Song of Songs, chapter 1
Solomon's Song
Verse 1 provides the book's title, or “superscript.” In the original Hebrew, the singular and plural forms of the same word (“song of songs”) are combined to produce a phrase that means the “greatest” or “most beautiful” song.
his is Solomon's most beautiful song.
Love Blossoms
A young woman tells about her true love. She calls him her “king” (1.4). Then both the woman and man offer songs of love that are filled with images that excite the senses of sight, smell, and taste.
Love Is Better than Wine
2Kiss me tenderly! Your love is better than wine,
3and you smell so sweet.
All the young women adore you;
the very mention of your name
is like spreading perfume.
* 4Hurry, my king! Let's hurry.
Take me to your home.
We are happy for you! And we praise your love
even more than wine.
Young women of Jerusalem, it is only right
that you should adore him.
5My skin is dark and beautiful, like a tent in the desert
or like Solomon's curtains.
6Don't stare at me just because the sun
has darkened my skin.
My brothers were angry with me;
they made me work in the vineyard,
and so I neglected my complexion.
7My darling, I love you! Where do you feed your sheep
and let them rest at noon?
Don't let the other shepherds think badly of me.
I'm not one of those women
who shamelessly follow after shepherds.
8My dearest, if you don't know,
just follow the path of the sheep.
Then feed your young goats
near the shepherds' tents.
9You move as gracefully as the pony
that leads the chariot of the king.
10Earrings add to your beauty,
and you wear a necklace of precious stones.
11Let's make you some jewelry of gold,
woven with silver.
12My king, while you were on your couch,
my aroma was a magic charm.
13My darling, you are perfume between my breasts;
14you are flower blossoms
from the gardens of En-Gedi.
15My darling, you are lovely, so very lovely—
your eyes are those of a dove.
16My love, you are handsome, truly handsome—
the fresh green grass will be our wedding bed
17in the shade of cedar and cypress trees.