Song of Songs 5 (CSB)

1Chapter

¹The Song of Songs, which is Solomon’s.
²Oh, that he would kiss me with the kisses of his mouth! For your caresses are more delightful than wine. ³The fragrance of your perfume is intoxicating; your name is perfume poured out. No wonder young women adore you. ⁴Take me with you —let’s hurry. Oh, that the king would bring me to his chambers. We will rejoice and be glad in you; we will celebrate your caresses more than wine. It is only right that they adore you.
⁵Daughters of Jerusalem, I am dark like the tents of Kedar, yet lovely like the curtains of Solomon. ⁶Do not stare at me because I am dark, for the sun has gazed on me. My mother’s sons were angry with me; they made me take care of the vineyards. I have not taken care of my own vineyard.
⁷Tell me, you whom I love: Where do you pasture your sheep? Where do you let them rest at noon? Why should I be like one who veils herself beside the flocks of your companions?
⁸If you do not know, most beautiful of women, follow the tracks of the flock, and pasture your young goats near the shepherds’ tents.
⁹I compare you, my darling, to a mare among Pharaoh’s chariots. ¹⁰Your cheeks are beautiful with jewelry, your neck with its necklace. ¹¹We will make gold jewelry for you, accented with silver.
¹²While the king is on his couch, my perfume releases its fragrance. ¹³The one I love is a sachet of myrrh to me, spending the night between my breasts. ¹⁴The one I love is a cluster of henna blossoms to me, in the vineyards of En-gedi.
¹⁵How beautiful you are, my darling. How very beautiful! Your eyes are doves.
¹⁶How handsome you are, my love. How delightful! Our bed is verdant; ¹⁷the beams of our house are cedars, and our rafters are cypresses.

2Chapter

¹I am a wildflower of Sharon, a lily of the valleys.
²Like a lily among thorns, so is my darling among the young women.
³Like an apricot tree among the trees of the forest, so is my love among the young men. I delight to sit in his shade, and his fruit is sweet to my taste. ⁴He brought me to the banquet hall, and he looked on me with love. ⁵Sustain me with raisins; refresh me with apricots, for I am lovesick. ⁶May his left hand be under my head, and his right arm embrace me. ⁷Young women of Jerusalem, I charge you by the gazelles and the wild does of the field, do not stir up or awaken love until the appropriate time.
⁸Listen! My love is approaching. Look! Here he comes, leaping over the mountains, bounding over the hills. ⁹My love is like a gazelle or a young stag. See, he is standing behind our wall, gazing through the windows, peering through the lattice. ¹⁰My love calls to me: Arise, my darling. Come away, my beautiful one. ¹¹For now the winter is past; the rain has ended and gone away. ¹²The blossoms appear in the countryside. The time of singing has come, and the turtledove’s cooing is heard in our land. ¹³The fig tree ripens its figs; the blossoming vines give off their fragrance. Arise, my darling. Come away, my beautiful one.
¹⁴My dove, in the clefts of the rock, in the crevices of the cliff, let me see your face, let me hear your voice; for your voice is sweet, and your face is lovely.
¹⁵Catch the foxes for us — the little foxes that ruin the vineyards— for our vineyards are in bloom.
¹⁶My love is mine and I am his; he feeds among the lilies. ¹⁷Until the day breaks and the shadows flee, turn around, my love, and be like a gazelle or a young stag on the divided mountains.

