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Atomic Bible
Song of Songs

Chapter 1

The Bride Confesses Her Love and more

Song of Songs 1 opens by introducing the lovers' world of desire, admiration, beauty, and belonging through alternating voices from the bride, the friends, and the bridegroom. The chapter moves from longing and self-description to mutual praise, establishing the poem's atmosphere of covenantal delight, exclusivity, and reciprocal affection.

As the opening chapter of Song of Songs, this passage sets the relational tone for the whole book by presenting love as joyful, embodied, verbal, and mutually attentive. It introduces the central speakers and begins the pattern of yearning, pursuit, and praise that will carry the poem forward.

10 sections·125 words·~1 min read

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Song of Songs 1

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vv. 1

The Bride Confesses Her Love

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T1his is Solomon’s Song of Songs.

vv. 2-4

The Bride

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L2et him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth! 3The fragrance of your perfume is pleasing; 4Take me away with you— let us hurry!

vv. 5-7

The Bride

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I5 am dark, yet lovely, O daughters of Jerusalem, 6Do not stare because I am dark, 7Tell me, O one I love,

vv. 8

The Friends

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I8f you do not know, O fairest of women,

vv. 9-10

The Bridegroom

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I9 compare you, my darling, 10Your cheeks are beautiful with ornaments,

vv. 11

The Friends

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W11e will make you ornaments of gold,

vv. 12-14

The Bride

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W12hile the king was at his table, 13My beloved is to me a sachet of myrrh 14My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blossoms

vv. 15

The Bridegroom

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H15ow beautiful you are, my darling!

vv. 16

The Bride

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H16ow handsome you are, my beloved!

vv. 17

The Bridegroom

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T17he beams of our house are cedars;

Section map

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Each section keeps the passage focused, adds summaries and cross references, and gives verse-level links.

  1. 01vv. 1The Bride Confesses Her LoveThe song opens with a brief superscription that attributes the poem to Solomon and signals the elevated character of what follows. This single line functions as a threshold into the book's poetic world of covenantal love and royal beauty.
  2. 02vv. 2-4The BrideThe bride voices her desire for the bridegroom's kisses and praises the sweetness of his love, fragrance, and name, drawing the daughters of Jerusalem into her joy. Her words portray love as attractive, honorable, and intoxicating, setting desire in a communal context of admiration rather than shame.
  3. 03vv. 5-7The BrideThe bride acknowledges her darkened appearance and explains it as the result of labor imposed by others, not a lack of beauty. She then asks the one she loves where he pastures his flock, expressing a desire to find him openly and not wander like one left outside his presence.
  4. 04vv. 8The FriendsThe friends answer the bride by directing her toward the shepherd's paths and the places where she may remain near the beloved. Their brief response affirms her beauty while guiding her toward the ordered setting where the relationship unfolds.
  5. 05vv. 9-10The BridegroomThe bridegroom begins his praise by comparing the bride to a beautiful mare among Pharaoh's chariots, then admiring her cheeks and neck adorned with ornaments. His words elevate her beauty with royal and noble imagery, showing that desire is joined to honor and admiration.
  6. 06vv. 11The FriendsThe friends add their own contribution by promising ornaments of gold with studs of silver. Their words reinforce the chapter's atmosphere of celebration and communal affirmation around the bride's beauty.
  7. 07vv. 12-14The BrideThe bride returns to describe the beloved's presence as fragrant and precious, comparing him to myrrh resting near her and to henna blossoms in the vineyards of En-gedi. Her language turns desire into concentrated delight, savoring the beloved as a treasure kept close.
  8. 08vv. 15The BridegroomThe bridegroom answers with direct praise, calling the bride beautiful and comparing her eyes to doves. His brief words continue the mutuality of admiration that defines the chapter.
  9. 09vv. 16The BrideThe bride answers with her own praise, calling the beloved handsome and delightful. Her response sustains the chapter's pattern of reciprocal speech rather than one-sided admiration.
  10. 10vv. 17The BridegroomThe chapter closes with the bridegroom describing the beams and rafters of their house as cedars and cypresses, ending on an image of beauty, shelter, and durable intimacy. The scene leaves the lovers framed within a richly imagined home of delight and belonging.
All 8 chapters in Song of SongsNextChapter 2