:28
27. Song of Songs 1:16 : S ver 14
28. Song of Songs 1:17 : 1Ki 6:9