2 "Please kiss me with the kisses of your mouth! For your love is better than wine." 3 "Your anointing oils are fragrant, your name is oil poured out, therefore the maidens love you." 4 "Draw me after you and let us run together! The king has brought me into his chambers."
"We will rejoice in you and be glad, We will extol your love more than wine. The upright love you."

5 "I am dark but lovely, O daughters of Jerusalem, like the tents of Kedar, like the curtains of Solomon." 6 "Do not stare at me because I am darkened by the sun. My mother's sons were angry with me and made me take care of the vineyards, while I have neglected my own vineyard."

7 "Tell me, my love, where do you pasture your flock? Where do you make your flock to lie down at noon? For why should I be like one who veils herself beside the flocks of your companions?" 8 "If you do not know, most beautiful among women, go out on the trail of the flock and pasture your young goats by the tents of the shepherds."

9 "My darling, you are to me like my mare among the chariots of Pharaoh." 10 "Your cheeks are lovely with ornaments, your neck with chains of gold." 11 "We will make you earrings of gold, studded with silver."

12 While the king was at his table, my perfume (spikenard) spread its fragrance.

COMMENT: Mary anointed Jesus with spikenard.

Mark 14:3 Jesus had gone to eat at the home of Simon the leper. As He was reclining at the table, a woman came with an alabaster container of costly perfume. It was pure nard and very costly. She broke the seal and poured it on His head.

13 My lover is to me a sachet of myrrh resting between my breasts. 14 My lover is to me a cluster of henna blossoms from the vineyards of Engedi.

15 "How beautiful you are, my darling, How beautiful you are! Your eyes are like doves."

16 "How handsome you are, my beloved, and so pleasant! Indeed, our couch is luxuriant!" 17 "The beams of our house are cedars, and our rafters are firs.

Song of Solomon 2 - RWB Paraphrase (17 V)
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1 "I am the rose of Sharon, the lily of the valleys." 2 "Like a lily among the thorns, so is my darling among the maidens."

3 "Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest, so is my beloved among the young men. In his shade I took great delight and sat down, and enjoyed his fruit." 4 "He has taken me to the banquet hall, and his banner over me is love." 5 "Strengthen me with raisins, refresh me with apples, for I am faint with love." 6 "His left arm is under my head, and his right arm embraces me."

Memories Of Courtship
7 "Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you by the gazelles and by the does of the field, do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires."

8 "The voice of my beloved! Behold, he comes, leaping upon the mountains, bounding over the hills." 9 "My lover is like a gazelle or a young stag. Look! There he stands behind our wall, gazing through the windows, peering through the lattice." 10 "My lover spoke and said to me, 'Arise, my darling, my beautiful one, and come with me.' 11 'For behold, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone.' 12 'The flowers appear on the earth, the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land.' 13 'The fig tree puts forth her green figs, and the vines with the tender grapes give a fragrance. Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away!' 14 'O my dove, in the clefts of the rock, in the secret place of the steep pathway, let me see your form, let me hear your voice, for your voice is sweet, and your form is lovely.' 15 'Catch the little foxes that are ruining the vineyards while they are in blossom.'"

16 "My beloved is mine and I am his. He pastures his flock among the lilies. 17 "Until the day breaks and the shadows flee, turn, my lover, and be like a gazelle or like a young stag on the rugged hills.

Song of Solomon 3 - RWB Paraphrase (11 V)
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1 All night long on my bed I looked for the one my heart loves, I looked for him but did not find him. 2 I will get up and go through the city streets and squares. I will search for the one my heart loves. So I looked for him but I could not find him. 3 The watchmen found me as they made their rounds in the city. I said to them, "Have you seen the one my heart loves?" 4 Scarcely had I passed them when I found him. I held him and would not let him go until I had brought him to my mother's house, to the room of the one who conceived me.

Memories Of Engagement
5 Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you by the gazelles and the does of the field, do not arouse or awaken my love until he so desires. 6 "Who is this that cometh out of the wilderness like pillars of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, and with all scented powders?" 7 "Look! It is Solomon's carriage, escorted by sixty warriors, the noblest of Israel. 8 "All of them wear the sword and are experienced in battle, prepared for anything that might happen." 9 "King Solomon has made for himself a sedan chair from the timber of Lebanon." 10 "Its posts are of silver, its back of gold and its seat of purple fabric. Its interior has been lovingly fitted out by the daughters of Jerusalem." 11 Come out, you daughters of Zion, to look at King Solomon wearing the crown which his mother placed on his head on the day of his wedding, when his heart rejoiced.

