Song of Songs 1:8-10
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
8 M If you do not know,
most beautiful among women,
Follow the tracks of the flock
and pasture your lambs[a]
near the shepherds’ tents.
Love’s Vision
9 M To a mare among Pharaoh’s chariotry[b]
I compare you, my friend:
10 Your cheeks lovely in pendants,
your neck in jewels.
Footnotes
- 1:8 Pasture your lambs: both the woman and the man act as shepherds in the Song.
- 1:9–11 The man compares the woman’s beauty to the rich adornment of the royal chariot of Pharaoh. My friend: a special feminine form of the word “friend,” appearing only in the Song (1:15; 2:2, 10, 13; 4:1, 7; 5:2; 6:4) and used to express endearment and equality in love. Cf. Hos 3:1 for the use of the masculine form of the term in a context with sexual overtones.
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