3Chapter

¹In my bed at night I sought the one I love; I sought him, but did not find him. ²I will arise now and go about the city, through the streets and the plazas. I will seek the one I love. I sought him, but did not find him. ³The guards who go about the city found me. I asked them, “Have you seen the one I love?” ⁴I had just passed them when I found the one I love. I held on to him and would not let him go until I brought him to my mother’s house — to the chamber of the one who conceived me. ⁵Young women of Jerusalem, I charge you by the gazelles and the wild does of the field, do not stir up or awaken love until the appropriate time.
⁶Who is this coming up from the wilderness like columns of smoke, scented with myrrh and frankincense from every fragrant powder of the merchant?
⁷Look! Solomon’s bed surrounded by sixty warriors from the mighty men of Israel. ⁸All of them are skilled with swords and trained in warfare. Each has his sword at his side to guard against the terror of the night.
⁹King Solomon made a carriage for himself with wood from Lebanon. ¹⁰He made its posts of silver, its back of gold, and its seat of purple. Its interior is inlaid with love by the young women of Jerusalem. ¹¹Go out, young women of Zion, and gaze at King Solomon, wearing the crown his mother placed on him on the day of his wedding — the day of his heart’s rejoicing.

4Chapter

¹How beautiful you are, my darling. How very beautiful! Behind your veil, your eyes are doves. Your hair is like a flock of goats streaming down Mount Gilead. ²Your teeth are like a flock of newly shorn sheep coming up from washing, each one bearing twins, and none has lost its young. ³Your lips are like a scarlet cord, and your mouth is lovely. Behind your veil, your brow is like a slice of pomegranate. ⁴Your neck is like the tower of David, constructed in layers. A thousand shields are hung on it— all of them shields of warriors. ⁵Your breasts are like two fawns, twins of a gazelle, that feed among the lilies. ⁶Until the day breaks and the shadows flee, I will make my way to the mountain of myrrh and the hill of frankincense. ⁷You are absolutely beautiful, my darling; there is no imperfection in you.
⁸Come with me from Lebanon, my bride; come with me from Lebanon! Descend from the peak of Amana, from the summit of Senir and Hermon, from the dens of the lions, from the mountains of the leopards. ⁹You have captured my heart, my sister, my bride. You have captured my heart with one glance of your eyes, with one jewel of your necklace. ¹⁰How delightful your caresses are, my sister, my bride. Your caresses are much better than wine, and the fragrance of your perfume than any balsam. ¹¹Your lips drip sweetness like the honeycomb, my bride. Honey and milk are under your tongue. The fragrance of your garments is like the fragrance of Lebanon.
¹²My sister, my bride, you are a locked garden— a locked garden and a sealed spring. ¹³Your branches are a paradise of pomegranates with choicest fruits; henna with nard, ¹⁴nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon, with all the trees of frankincense, myrrh and aloes, with all the best spices. ¹⁵You are a garden spring, a well of flowing water streaming from Lebanon.
¹⁶Awaken, north wind; come, south wind. Blow on my garden, and spread the fragrance of its spices. Let my love come to his garden and eat its choicest fruits.

5Chapter

¹I have come to my garden—my sister, my bride. I gather my myrrh with my spices. I eat my honeycomb with my honey. I drink my wine with my milk. Eat, friends! Drink, be intoxicated with caresses!
²I was sleeping, but my heart was awake. A sound! My love was knocking! Open to me, my sister, my darling, my dove, my perfect one. For my head is drenched with dew, my hair with droplets of the night.
³I have taken off my clothing. How can I put it back on? I have washed my feet. How can I get them dirty? ⁴My love thrust his hand through the opening, and my feelings were stirred for him. ⁵I rose to open for my love. My hands dripped with myrrh, my fingers with flowing myrrh on the handles of the bolt. ⁶I opened to my love, but my love had turned and gone away. My heart sank because he had left. I sought him, but did not find him. I called him, but he did not answer. ⁷The guards who go about the city found me. They beat and wounded me; they took my cloak from me— the guardians of the walls. ⁸Young women of Jerusalem, I charge you, if you find my love, tell him that I am lovesick.
⁹What makes the one you love better than another, most beautiful of women? What makes him better than another, that you would give us this charge?
¹⁰My love is fit and strong, notable among ten thousand.
¹¹His head is purest gold. His hair is wavy and black as a raven. ¹²His eyes are like doves beside flowing streams, washed in milk and set like jewels. ¹³His cheeks are like beds of spice, mounds of perfume. His lips are lilies, dripping with flowing myrrh. ¹⁴His arms are rods of gold set with beryl. His body is an ivory panel covered with lapis lazuli. ¹⁵His legs are alabaster pillars set on pedestals of pure gold. His presence is like Lebanon, as majestic as the cedars. ¹⁶His mouth is sweetness. He is absolutely desirable. This is my love, and this is my friend, young women of Jerusalem.