Song of Solomon 4 - RWB Paraphrase (16 V)
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1 "How beautiful you are, my darling! Oh, how beautiful! Your eyes behind your veil are doves and your hair is like a flock of goats descending from Mount Gilead." 2 "Your teeth are like a flock of sheep just shorn, coming up from the washing. Each has its twin, not one of them is alone." 3 "Your lips are like a scarlet ribbon, your mouth is lovely. Your temples behind your veil are like the halves of a pomegranate." 4 "Your neck is like the tower of David, built with elegance. On it hang a thousand warrior shields." 5 "Your two breasts are like twin fawns of a gazelle that browse among the lilies." 6 "Until the cool of the day when the shadows flee away, I will go my way to the mountain of myrrh and to the hill of frankincense." 7 "You are altogether beautiful, my darling. There is no blemish in you." 8 "Come with me from Lebanon, my bride. Descend from the crest of Amana, from the top of Senir, the summit of Hermon, from the lions' dens and the mountain haunts of the leopards." 9 "You have stolen my heart, my bride, with one glance of your eyes, and with one strand of your necklace." 10 "How beautiful is your love, my sister, my bride! Your love is better than wine, and the fragrance of your oils than all kinds of spices!" 11 "Your lips drip honey, my bride. Honey and milk are under your tongue, and the fragrance of your garments is like the fragrance of Lebanon." 12 "A garden enclosed is my sister, my spouse, a spring shut up, a fountain sealed." 13 "Your plants are an orchard of pomegranates with choice fruits, with henna and spikenard." 14 "Nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon, with every kind of incense tree, with myrrh and aloes and all the finest spices." 15 "You are a garden spring having fresh water, and streams flowing from Lebanon." 16 "Awake, north wind, and come, south wind! Blow on my garden, that its fragrance may spread abroad. Let my lover come into his garden and taste its choice fruits.

Song of Solomon 5 - RWB Paraphrase (16 V)
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A Troubling Dream
1 "I have come into my garden, my sister, my bride. I have gathered my myrrh with my spice, and eaten my honey and honeycomb. I have drunk my wine and my milk. Eat, O friends, and drink, drink your fill, O lovers."

2 "I was asleep but my heart was awake. I hear the voice of my beloved. He is knocking. He said, 'Open to me, my sister, my darling, my dove, my perfect one! For my head is drenched with dew, and my locks are damp.'" 3 "I had taken off my robe. Must I put it on again? I have washed my feet. Must I soil them again?" 4 "My beloved put his hand to the latch, and my heart was thrilled within me." 5 "I arose to open for my lover. My hands dripped with myrrh, some of it flowing on the handles of the lock." 6 "When I had opened for my lover, I found that he had gone. My heart sank. I looked for him but did not find him. I called but he did not answer." 7 "The watchmen who make the rounds in the city found me, struck me and wounded me. They took away my shawl." 8 "O daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you, if you find my lover, tell him I am faint with love for him."

9 "What kind of lover is your beloved, O most beautiful among women? Why do you charge us as you have?"

10 "My beloved is dazzling and ruddy, outstanding among ten thousand." 11 "His head is like pure gold, his locks are like clusters of dates and black as a raven." 12 "His eyes are like doves by the water streams, washed in milk, mounted like jewels." 13 His cheeks are like beds of sweet scented herbs, and his lips are like lilies dripping with myrrh. 14 His arms are rods of gold set with chrysolite, and his body is like polished ivory decorated with sapphires. 15 His legs are pillars of marble set on bases of pure gold. His appearance is like Lebanon, choice as the cedars. 16 "His mouth is full of sweetness, and he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved and my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem.

Song of Solomon 6 - RWB Paraphrase (13 V)
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1 "Where has your lover gone, most beautiful of women? Which way did he go, that we may look for him with you?" 2 "My beloved has gone down to his garden, to the beds of spices, to pasture his flock in the gardens and gather lilies."

