New King James Version (NKJV)

Solomon’s Love for a Shulamite Girl

1 Thesong of songs, whichisSolomon’s.

The Banquet

2 Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth—

# For your loveisbetter than wine.

3 Because of the fragrance of your good ointments,

Your nameisointment poured forth;

Therefore the virgins love you.

4 Draw me away!

# We will run after you.

# The kinghas brought me into his chambers.

We will be glad and rejoice in you.

We will remember your love more than wine.

Rightly do they love you.

5 Iamdark, but lovely,

O daughters of Jerusalem,

Like the tents of Kedar,

Like the curtains of Solomon.

6 Do not look upon me, because Iamdark,

Because the sun has tanned me.

My mother’s sons were angry with me;

They made me the keeper of the vineyards,

# Butmy ownvineyard I have not kept.

7 Tell me, O you whom I love,

Where you feedyourflock,

Where you makeitrest at noon.

For why should I be as one who veils herself

By the flocks of your companions?

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 chainsofgold.

11 We will make you ornaments of gold

With studs of silver.

12 While the kingisat his table,

My spikenard sends forth its fragrance.

13 A bundle of myrrhismy beloved to me,

That lies all night between my breasts.

14 My belovedisto me a cluster of hennablooms

In the vineyards of En Gedi.

15 Behold, youarefair, my love!

Behold, youarefair!

Youhavedove’s eyes.

16 Behold, youarehandsome, my beloved!

Yes, pleasant!

Also our bedisgreen.

17 The beams of our housesarecedar,

Andour rafters of fir.

1 Iamthe rose of Sharon,

Andthe lily of the valleys.

2 Like a lily among thorns,

So is my love among the daughters.

3 Like an apple tree among the trees of the woods,

Soismy beloved among the sons.

I sat down in his shade with great delight,

# Andhis fruitwassweet to my taste.

4 He brought me to the banqueting house,

And his banner over mewaslove.

5 Sustain me with cakes of raisins,

Refresh me with apples,

For Iamlovesick.

6 His left handisunder my head,

And his right hand embraces me.

7 I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem,

By the gazelles or by the does of the field,

Do not stir up nor awaken love

Until it pleases.

The Beloved’s Request

8 The voice of my beloved!

Behold, he comes

Leaping upon the mountains,

Skipping upon the hills.

9 My beloved is like a gazelle or a young stag.

Behold, he stands behind our wall;

He is looking through the windows,

Gazing through the lattice.

10 My beloved spoke, and said to me:

“Rise up, my love, my fair one,

And come away.

11 For lo, the winter is past,

The rain is overandgone.

12 The flowers appear on the earth;

The time of singing has come,

And the voice of the turtledove

Is heard in our land.

13 The fig tree puts forth her green figs,

And the vineswiththe tender grapes

Give agoodsmell.

Rise up, my love, my fair one,

And come away!

14 “O mydove, in the clefts of the rock,

In the secretplacesof the cliff,

Let me see your face,

# Let me hear your voice;

For your voiceissweet,

And your faceislovely.”

15 Catch usthe foxes,

The little foxes that spoil the vines,

For our vineshavetender grapes.

16 My belovedismine, and Iamhis.

He feedshisflockamong the lilies.

17 Until the day breaks

And the shadows flee away,

Turn, my beloved,

# And belike a gazelle

Or a young stag

Upon the mountains of Bether.

A Troubled Night

1 Bynight on my bed I sought the one I love;

I sought him, but I did not find him.

2 “I will rise now,”Isaid,

“And go about the city;

In the streets and in the squares

I will seek the one I love.”

I sought him, but I did not find him.

3 The watchmen who go about the city found me;

Isaid,

“Have you seen the one I love?”

4 Scarcely had I passed by them,

When I found the one I love.

I held him and would not let him go,

# Until I had brought him to thehouse of my mother,

And into the chamber of her who conceived me.

5 I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem,

By the gazelles or by the does of the field,

Do not stir up nor awaken love

Until it pleases.

The Coming of Solomon

6 Whoisthis coming out of the wilderness

Like pillars of smoke,

Perfumed with myrrh and frankincense,

With all the merchant’s fragrant powders?

7 Behold, itisSolomon’s couch,

Withsixty valiant men around it,

Of the valiant of Israel.

8 They all hold swords,

Beingexpert in war.

Every manhashis sword on his thigh

Because of fear in the night.

9 Of the wood of Lebanon

Solomon the King

Made himself a palanquin:

10 He made its pillarsofsilver,

Its supportofgold,

Its seatofpurple,

Its interior pavedwithlove

By the daughters of Jerusalem.

