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12 So remember your Creatorn while you are still young, before those dismal days and years come when you will say, “I don’t enjoy life.” 2That is when the light of the sun, the moon, and the stars will grow dim for you, and the rain clouds will never pass away. 3Then your arms, that have protected you, will tremble, and your legs, now strong, will grow weak. Your teeth will be too few to chew your food, and your eyes too dim to see clearly. 4Your ears will be deaf to the noise of the street. You will barely be able to hear the mill as it grinds or music as it plays, but even the song of a bird will wake you from sleep. 5You will be afraid of high places, and walking will be dangerous. Your hair will turn white; you will hardly be able to drag yourself along, and all desire will have gone.
We are going to our final resting place, and then there will be mourning in the streets. 6The silver chain will snap, and the golden lamp will fall and break; the rope at the well will break, and the water jar will be shattered. 7Our bodies will return to the dust of the earth, and the breath of life will go back to God, who gave it to us.
8 Useless, useless, said the Philosopher. It is all useless.
9 But because the Philosopher was wise, he kept on teaching the people what he knew. He studied proverbs and honestly tested their truth. 10The Philosopher tried to find comforting words, but the words he wrote were honest. 11The sayings of the wise are like the sharp sticks that shepherds use to guide sheep, and collected proverbs are as lasting as firmly driven nails. They have been given by God, the one Shepherd of us all.
12 My son, there is something else to watch out for. There is no end to the writing of books, and too much study will wear you out.
13 After all this, there is only one thing to say: have reverence for God, and obey his commands, because this is all that human beings were created for. 14God is going to judge everything we do, whether good or bad, even things done in secret.
Introduction
The Song of Songs is a series of love poems, for the most part in the form of songs addressed by a man to a woman, and by a woman to the man. In some translations, the book is called The Song of Solomon, because it is attributed to Solomon in the Hebrew title.
These songs have often been intrepreted by Jews as a picture of the relationship between God and his people, and by Christians as a picture of the relationship between Christ and the Church.
Outline of Contents
First Song 1:1–2:7
Second Song 2:8–3:5
Third Song 3:6–5:1
Fourth Song 5:2–6:3
Fifth Song 6:4–8:4
Sixth Song 8:5–14
1 * The most beautiful of songs, by Solomon.a
The Woman
2 Your lips cover me with kisses;
your love is better than wine.
3 There is a fragrance about you;
the sound of your name recalls it.
No woman could help loving you.
4 Take me with you, and we’ll run away; be my king and take me to your room.
We will be happy together, drink deep, and lose ourselves in love. No wonder all women love you!
5 Women of Jerusalem, I am dark butb beautiful,
dark as the desert tents of Kedar,
but beautiful as the curtains in Solomon’s palace.
6 Don’t look down on me because of my colour,
because the sun has tanned me.
My brothers were angry with me
and made me work in the vineyard.
I had no time to care for myself.
Where will you lead your flock to graze?
Where will they rest from the noonday sun?
Why should I need to look for you
among the flocks of the other shepherds?c
The Man
8 Don’t you know the place, loveliest of women?
Go and follow the flock;
find pasture for your goats
near the tents of the shepherds.
as a mare excites the stallions of Pharaoh’s chariots.
10 Your hair is beautiful upon your cheeks
and falls along your neck like jewels.
11 But we will make for you a chain of gold
with ornaments of silver.
The Woman
12 My king was lying on his couch,
and my perfume filled the air with fragrance.
13 My lover has the scent of myrrh
as he lies upon my breasts.
14 My lover is like the wild flowers
that bloom in the vineyards at Engedi.
The Man
15 How beautiful you are, my love;
how your eyes shine with love!
The Woman
16 How handsome you are, my dearest;
how you delight me!
The green grass will be our bed;
17 the cedars will be the beams of our house,
and the cypress trees the ceiling.
2 I am only a wild flower in Sharon,
a lily in a mountain valley.
The Man
is my darling among women.
The Woman
3 Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest,
so is my dearest compared with other men.
I love to sit in its shadow,
and its fruit is sweet to my taste.
4 He brought me to his banqueting hall
and raised the banner of love over me.
5 Restore my strength with raisins
and refresh me with apples!
I am weak from passion.
6 His left hand is under my head,
and his right hand caresses me.
7 Promise me, women of Jerusalem;
swear by the swift deer and the gazelles
that you will not interrupt our love.
The Woman
8 I hear my lover’s voice.
He comes running over the mountains,
racing across the hills to me.
like a gazelle, like a young stag.
There he stands beside the wall.
He looks in through the window
and glances through the lattice.
The Man
Come then, my love;
my darling, come with me.
11 The winter is over; the rains have stopped;
12 in the countryside the flowers are in bloom.
This is the time for singing;
the song of doves is heard in the fields.
13 Figs are beginning to ripen;
the air is fragrant with blossoming vines.
Come then, my love;
my darling, come with me.
14 You are like a dove that hides
in the crevice of a rock.
Let me see your lovely face
and hear your enchanting voice.
15 Catch the foxes, the little foxes,
before they ruin our vineyard in bloom.
The Woman
16 My lover is mine, and I am his.
He feeds his flock among the lilies
17 until the morning breezes blow
and the darkness disappears.
Return, my darling, like a gazelle,
like a stag on the mountains of Bether.d
3 Asleep on my bed, night after night
I dreamt of the one I love;
I was looking for him, but couldn’t find him.
2 I went wandering through the city,
through its streets and alleys.
I looked for the one I love.
I looked, but couldn’t find him.
3 The watchmen patrolling the city saw me.
I asked them, “Have you found my lover?”
4 As soon as I left them, I found him.
I held him and wouldn’t let him go
until I took him to my mother’s house,
to the room where I was born.
5 Promise me, women of Jerusalem;
swear by the swift deer and the gazelles
that you will not interrupt our love.
The Woman
6 What is this coming from the desert like a column of smoke,
fragrant with incense and myrrh,
the incense sold by the traders?
7 Solomon is coming, carried on his throne;
sixty soldiers form the bodyguard,
the finest soldiers in Israel.
8 All of them are skilful with the sword;
they are battle-hardened veterans.
Each of them is armed with a sword,
on guard against a night attack.
9 King Solomon is carried on a throne
made of the finest wood.
10 Its posts are covered with silver;
over it is cloth embroidered with gold.
Its cushions are covered with purple cloth,
lovingly woven by the women of Jerusalem.
11 Women of Zion, come and see King Solomon.
He is wearing the crown that his mother placed
on his head on his wedding day,
on the day of his gladness and joy.
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About Good News TranslationThis Bible uses simple everyday language and vocabulary shared by everyone regardless of age or background. The "dynamic equivalence" in translation communicates the meaning and style of the original in a unique way. Also known as Today's English Version. |
Copyright |
The Good News Translation Bible text used in this product is being used by permission. Copyright © American Bible Society, 1966, 1971, 1976, 1992. Quotation Rights for The Good News Translation The American Bible Society is glad to grant authors and publishers the right to use up to one thousand (1,000) verses from The Good News Translation text in church, religious and other publications without the need to seek and receive written permission. However, the extent of quotation must not comprise a complete book nor should it amount to more than 50% of the work. The proper copyright notice must appear on the title or copyright page. When quotations from GNT are used in a non-saleable media, such as church bulletins, orders of service, posters, transparencies or similar media, a complete copyright notice is not required, but the initials (GNT) must appear at the end of each quotation. Requests for quotations in excess of one thousand (1,000) verses in any publication must be directed to, and written approval received from, the American Bible Society, 1865 Broadway, New York, NY 10023. |
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