eng_aiv Amundson Interpretive Version Song of Solomon Song of Solomon Song of Solomon Song Song of Solomon id=eng_aiv name=Amundson Interpretive Version (AIV) status=draft spec=USFM-USX 3.1.1 export=2026-11-02 char:add=translator-addition-italic char:wj=words-of-Jesus-as-received-unmapped note:f=footnotes para:r=parallel-passage-references para:d=psalm-superscriptions The Bride Confesses Her Love (Ephesians 5:22–33; 1 Peter 3:1–7) The Song of Songs that is of Solomon.1.1 Most translators add subheadings for speaker identifications such as The Bride, The Groom, and The Friends based on the gender and number of the Hebrew words. The Bride Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth! For your love is better than wine. Your oils are good for fragrance; your name is oil poured out; upon thus the maidens love you. Draw me after you, let us run! The king has brought me into his chambers. We will rejoice and will be glad in you; we will cause your love to be remembered more than wine; rightly do they love you. The Friends The Bride Black am I, and lovely, O daughters of Jerusalem, like the tents of Kedar, like the curtains of Solomon. Do not look at me because I am black, for the sun has gazed upon me. The sons of my mother were hot with me; they set me keeping the vineyards; my own vineyard I have not kept. Declare to me, O one my soul loves, where do you pasture, where do you let them rest at midday? For why should I be as one veiling herself to go alongside the flocks of your companions? The Friends If you do not know it for yourself, O fairest among the women, go forth yourself in the tracks of the flock, and pasture your young goats beside the tents of the shepherds. The Bridegroom To a mare among the chariots of Pharaoh I have likened you, my darling. Lovely are your cheeks with ornaments, your neck with strings of jewels. The Friends Ornaments of gold we will make for you, with studs of silver. The Bride While the king was at his table, my spikenard gave forth its fragrance. A bundle of myrrh is my beloved to me; between my breasts it lodges. A cluster of henna blossoms is my beloved to me in the vineyards of En-gedi. The Bridegroom Behold, you are beautiful, my darling, behold, you are beautiful! Your eyes are doves. The Bride Behold, you are beautiful, my beloved, truly lovely indeed! Our bed is green. The Bridegroom The beams of our house are cedars, our rafters are firs. The Bride’s Admiration The Bride I am a rose of Sharon,2.1 Sharon Plain is a region in the coastal plain of Israel a lily of the valleys. The Bridegroom Like a lily among the thorns, so is my love among the daughters. The Bride Like an apple tree among the trees of the woods, so is my beloved among the sons; in his shade I have delighted and sat down, and his fruit is sweet to my palate. He has brought me to the house of wine,2.4 That is, the banquet hall and his banner over me was love. Sustain me with raisin-cakes, refresh me with apples— for I am sick with love. His left hand is under my head, and his right hand embraces me. I adjure you⁺, O daughters of Jerusalem, by the gazelles or by the does of the field— do not arouse or awaken love, until it pleases. The voice of my beloved! Behold, this one is coming, leaping over the mountains, bounding over the hills. My beloved is being like to a gazelle, or to a young stag of the deer. Behold, this one is standing behind our wall, gazing through the windows, peering through the lattices. My beloved answered and said to me, “Rise up, my darling, my beautiful one, come away yourself! For, behold, the winter has passed by; the rain has passed; it has gone itself. The blossoms have appeared in the land, the time of singing2.12 Or pruning has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land; the fig tree puts forth her green figs, and the vines in blossom have given forth the fragrance. Arise, come my darling, my beautiful one, and come away yourself!” The Bridegroom O my dove in the clefts of the rock, in the crevices of the cliff, let me see your face, let me hear your voice; for your voice is sweet and your appearance is lovely. The Friends Catch for us the foxes, the little foxes ruining the vineyards, and our vineyards are in blossom. The Bride My beloved is unto me and I unto him; he is grazing among the lilies. Until the day breathes and the shadows flee, may you turn and be likened yourself, my beloved, to a gazelle or to a young stag of the deer, upon the mountains of Bether.2.17 Or the rugged mountains The Bride’s Dream On my bed in the night I sought him whom my soul loves; I sought him, and I did not find him. Now I will rise and go about the city, in the streets and in the broad places; I will seek the one whom my soul loves. I sought him, and I did not find him. The guards found me in their going round about the city. “The one my soul loves, have you⁺ seen him?” Scarcely had I passed by them when I found the one my soul loves; I held him, and I would not let him go, until I had brought him to the house of my mother, and into the chamber of her who conceived me. I adjure you⁺, O daughters of Jerusalem, by the gazelles or by the does of the field, do not arouse or awaken love, until it