6Chapter

¹Where has your love gone, most beautiful of women? Which way has he turned? We will seek him with you.
²My love has gone down to his garden, to beds of spice, to feed in the gardens and gather lilies. ³I am my love’s and my love is mine; he feeds among the lilies.
⁴You are as beautiful as Tirzah, my darling, lovely as Jerusalem, awe-inspiring as an army with banners. ⁵Turn your eyes away from me, for they captivate me. Your hair is like a flock of goats streaming down from Gilead. ⁶Your teeth are like a flock of ewes coming up from washing, each one having a twin, and not one missing. ⁷Behind your veil, your brow is like a slice of pomegranate. ⁸There are sixty queens and eighty concubines and young women without number. ⁹But my dove, my virtuous one, is unique; she is the favorite of her mother, perfect to the one who gave her birth. Women see her and declare her fortunate; queens and concubines also, and they sing her praises: ¹⁰Who is this who shines like the dawn, as beautiful as the moon, bright as the sun, awe-inspiring as an army with banners?
¹¹I came down to the walnut grove to see the blossoms of the valley, to see if the vines were budding and the pomegranates blooming. ¹²I didn’t know what was happening to me. I felt like I was in a chariot with a nobleman.
¹³Come back, come back, Shulammite! Come back, come back, that we may look at you! How you gaze at the Shulammite, as you look at the dance of the two camps!

7Chapter

¹How beautiful are your sandaled feet, princess! The curves of your thighs are like jewelry, the handiwork of a master. ²Your navel is a rounded bowl; it never lacks mixed wine. Your belly is a mound of wheat surrounded by lilies. ³Your breasts are like two fawns, twins of a gazelle. ⁴Your neck is like a tower of ivory, your eyes like pools in Heshbon by Bath-rabbim’s gate. Your nose is like the tower of Lebanon looking toward Damascus. ⁵Your head crowns you like Mount Carmel, the hair of your head like purple cloth— a king could be held captive in your tresses. ⁶How beautiful you are and how pleasant, my love, with such delights! ⁷Your stature is like a palm tree; your breasts are clusters of fruit. ⁸I said, “I will climb the palm tree and take hold of its fruit.” May your breasts be like clusters of grapes, and the fragrance of your breath like apricots. ⁹Your mouth is like fine wine — flowing smoothly for my love, gliding past my lips and teeth! ¹⁰I am my love’s, and his desire is for me.
¹¹Come, my love, let’s go to the field; let’s spend the night among the henna blossoms. ¹²Let’s go early to the vineyards; let’s see if the vine has budded, if the blossom has opened, if the pomegranates are in bloom. There I will give you my caresses. ¹³The mandrakes give off a fragrance, and at our doors is every delicacy, both new and old. I have treasured them up for you, my love.

8Chapter

¹If only I could treat you like my brother, one who nursed at my mother’s breasts, I would find you in public and kiss you, and no one would scorn me. ²I would lead you, I would take you, to the house of my mother who taught me. I would give you spiced wine to drink from the juice of my pomegranate. ³May his left hand be under my head, and his right arm embrace me. ⁴Young women of Jerusalem, I charge you, do not stir up or awaken love until the appropriate time.
⁵Who is this coming up from the wilderness, leaning on the one she loves? I awakened you under the apricot tree. There your mother conceived you; there she conceived and gave you birth. ⁶Set me as a seal on your heart, as a seal on your arm. For love is as strong as death; jealousy is as unrelenting as Sheol. Love’s flames are fiery flames — an almighty flame! ⁷A huge torrent cannot extinguish love; rivers cannot sweep it away. If a man were to give all his wealth for love, it would be utterly scorned.
⁸Our sister is young; she has no breasts. What will we do for our sister on the day she is spoken for? ⁹If she is a wall, we will build a silver barricade on her. If she is a door, we will enclose her with cedar planks.
¹⁰I am a wall and my breasts like towers. So to him I have become like one who finds peace.
¹¹Solomon owned a vineyard in Baal-hamon. He leased the vineyard to tenants. Each was to bring for his fruit one thousand pieces of silver. ¹²I have my own vineyard. The one thousand are for you, Solomon, but two hundred for those who take care of its fruits.
¹³You who dwell in the gardens, companions are listening for your voice; let me hear you!
¹⁴Run away with me, my love, and be like a gazelle or a young stag on the mountains of spices.