11 Go forth, O daughters of Zion,

And see King Solomon with the crown

With which his mother crowned him

On the day of his wedding,

The day of the gladness of his heart.

The Bridegroom Praises the Bride

1 Behold,youarefair, my love!

Behold, youarefair!

Youhavedove’s eyes behind your veil.

# Your hairislike aflock of goats,

Going down from Mount Gilead.

2 Your teetharelike a flock of shornsheep

Which have come up from the washing,

Every one of which bears twins,

And noneisbarren among them.

3 Your lipsarelike a strand of scarlet,

And your mouth is lovely.

# Your temples behind your veil

Arelike a piece of pomegranate.

4 Your neckislike the tower of David,

# Builtfor an armory,

On which hang a thousand bucklers,

All shields of mighty men.

5 Your two breastsarelike two fawns,

Twins of a gazelle,

Which feed among the lilies.

6 Until the day breaks

And the shadows flee away,

I will go my way to the mountain of myrrh

And to the hill of frankincense.

7 Youareall fair, my love,

Andthereisno spot in you.

8 Come with me from Lebanon,myspouse,

With me from Lebanon.

Look from the top of Amana,

# From the top of Senirand Hermon,

From the lions’ dens,

From the mountains of the leopards.

9 You have ravished my heart,

My sister,myspouse;

You have ravished my heart

With onelookof your eyes,

With one link of your necklace.

10 How fair is your love,

My sister,myspouse!

# How much better than wine is your love,

And the scent of your perfumes

Than all spices!

11 Your lips, Omyspouse,

Drip as the honeycomb;

# Honey and milkareunder your tongue;

And the fragrance of your garments

# Islike the fragrance of Lebanon.

12 A garden enclosed

Ismy sister,myspouse,

A spring shut up,

A fountain sealed.

13 Your plantsarean orchard of pomegranates

With pleasant fruits,

Fragrant henna 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 ofliving waters,

And streams from Lebanon.

16 Awake, O northwind,

And come, O south!

Blow upon my garden,

Thatits spices may flow out.

# Let my beloved come to his garden

# And eat its pleasantfruits.

1 Ihave come to my garden, mysister,myspouse;

I have gathered my myrrh with my spice;

# I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey;

I have drunk my wine with my milk.

# Eat, Ofriends!

Drink, yes, drink deeply,

O beloved ones!

The Shulamite’s Troubled Evening

2 I sleep, but my heart is awake;

Itisthe voice of my beloved!

# He knocks,saying,

“Open for me, my sister, my love,

My dove, my perfect one;

For my head is covered with dew,

My locks with the drops of the night.”

3 I have taken off my robe;

How can I put it onagain?

I have washed my feet;

How can I defile them?

4 My beloved put his hand

By the latchofthedoor,

And my heart yearned for him.

5 I arose to open for my beloved,

And my hands drippedwithmyrrh,

My fingers with liquid myrrh,

On the handles of the lock.

6 I opened for my beloved,

But my beloved had turned awayandwas gone.

My heart leaped up when he spoke.

# I sought him, but I could not find him;

I called him, but he gave me no answer.

7 The watchmen who went about the city found me.

They struck me, they wounded me;

The keepers of the walls

Took my veil away from me.

8 I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem,

If you find my beloved,

That you tell him Iamlovesick!

9 Whatisyour beloved

More thananotherbeloved,

# O fairest among women?

Whatisyour beloved

More thananotherbeloved,

That you so charge us?

10 My belovediswhite and ruddy,

Chief among ten thousand.

11 His headislikethe finest gold;

His locksarewavy,

Andblack as a raven.

12 His eyesarelike doves

By the rivers of waters,

Washed with milk,

Andfitly set.

13 His cheeksarelike a bed of spices,

Banks of scented herbs.

His lipsarelilies,

Dripping liquid myrrh.

14 His handsarerods of gold

Set with beryl.

His bodyiscarved ivory

Inlaidwithsapphires.

15 His legsarepillars of marble

Set on bases of fine gold.

His countenanceislike Lebanon,

Excellent as the cedars.

16 His mouthismost sweet,

Yes, heisaltogether lovely.

Thisismy beloved,

And thisismy friend,

O daughters of Jerusalem!

1 Where has your beloved gone,

# O fairest among women?

Where has your beloved turned aside,

That we may seek him with you?

2 My beloved has gone to hisgarden,

To the beds of spices,

To feedhisflockin the gardens,

And to gather lilies.

3 Iammy beloved’s,

And my belovedismine.

He feedshisflockamong the lilies.