pleases. Solomon Arrives on His Wedding Day Who is this coming up from the wilderness, like pillars of smoke, scented with myrrh and frankincense, with all the fragrant powders of the merchant? Behold, it is the couch3.7 That is, the couch on which servants carry a king of Solomon! Sixty mighty men are around it, the mighty ones of Israel. All of them are grasping a sword, studied in warfare; each man has his sword upon his thigh, against the dread in the nights. King Solomon has made a carriage for himself from the trees of the Lebanon. Its pillars He has made of silver, its back of gold, its seat of purple; its midst is inlaid with love, by the daughters of Jerusalem. Go forth and gaze, O daughters of Zion, at King Solomon, at the crown with which his mother crowned him on the day of his wedding, and on the day of the joy of his heart. Solomon Admires His Bride The Bridegroom Behold, you are beautiful, my darling, behold, you are beautiful! Your eyes are doves behind your veil; your hair is like a flock of the goats streaming down from Mount Gilead. Your teeth are like a flock shorn, having come up from the washing, all of which have twins, and there is not a bereaved one among them. Like a thread of scarlet are your lips, and your mouth is lovely. Like the halves of the pomegranate is your temple, behind your veil. Like the tower of David is your neck, built with rows of stones; a thousand shields hang on it, all the shields of the mighty ones. Your two breasts are like two fawns, twins of a gazelle, grazing among the lilies. Until the day breathes, and the shadows flee, I will go my way to the mountain of myrrh, and to the hill of frankincense. All of you is beautiful, my darling, and there is not a blemish on you. Come with me from Lebanon, my bride, with me from Lebanon! Descend4.8 Or Look down or Travel from the top of Amana, from the top of Senir and Hermon, from the dens of the lions, from the mountains of the leopards. You have captured my heart, my sister, my bride; you have captured my heart with one of your eyes, with one jewel of your neck. How beautiful is your love, my sister, my bride! How much better is your love than wine, and the scent of your oils than all spices! Your lips drip with nectar, my bride; honey and milk are under your tongue, and the fragrance of your garments is like the fragrance of Lebanon. A garden locked up is my sister, my bride— a spring locked up, a fountain sealed. Your shoots are an orchard of pomegranates, with the choicest of fruits, henna with nard, nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense, myrrh and aloes, with all the finest spices, a fountain of gardens, a well of living water,4.15 Or flowing water or fresh water and flowing down from Lebanon. The Bride Awake, north wind, and come, south wind! Breathe on my garden, that its spices may flow out. Let my beloved come to his garden, and eat the fruit of its excellencies. The Bride and Her Beloved The Bridegroom I have come to my garden, my sister, my bride; I have plucked my myrrh with my spice; I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey; I have drunk my wine with my milk. Eat, friends, drink, and drink freely, O beloved ones! The Friends The Bride I was asleep, and my heart was aroused. A sound! My beloved is knocking: “Open to me, my sister, my darling, my dove, my flawless one. For my head is full of dew, my locks of the drops of the night.” I have taken off my garment— how do I put it on? I have washed my feet— how do I soil them? My beloved stretched out his hand to the latch, and my bowels murmered for him. I arose to open up for my beloved, and my hands dripped with myrrh, and my fingers covered over with myrrh on the palms of the bolt. I opened for my beloved, and my beloved had turned away and had gone! My heart went forth at his speaking. I sought him, and could not find him; I called to him, and he did not answer me. The guards found me in their going round about the city. They struck me, they bruised me, the guards of the walls; they lifted my wrap from me. I adjure you⁺, O daughters of Jerusalem, if you⁺ find my beloved, what you⁺ should declare to him: I am sick with love. The Friends How is your beloved above any beloved, O beautiful one among the women? How is your beloved above any beloved, that thus you adjure us? The Bride My beloved is dazzling and ruddy, distinguished above a myriad. His head is gold, pure gold; his locks are wavy, black like the raven. His eyes are like doves beside channels of waters, washed with milk, sitting beside a full pool. His cheeks are like a bed of spice, towers of perfume. His lips lilies, dripping with flowing myrrh. His hands are rods of gold, set with beryl; his belly is a plate of ivory, covered with sapphires; his legs are pillars of marble, set on bases of pure gold; his appearance is like the Lebanon, being excellent like the cedars. His mouth5.16 Or palate is sweetness, and all of him is desireable. This is my beloved, and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem! Together in the Garden The Friends Where has your beloved gone, O fairest among the women? Where has your beloved turned aside, that we may seek him with you? The Bride My