Praising The Bride's Beauty
3 "I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine. He pastures his flock among the lilies." 4 "You are as beautiful as Tirzah, my darling, as lovely as Jerusalem, as awesome as an army with banners."

5 "Turn your eyes from me, for they overwhelm me. Your hair is like a flock of goats descending from Gilead." 6 "Your teeth are like a flock of sheep coming up from the washing. Each has its twin, with not one missing." 7 "Your temples are like a slice of a pomegranate behind your veil." 8 "There are sixty queens and eighty concubines, and maidens without number," 9 "but you, my dove, my perfect one, are unique. You are your mother's only daughter, the pure child of the one who bore her. The maidens saw her and called her blessed, as did the queens and concubines. They praised her, saying," 10 'Who is this that grows like the dawn, as beautiful as the full moon, as pure as the sun, as awesome as an army with banners?'

11 "I went down to the orchard of nut trees to look at the new growth, and to see whether the vine had budded or the pomegranates had bloomed." 12 "Before I was aware, my fancy set me in a chariot beside my prince."

13 "Return, return, O Shulammite. Return, that we may look upon you. Why should you look upon the Shulammite, as upon two armies coming together.

Song of Solomon 7 - RWB Paraphrase (13 V)
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The Bride's Tender Appeal
1 "How graceful are your feet in sandals, O queenly maiden! Your rounded thighs are like jewels, the work of a master artist." 2 "Your navel is a rounded goblet that never lacks blended wine. Your waist is a mound of wheat encircled by lilies." 3 "Your two breasts are like twin fawns of a gazelle." 4 "Your neck is like an ivory tower. Your eyes are as the pools of Heshbon by the gate of Bathrabbim. Your nose is like the tower of Lebanon looking toward Damascus." 5 "Your head crowns you like Mount Carmel. Your hair is like royal tapestry, and the king is held captive by its tresses." 6 "My love, how beautiful and how delightful you are with all your charms!" 7 "Your stature is like that of the palm, and your breasts like clusters of its fruit." 8 "I said, 'I will climb the palm tree, I will take hold of its fruit.' May your breasts be like the clusters of the vine, the fragrance of your breath like apples," 9 "your kisses like the best wine that goes down smoothly, gliding over lips and teeth."

10 "I am my beloved's, and his desire is for me."

11 "Come, my lover, let us go to the countryside, let us spend the night in the villages." 12 "Let us rise early and go to the vineyards, and see if the vines have budded and the blossoms have opened. Perhaps the pomegranates have bloomed. And there I will give you my love." 13 "The mandrakes send out their fragrance, and at our door is every delicacy, both new and old, that I have stored up for you, my lover.

Song of Solomon 8 - RWB Paraphrase (14 V)
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The Power Of Love
1 "If only you were to me like a brother, who was nursed at my mother's breasts! Then, if I found you outside, I would kiss you, and no one would think anything of it." 2 "I would bring you into the house of my mother, who used to instruct me. I would cause you to drink of spiced wine, of the juice of my pomegranates."

3 "His left arm is under my head and his right arm embraces me." 4 "I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, that you do not wake my love, until he is ready to get up."

5 "Who is this coming up from the desert leaning on her lover? Under the apple tree I roused you, there your mother conceived you, there she who was in labor gave birth to you."

6 "Place me like a seal over your heart, and on your arm, for love is as strong as death, its jealousy unyielding as the grave. It burns like blazing fire that will not go out." 7 "Many waters cannot quench love. Neither will rivers overflow it. If a man were to give all the riches of his house for love, it would be utterly scorned."

8 "We have a young sister, and her breasts are not yet grown. What shall we do for her when she is spoken for?" 9 "If she is a wall, we will build upon her a battlement of silver, but if she is a door, we will enclose her with boards of cedar."

10 "I am a wall, and my breasts are like towers. Thus I have brought him contentment."

11 "Solomon had a vineyard at Baalhamon, and let it out to caretakers. Each was to bring a thousand shekels of silver for its fruit." 12 "My own vineyard is at my disposal. The thousand shekels are for you, Solomon, and two hundred are for those who take care of its fruit."

13 "O you who dwell in the gardens, my companions are listening for your voice. Let me hear it." 14 "Make haste, my beloved, and be like a gazelle or a young stag upon the mountains of spices."

Chapters: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8