Praise of the Shulamite’s Beauty

4 O my love, youareasbeautiful as Tirzah,

Lovely as Jerusalem,

Awesome asanarmywith banners!

5 Turn your eyes away from me,

For they have overcome me.

# Your hairislike a flock of goats

Going down from Gilead.

6 Your teetharelike a flock of sheep

Which have come up from the washing;

Every one bears twins,

And noneisbarren among them.

7 Like a piece of pomegranate

Areyour temples behind your veil.

8 There are sixty queens

And eighty concubines,

# Andvirgins without number.

9 My dove, myperfect one,

Is the only one,

The only one of her mother,

The favorite of the one who bore her.

The daughters saw her

And called her blessed,

The queens and the concubines,

And they praised her.

10 Who is she who looks forth as the morning,

Fair as the moon,

Clear as the sun,

# Awesome asanarmywith banners?

11 I went down to the garden of nuts

To see the verdure of the valley,

# To see whether the vine had budded

Andthe pomegranates had bloomed.

12 Before I was even aware,

My soul had made me

Asthe chariots of my noble people.

13 Return, return, O Shulamite;

Return, return, that we may look upon you!

What would you see in the Shulamite—

As it were, the dance of the two camps?

Expressions of Praise

1 How beautiful are your feet in sandals,

# O prince’s daughter!

The curves of your thighsarelike jewels,

The work of the hands of a skillful workman.

2 Your navelisa rounded goblet;

It lacks no blended beverage.

Your waistisa heap of wheat

Set about with lilies.

3 Your two breastsarelike two fawns,

Twins of a gazelle.

4 Your neckislike an ivory tower,

Your eyeslikethe pools in Heshbon

By the gate of Bath Rabbim.

Your noseislike the tower of Lebanon

Which looks toward Damascus.

5 Your headcrownsyou likeMountCarmel,

And the hair of your headislike purple;

A kingisheld captive byyourtresses.

6 How fair and how pleasant you are,

O love, with your delights!

7 This stature of yours is like a palm tree,

And your breastslikeits clusters.

8 I said, “I will go up to the palm tree,

I will take hold of its branches.”

Let now your breasts be like clusters of the vine,

The fragrance of your breath like apples,

9 And the roof of your mouth like the best wine.

Thewinegoesdownsmoothly for my beloved,

Moving gently the lips of sleepers.

10 Iammy beloved’s,

# Andhis desireistoward me.

11 Come, my beloved,

Let us go forth to the field;

Let us lodge in the villages.

12 Let us get up early to the vineyards;

# Let ussee if the vine has budded,

Whetherthe grape blossoms are open,

Andthe pomegranates are in bloom.

There I will give you my love.

13 Themandrakes give off a fragrance,

# And at our gatesarepleasantfruits,

All manner, new and old,

Which I have laid up for you, my beloved.

1 Oh, that you were like my brother,

Who nursed at my mother’s breasts!

IfI should find you outside,

I would kiss you;

I would not be despised.

2 I would lead youandbring you

# Into thehouse of my mother,

Shewhoused to instruct me.

# I would cause you to drink ofspiced wine,

Of the juice of my pomegranate.

3 His left handisunder my head,

And his right hand embraces me.

4 I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem,

Do not stir up nor awaken love

Until it pleases.

Love Renewed in Lebanon

5 Whoisthis coming up from the wilderness,

Leaning upon her beloved?

I awakened you under the apple tree.

There your mother brought you forth;

There shewhobore you broughtyouforth.

6 Set me as a seal upon your heart,

As a seal upon your arm;

For loveisasstrong as death,

# Jealousyascruel as the grave;

Its flamesareflames of fire,

A most vehement flame.

7 Many waters cannot quench love,

Nor can the floods drown it.

# If a man would give for love

All the wealth of his house,

It would be utterly despised.

8 We have a little sister,

And she has no breasts.

What shall we do for our sister

In the day when she is spoken for?

9 If sheisa wall,

We will build upon her

A battlement of silver;

And if sheisa door,

We will enclose her

With boards of cedar.

10 Iama wall,

And my breasts like towers;

Then I became in his eyes

As one who found peace.

11 Solomon had a vineyard at Baal Hamon;

# He leased the vineyard to keepers;

Everyone was to bring for its fruit

A thousand silvercoins.

12 My own vineyardisbefore me.

You, O Solomon,mayhavea thousand,

And those who tend its fruit two hundred.

13 You who dwell in the gardens,

The companions listen for your voice—

# Let me hear it!

14 Make haste, my beloved,

# Andbe like a gazelle

Or a young stag

On the mountains of spices.