Song of Solomon 1 (ESV)

17 verses · English Standard Version · Essentially literal

The ESV balances word-for-word accuracy with modern English readability. Favored by scholars and pastors for study and preaching, it preserves the structure of the original Hebrew and Greek while using clear, contemporary language.

Song of Solomon Chapter 1 contains 17 verses and is presented here in the English Standard Version (ESV), which uses a essentially literal approach. This is the opening chapter of Song of Solomon, one of the books of the Bible.

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Ecclesiastes 12Chapter 2

1The Song of Songs, which is Solomon's.

2Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth! For your love is better than wine;

3your anointing oils are fragrant; your name is oil poured out; therefore virgins love you.

4Draw 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.

5I am very dark, but lovely, O daughters of Jerusalem, like the tents of Kedar, like the curtains of Solomon.

6Do 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!

7Tell 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?

8If 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.

9I compare you, my love, to a mare among Pharaoh's chariots.

10Your cheeks are lovely with ornaments, your neck with strings of jewels.

11We will make for you ornaments of gold, studded with silver.

12While the king was on his couch, my nard gave forth its fragrance.

13My beloved is to me a sachet of myrrh that lies between my breasts.

14My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blossoms in the vineyards of Engedi.

15Behold, you are beautiful, my love; behold, you are beautiful; your eyes are doves.

16Behold, you are beautiful, my beloved, truly delightful. Our couch is green;

17the beams of our house are cedar; our rafters are pine.

Ecclesiastes 12Read in NIVChapter 2

About This Translation

What is Song of Solomon 1 in the ESV?

Song of Solomon 1 in the English Standard Version (ESV) contains 17 verses. The ESV uses a essentially literal approach, first published in 2001 (rev. 2016).

How does the ESV translate Song of Solomon 1 differently?

The English Standard Version uses essentially literal, balancing accuracy with modern readability. Compare this with the NIV (dynamic equivalence) version of Song of Solomon 1 for a different perspective.

How many verses are in Song of Solomon 1 (ESV)?

Song of Solomon Chapter 1 contains 17 verses in the English Standard Version. The book of Song of Solomon has 8 chapters total.

Song of Solomon (ESV) — All 8 Chapters