Song Of Solomon 1

Song Of Solomon 1

NASB — New American Standard Bible (NASB)
NIRV — New International Reader's Version Bible (NIRV)
Verse 1
The [a]Song of Songs, which is Solomon’s.

This is the greatest song Solomon ever wrote.

A Shulammite woman says to King Solomon

Verse 2
[b]May he kiss me with the kisses of his mouth!
For your love is better than wine.
“I long for your lips to kiss me!
    Your love makes me happier than wine does.
Verse 3
“Your oils have a pleasing fragrance,
Your name is like [c]purified oil;
Therefore the [d]maidens love you.
The lotion you have on pleases me.
    Your name is like perfume that is poured out.
    No wonder the young women love you!
Verse 4
“Draw me after you and let us run together!
The king has brought me into his chambers.”

[e]We will rejoice in you and be glad;
We will [f]extol your love more than wine.
Rightly do they love you.”

Take me away with you. Let us hurry!
    King Solomon, bring me into your palace.”

The other women say

“King Solomon, you fill us with joy. You make us happy.
    We praise your love more than we praise wine.”

The woman says to the king

“It is right for them to love you!

Verse 5
[g]I am black but lovely,
O daughters of Jerusalem,
Like the tents of Kedar,
Like the curtains of Solomon.
“Women of Jerusalem,
    my skin is dark but lovely.
It is dark like the tents in Kedar.
    It’s like the curtains of Solomon’s tent.
Verse 6
“Do not stare at me because I am [h]swarthy,
For the sun has burned me.
My mother’s sons were angry with me;
They made me caretaker of the vineyards,
But I have not taken care of my own vineyard.
Don’t stare at me because I’m dark.
    The sun has made my skin look like this.
My brothers were angry with me.
    They made me take care of the vineyards.
    I haven’t even taken care of my own vineyard.

Verse 7
“Tell me, O you whom my soul loves,
Where do you pasture your flock,
Where do you make it lie down at noon?
For why should I be like one who [i]veils herself
Beside the flocks of your companions?”

Solomon, the Lover, Speaks

“King Solomon, I love you.
    So tell me where you take care of your flock.
    Tell me where you rest your sheep at noon.
Why should I have to act like a prostitute
    near the flocks of your friends?”

The other women say

Verse 8
[j]If you yourself do not know,
Most beautiful among women,
Go forth on the trail of the flock
And pasture your young goats
By the tents of the shepherds.

“You are the most beautiful woman of all.
    Don’t you know where to find the king?
    Follow the tracks the sheep make.
Take care of your young goats
    near the tents of the shepherds.”

King Solomon says to the Shulammite woman

Verse 9
[k]To me, my darling, you are like
My mare among the chariots of Pharaoh.
“You are my love.
    You are like a mare among Pharaoh’s chariot horses.
Verse 10
“Your cheeks are lovely with ornaments,
Your neck with strings of beads.”

Your earrings make your cheeks even more beautiful.
    Your strings of jewels make your neck even more lovely.
Verse 11
[l]We will make for you ornaments of gold
With beads of silver.”

We will make gold earrings for you.
    We’ll decorate them with silver.”

The woman says

Verse 12
[m]While the king was at his [n]table,
My [o]perfume gave forth its fragrance.
“The king was at his table.
    My perfume gave off a sweet smell.
Verse 13
“My beloved is to me a pouch of myrrh
Which lies all night between my breasts.
The one who loves me is like a small bag of myrrh
    resting between my breasts.
Verse 14
“My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blossoms
In the vineyards of Engedi.”

He is like henna flowers
    from the vineyards of En Gedi.”

The king says

Verse 15
[p][q]How beautiful you are, my darling,
[r]How beautiful you are!
Your eyes are like doves.”

“You are so beautiful, my love!
    So beautiful!
    Your eyes are like doves.”

The woman says

Verse 16
[s][t]How handsome you are, my beloved,
And so pleasant!
Indeed, our couch is luxuriant!
“You are so handsome, my love!
    So charming!
    The green field is our bed.”

The king says

Verse 17
“The beams of our houses are cedars,
Our rafters, [u]cypresses.

“Cedar trees above us are the beams of our house.
    Fir trees overhead are its rafters.”