NKJV Bible in 365 Days
Love’s Longing and the Beauty of Desire — June 23
Song of Solomon 1-4
Song of Solomon 1
1 The song of songs, which is Solomon’s. 365N 174.1
2 Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth— For [b] your love is better than wine. 365N 174.2
3 Because of the fragrance of your good ointments, Your name is ointment poured forth; Therefore the virgins love you. 365N 174.3
4 Draw me away! We will run after [c] you. The king has brought me into his chambers. We will be glad and rejoice in [d] you. We will remember your love more than wine. Rightly do they love you. 365N 174.4
5 I am dark, but lovely, O daughters of Jerusalem, Like the tents of Kedar, Like the curtains of Solomon. 365N 174.5
6 Do not look upon me, because I am dark, Because the sun has [e] tanned me. My mother’s sons were angry with me; They made me the keeper of the vineyards, But my own vineyard I have not kept. 365N 174.6
7 Tell me, O you whom I love, Where you feed your flock, Where you make it rest at noon. For why should I be as one who [f] veils herself By the flocks of your companions? 365N 174.7
8 If you do not know, O fairest among women, [g] Follow in the footsteps of the flock, And feed your little goats Beside the shepherds’ tents. 365N 174.8
9 I have compared you, my love, To my filly among Pharaoh’s chariots. 365N 174.9
10 Your cheeks are lovely with ornaments, Your neck with chains of gold. 365N 174.10
11 We will make [h] you ornaments of gold With studs of silver. 365N 174.11
12 While the king is at his table, My [i] spikenard sends forth its fragrance. 365N 174.12
13 A bundle of myrrh is my beloved to me, That lies all night between my breasts. 365N 174.13
14 My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blooms In the vineyards of En Gedi. 365N 174.14
15 Behold, you are fair, [j] my love! Behold, you are fair! You have dove’s eyes. 365N 174.15
16 Behold, you are handsome, my beloved! Yes, pleasant! Also our [k] bed is green. 365N 174.16
17 The beams of our houses are cedar, And our rafters of fir. 365N 174.17
Song of Solomon 2
1 I am the rose of Sharon, And the lily of the valleys. 365N 174.18
2 Like a lily among thorns, So is my love among the daughters. 365N 174.19
3 Like an apple tree among the trees of the woods, So is my beloved among the sons. I sat down in his shade with great delight, And his fruit was sweet to my taste. 365N 174.20
4 He brought me to the [a] banqueting house, And his banner over me was love. 365N 174.21
5 Sustain me with cakes of raisins, Refresh me with apples, For I am lovesick. 365N 174.22
6 His left hand is under my head, And his right hand embraces me. 365N 174.23
7 I [b] charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, By the gazelles or by the does of the field, Do not stir up nor awaken love Until it pleases. 365N 174.24
8 The voice of my beloved! Behold, he comes Leaping upon the mountains, Skipping upon the hills. 365N 174.25
9 My beloved is like a gazelle or a young stag. Behold, he stands behind our wall; He is looking through the windows, Gazing through the lattice. 365N 174.26
10 My beloved spoke, and said to me: “Rise up, my love, my fair one, And come away. 365N 174.27
11 For lo, the winter is past, The rain is over and gone. 365N 174.28
12 The flowers appear on the earth; The time of singing has come, And the voice of the turtledove Is heard in our land. 365N 174.29
13 The fig tree puts forth her green figs, And the vines with the tender grapes Give a good smell. Rise up, my love, my fair one, And come away! 365N 174.30
14 “O my dove, in the clefts of the rock, In the secret places of the cliff, Let me see your [c] face, Let me hear your voice; For your voice is sweet, And your face is lovely.” 365N 174.31
15 Catch us the foxes, The little foxes that spoil the vines, For our vines have tender grapes. 365N 174.32
16 My beloved is mine, and I am his. He feeds his flock among the lilies. 365N 174.33
17 Until the day breaks And the shadows flee away, Turn, my beloved, And be like a gazelle Or a young stag Upon the mountains of [d] Bether. 365N 174.34
Song of Solomon 3
1 By night on my bed I sought the one I love; I sought him, but I did not find him. 365N 174.35
2 “I will rise now,” I said, “And go about the city; In the streets and in the squares I will seek the one I love.” I sought him, but I did not find him. 365N 174.36
3 The watchmen who go about the city found me; I said, “Have you seen the one I love?” 365N 174.37
4 Scarcely had I passed by them, When I found the one I love. I held him and would not let him go, Until I had brought him to the house of my mother, And into the [a] chamber of her who conceived me. 365N 174.38
5 I [b] charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, By the gazelles or by the does of the field, Do not stir up nor awaken love Until it pleases. 365N 174.39
6 Who is this coming out of the wilderness Like pillars of smoke, Perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, With all the merchant’s fragrant powders? 365N 174.40
7 Behold, it is Solomon’s couch, With sixty valiant men around it, Of the valiant of Israel. 365N 174.41
8 They all hold swords, Being expert in war. Every man has his sword on his thigh Because of fear in the night. 365N 174.42
9 Of the wood of Lebanon Solomon the King Made himself a [c] palanquin: 365N 174.43
10 He made its pillars of silver, Its support of gold, Its seat of purple, Its interior paved with love By the daughters of Jerusalem. 365N 174.44
11 Go forth, O daughters of Zion, And see King Solomon with the crown With which his mother crowned him On the day of his wedding, The day of the gladness of his heart. 365N 174.45
Song of Solomon 4
1 Behold, you are fair, my love! Behold, you are fair! You have dove’s eyes behind your veil. Your hair is like a flock of goats, Going down from Mount Gilead. 365N 174.46
2 Your teeth are like a flock of shorn sheep Which have come up from the washing, Every one of which bears twins, And none is [a] barren among them. 365N 174.47
3 Your lips are like a strand of scarlet, And your mouth is lovely. Your temples behind your veil Are like a piece of pomegranate. 365N 174.48
4 Your neck is like the tower of David, Built for an armory, On which hang a thousand [b] bucklers, All shields of mighty men. 365N 174.49
5 Your two breasts are like two fawns, Twins of a gazelle, Which feed among the lilies. 365N 174.50
6 Until the day breaks And the shadows flee away, I will go my way to the mountain of myrrh And to the hill of frankincense. 365N 174.51
7 You are all fair, my love, And there is no spot in you. 365N 174.52
8 Come with me from Lebanon, my spouse, With me from Lebanon. Look from the top of Amana, From the top of Senir and Hermon, From the lions’ dens, From the mountains of the leopards. 365N 174.53
9 You have ravished my heart, My sister, my spouse; You have ravished my heart With one look of your eyes, With one link of your necklace. 365N 174.54
10 How fair is your love, My sister, my spouse! How much better than wine is your love, And the [c] scent of your perfumes Than all spices! 365N 174.55
11 Your lips, O my spouse, Drip as the honeycomb; Honey and milk are under your tongue; And the fragrance of your garments Is like the fragrance of Lebanon. 365N 174.56
12 A garden [d] enclosed Is my sister, my spouse, A spring shut up, A fountain sealed. 365N 174.57
13 Your plants are an orchard of pomegranates With pleasant fruits, Fragrant henna with spikenard, 365N 174.58
14 Spikenard and saffron, Calamus and cinnamon, With all trees of frankincense, Myrrh and aloes, With all the chief spices— 365N 174.59
15 A fountain of gardens, A well of living waters, And streams from Lebanon. 365N 174.60
16 Awake, O north wind, And come, O south! Blow upon my garden, That its spices may flow out. Let my beloved come to his garden And eat its pleasant fruits. 365N 174.61