beloved has gone to his garden, to the beds of spice, to graze in the gardens and to gather up the lilies. I am unto my beloved and my beloved is unto me; he is grazing among the lilies. The Bridegroom You are beautiful as Tirzah, my darling, lovely as Jerusalem, awesome as bannered hosts. Turn away your eyes from me, for they have overcome me. Your hair is like a flock of the goats streaming down from the Gilead. Your teeth are like a flock of ewes that have come up from the washing; each has its twin, and not a bereaved one is among them. Like the halves of the pomegranate is your temple behind your veil. Sixty are they, the queens, and eighty the concubines, and maidens without number. One she is, my dove, my perfect one; one she is, pure for her mother, she who bore her. The daughters saw her, and called her blessed; and the queens and the concubines, they praised her. The Friends Who is this one shining like the dawn, beautiful as the moon, pure as the sun, awesome as bannered hosts? The Bridegroom To the garden of the nut tree I went down, to look on the green of the valley, to see the vine had sprouted and the pomegranates had bloomed. I did not know it, my soul had set me among the chariots of my noble people.6.12 Or among the royal chariots of my people or among the chariots of Amminadab The Friends Return, return, O Shulammite! Return, return, that we may gaze on you. The Bridegroom Why should you⁺ gaze on the Shulammite as on the dance in of Mahanaim?6.13 Or the dance of the two camps Admiration by the Bridegroom How beautiful are your feet in the sandals, O daughter of a noble! The curves of your thighs are like jewels, the work of the hands of an artisan. Your navel is a bowl of roundness— it is not lacking in mixed wine. Your belly is a mound of wheat, fenced around with the lilies. Your two breasts are like two fawns, twins of a gazelle. Your neck is like a tower of ivory. Your eyes are the pools in Heshbon by the gate of Bath-Rabbim. Your nose is like the tower of Lebanon, looking to the face of Damascus. Your head is upon you like Carmel, and the hair of your head is like purple— a king is bound in the tresses! How beautiful and how pleasant, O my love, in your delights! This stature of yours is like a palm tree, and your breasts are like clusters of fruit. I said, “I will go up on the palm tree, I will grab hold of its boughs.” And may your breasts be now like the clusters of the vine, and the fragrance of your breath like the apples, and your mouth7.9 Or palate like wine of the best. It is flowing to my beloved smoothly, gliding over lips and teeth.7.9 LXX, Syriac, and Vulgate; Hebrew gliding gently over lips as we sleep The Bride I am unto my beloved, and for me is his desire. Come, my beloved, let us go forth to the field; let us spend the night among the wildflowers.7.11 Or among the henna blossoms or in the villages Let us go out early to the vineyards; let us see if the vine has sprouted, if the blossoms have opened and the pomegranates have budded; there I will give my love to you. The mandrakes give off a scent, and at our door is every delicacy, new and old, my beloved, which I have stored up for you. Longing for Her Beloved Who will give you as a brother to me, one having nursed at the breasts of my mother! If I found you outside, I would kiss you; yes, no one would despise me. I would lead you, I would bring you into the house of my mother, she who taught me; I would give you to drink from the wine of spice, from the juice of my pomegranate. His left hand is under my head, and his right hand embraces me. I adjure you⁺, O daughters of Jerusalem, why stir up and why awaken love until it pleases. The Friends Who is this coming up from the wilderness, leaning upon her beloved? Under the apple tree I awakened you; there your mother conceived you; there she travailed and brought you forth. The Bride Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm. For strong as death is love, cruel as Sheol is jealousy;8.6 Or zeal or passion its flames are flames of fire, a blazing flame. Many waters are not able to quench love, and the rivers cannot wash it away. If a man would give all the wealth of his house for love, they would despise it with great despising. The Friends A little sister is unto us, and breasts are not unto her. What shall we do for our sister, on the day one should speak for her? If she is a wall, we will build upon her a tower of silver; and if she is a door, we will enclose her with a plank of cedar. The Bride I am a wall, and my breasts are like towers. Then I have become in his eyes like one finding peace. There was a vineyard unto Solomon in Baal-hamon. He gave out the vineyard to those keeping it; a man would bring for its fruit a thousand pieces of silver.8.11 A thousand (pieces) of silver is approximately 25.1 pounds or 11.4 kilograms of silver My vineyard is—my own—is before me; the thousand is unto you, O Solomon, and two hundred to those keeping watch over its fruit. The Bridegroom O you dwelling in the gardens, my companions are listening to your voice— let me hear it! The Bride Flee, my beloved, and liken yourself to a gazelle, or to a young stag of the deer, on the mountains of spices.