The Bride and the Bridegroom

9 I liken you, my darling, to a mare among Pharaoh's chariot horses. 10 Your cheeks are beautiful with earrings, your neck with strings of jewels. 11 We will make you earrings of gold, studded with silver.

12 While the king was at his table, my perfume spread its fragrance. 13 My beloved is to me a sachet of myrrh resting between my breasts. 14 My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blossoms from the vineyards of En Gedi. 15 How beautiful you are, my darling! Oh, how beautiful! Your eyes are doves. 16 How handsome you are, my beloved! Oh, how charming! And our bed is verdant. 17 The beams of our house are cedars; our rafters are firs.

Other Translations of Song of Solomon 1:9-17

King James Version

The Bride and the Bridegroom

9 I have compared thee, O my love, to a company of horses in Pharaoh's chariots. 10 Thy cheeks are comely with rows of jewels, thy neck with chains of gold. 11 We will make thee borders of gold with studs of silver.

12 While the king sitteth at his table, my spikenard sendeth forth the smell thereof. 13 A bundle of myrrh is my wellbeloved unto me; he shall lie all night betwixt my breasts. 14 My beloved is unto me as a cluster of camphire camphire: or, cypress in the vineyards of Engedi. 15 Behold, thou art fair, my love; my love: or, my companion behold, thou art fair; thou hast doves' eyes. 16 Behold, thou art fair, my beloved, yea, pleasant: also our bed is green. 17 The beams of our house are cedar, and our rafters rafters: or, galleries of fir.

English Standard Version

The Bride and the Bridegroom

9 I compare you, my love, to a mare among Pharaoh's chariots. 10 Your cheeks are lovely with ornaments, your neck with strings of jewels. 11 We will make for youThe Hebrew for you is feminine singular ornaments of gold, studded with silver.

12 While the king was on his couch, my nard gave forth its fragrance. 13 My beloved is to me a sachet of myrrh that lies between my breasts. 14 My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blossoms in the vineyards of Engedi. 15 Behold, you are beautiful, my love; behold, you are beautiful; your eyes are doves. 16 Behold, you are beautiful, my beloved, truly delightful. Our couch is green; 17 the beams of our house are cedar; our rafters are pine.

The Message

The Bride and the Bridegroom

9 You remind me of Pharaoh's well-groomed and satiny mares. 10 Pendant earrings line the elegance of your cheeks; strands of jewels illumine the curve of your throat. 11 I'm making jewelry for you, gold and silver jewelry that will mark and accent your beauty.

12 When my King-Lover lay down beside me, my fragrance filled the room. 13 His head resting between my breasts - the head of my lover was a sachet of sweet myrrh. 14 My beloved is a bouquet of wildflowers picked just for me from the fields of Engedi. 15 Oh, my dear friend! You're so beautiful! And your eyes so beautiful - like doves! 16 And you, my dear lover - you're so handsome! And the bed we share is like a forest glen. 17 We enjoy a canopy of cedars enclosed by cypresses, fragrant and green.

New King James Version

The Bride and the Bridegroom

9 I have compared you, my love, To my filly among Pharaoh's chariots. 10 Your cheeks are lovely with ornaments, Your neck with chains of gold. 11 The Daughters of Jerusalem We will make you Feminine singular, that is, the Shulamite ornaments of gold With studs of silver.

12 The Shulamite While the king is at his table, My spikenard sends forth its fragrance. 13 A bundle of myrrh is my beloved to me, That lies all night between my breasts. 14 My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blooms In the vineyards of En Gedi. 15 The Beloved Behold, you are fair, my love! Behold, you are fair! You have dove's eyes. 16 The Shulamite Behold, you are handsome, my beloved! Yes, pleasant! Also our bed is green. 17 The beams of our houses are cedar, And our rafters of fir.

New Living Translation

The Bride and the Bridegroom

9 You are as exciting, my darling, as a mare among Pharaoh's stallions. 10 How lovely are your cheeks; your earrings set them afire! How lovely is your neck, enhanced by a string of jewels. 11 We will make for you earrings of gold and beads of silver.

12 The king is lying on his couch, enchanted by the fragrance of my perfume. 13 My lover is like a sachet of myrrh lying between my breasts. 14 He is like a bouquet of sweet henna blossoms from the vineyards of En-gedi. 15 How beautiful you are, my darling, how beautiful! Your eyes are like doves. 16 You are so handsome, my love, pleasing beyond words! The soft grass is our bed; 17 fragrant cedar branches are the beams of our house, and pleasant smelling firs are the rafters.

Matthew Henry's Commentary on Song of Solomon 1:9-17

Commentary on Song of Solomon 1:9-17

(Read Song of Solomon 1:9-17)

The Bridegroom gives high praises of his spouse. In the sight of Christ believers are the excellent of the earth, fitted to be instruments for promoting his glory. The spiritual gifts and graces which Christ bestows on every true believer, are described by the ornaments then in use, verse 16, speaks with praise of those holy ordinances in which true believers have fellowship with Christ. Whether the believer is in the courts of the Lord, or in retirement; whether following his daily labours, or confined on the bed of sickness, or even in a dungeon, a sense of the Divine presence will turn the place into a paradise. Thus the soul, daily having fellowship with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, enjoys a lively hope of an incorruptible, undefiled, and unfading inheritance above.