Study

Chapter 5

ESV

It is not immediately clear whether the woman has been awoken by the knocking at the door or whether the knocking is in the dream. Her response to the chorus in 6:2 would indicate that the former is unlikely and that the significance of this section (5:2–6:3) is that it is a dream caused by the way the lovers’ desires do not always synchronize—they are separated when they desire to be together.

ESV

I came to my garden. The man responds predictably and partakes of all that he described in 4:16, to the joyful acclaim of the chorus (who echo themes from 4:16–5:1). According to the reading strategy advocated in the Introduction, 4:16–5:1 represents the continuation of the dream sequence (see 5:2: “I slept, but my heart was awake”), with the sexual consummation of the marriage yet to come in 8:5 (“Under the apple tree I awakened you”). Many who follow the Shepherd Hypothesis, however, read 4:16–5:1 as referring to a visit (real or imagined) of the shepherd boy, for whom the girl really longs (see Introduction: Alternative Interpretations). Other approaches take this passage as describing the sexual consummation of the marriage of the two young people. Those who follow this approach base their interpretation in part on the fact that the consummation of the marriage would then fall in the structural center of the book, as an indication of the centrality of marriage in the literary structure of the book, but also as an indication of the centrality of marriage in the creation of man and woman.

ESV

The man’s request is clear: he wants to enter the house to be with the woman (note his urgency or even pushiness in his use of the imperative open, and the barrage of endearing names that follows).

ESV

Her initial response of petty objections could be a tease, or just a reluctance that comes from weariness, but it is more likely the kind of befuddlement that one encounters in a dream, leading to the confusing episode in vv. 4–7.

ESV

After warming to the man’s approach, but delaying to open the door to him, the woman soon realizes he has gone and she goes in pursuit of him, at which point the watchmen find her and, unlike in 3:3, they beat her, leaving her bruised (5:7). If this were an actual event, it would be unclear why the watchmen did this. If it is part of a dream, though, it would simply be a nightmarish episode, perhaps reflecting the woman’s fear of public hostility toward the couple or toward her pursuit of him: it underscores the painfulness of their separation.

ESV

In 2:5 the man was present when the woman uttered the words: sick with love. Now he is absent, suggesting that she is referring to her desire to be with him, and to the way that she, as a woman, can feel overwhelming physical weakness at the thought of her beloved, sometimes described as making the knees go weak as water. I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem. The wording of this verse is a variation of the refrain (also found in 2:7; 3:5; 8:4).

ESV

The chorus then asks how her lover compares to other men, and she responds.

ESV

The chorus is picking up the word beloved from v. 8; this, together with the echoed word adjure, indicates that the singers in the chorus are the “daughters of Jerusalem” addressed in v. 8.

ESV

Radiant and ruddy refers to an appealing complexion (cf. 1 Sam. 16:12).

ESV

The description of his cheeks as beds of spices would apply more appropriately to a beard than to skin. Given that men in ancient Israel almost always had beards, this seems the likely meaning. As with many other metaphors in the Song of Solomon, the referent has an aromatic quality (spices and sweet-smelling herbs). On myrrh, see note on 1:13.

ESV

The continued description of the man refers to precious materials that are often used in statues and in the temple (gold, jewels, ivory, alabaster, and cedars from Lebanon). The man is thus clearly the object of great praise in this section; the woman considers him to be altogether desirable.