Common English Bible CEB
New Revised Standard NRS
1
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The Song of Songs, which is Solomon's.
2 [Woman]If only he would give me some of his kisses . . . Oh, your loving is sweeter than wine!
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Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth! For your love is better than wine,
3 Your fragrance is sweet; your very name is perfume. That's why the young women love you.
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your anointing oils are fragrant, your name is perfume poured out; therefore the maidens love you.
4 Take me along with you; let's run! My king has brought me into his chambers, saying, "Let's exult and rejoice in you. Let's savor your loving more than wine. No wonder they all love you!"
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Draw me after you, let us make haste. The king has brought me into his chambers. We will exult and rejoice in you; we will extol your love more than wine; rightly do they love you.
5 Dark am I, and lovely, daughters of Jerusalem— like the black tents of the Kedar nomads, like the curtains of Solomon's palace.
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I am black and beautiful, O daughters of Jerusalem, like the tents of Kedar, like the curtains of Solomon.
6 Don't stare at me because I'm darkened by the sun's gaze. My own brothers were angry with me. They made me a caretaker of the vineyards— but I couldn't care for my own vineyard.
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Do not gaze at me because I am dark, because the sun has gazed on me. My mother's sons were angry with me; they made me keeper of the vineyards, but my own vineyard I have not kept!
7 Tell me, you whom I love with all my heart— where do you pasture your flock, where do you rest them at noon?— so I don't wander around with the flocks of your companions.
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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 is veiled beside the flocks of your companions?
8 [Man]If you don't know your way, most beautiful of women, then follow the tracks of the herds and graze your little goats by the tents of the shepherds.
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If you do not know, O fairest among women, follow the tracks of the flock, and pasture your kids beside the shepherds' tents.
9 I picture you, my dearest, as a mare among Pharaoh's chariots!
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I compare you, my love, to a mare among Pharaoh's chariots.
10 Lovely are your cheeks, adorned with ear hoops; your neck, with beads.
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Your cheeks are comely with ornaments, your neck with strings of jewels.
11 Let's make hoops of gold beaded with silver for you!
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We will make you ornaments of gold, studded with silver.
12 With my king close by, my perfume filled the air.
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While the king was on his couch, my nard gave forth its fragrance.
13 A sachet of myrrh is my love to me, lying all night between my breasts.
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My beloved is to me a bag of myrrh that lies between my breasts.
14 A cluster of henna flowers is my love to me in the desert gardens of En-gedi.
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My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blossoms in the vineyards of En-gedi.
15 [Man]Look at you—so beautiful, my dearest! Look at you—so beautiful! Your eyes are doves!
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Ah, you are beautiful, my love; ah, you are beautiful; your eyes are doves.
16 [Woman]Look at you—so beautiful, my love! Yes, delightful! Yes, our bed is lush and green!
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Ah, you are beautiful, my beloved, truly lovely. Our couch is green;
17 The ceilings of our chambers are cedars; our rafters, cypresses.
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the beams of our house are cedar, our rafters are pine.
Copyright © 2011 Common English Bible
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.