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A Chapter a Day: Song of Solomon 1

Song of Solomon 1, ESV

The Song of Songs, which is Solomon’s.

The Bride Confesses Her Love

She[a]

Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth!
For your love is better than wine;
your anointing oils are fragrant;
your name is oil poured out;
therefore virgins love you.
Draw me after you; let us run.
The king has brought me into his chambers.

Others

We will exult and rejoice in you;
we will extol your love more than wine;
rightly do they love you.

She

I am very dark, but lovely,
O daughters of Jerusalem,
like the tents of Kedar,
like the curtains of Solomon.
Do not gaze at me because I am dark,
because the sun has looked upon me.
My mother’s sons were angry with me;
they made me keeper of the vineyards,
but my own vineyard I have not kept!
Tell me, you whom my soul loves,
where you pasture your flock,
where you make it lie down at noon;
for why should I be like one who veils herself
beside the flocks of your companions?

Photo by Mandev Sidhu Source: http://www.mandevsidhu.com/blog/?p=674
Photo by Mandev Sidhu
Source: http://www.mandevsidhu.com/blog/?p=674

Solomon and His Bride Delight in Each Other

He

If you do not know,
O most beautiful among women,
follow in the tracks of the flock,
and pasture your young goats
beside the shepherds’ tents.

I compare you, my love,
to a mare among Pharaoh’s chariots.
Your cheeks are lovely with ornaments,
your neck with strings of jewels.

Others

We will make for you[b] ornaments of gold,
studded with silver.

She

While the king was on his couch,
my nard gave forth its fragrance.
My beloved is to me a sachet of myrrh
that lies between my breasts.
My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blossoms
in the vineyards of Engedi.

He

Behold, you are beautiful, my love;
behold, you are beautiful;
your eyes are doves.

She

Behold, you are beautiful, my beloved, truly delightful.
Our couch is green;

the beams of our house are cedar;
our rafters are pine.

Footnotes:

  1. Song of Solomon 1:2 The translators have added speaker identifications based on the gender and number of the Hebrew words
  2. Song of Solomon 1:11 The Hebrew for you is feminine singular

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