Song of Songs

“Place me like a seal over your heart, like a seal on your arm; for love is as strong as death, its jealousy unyielding as the grave. It burns like blazing fire, like a mighty flame.” The Song of Songs is the twenty-second book of The Bible. In some translations, this book is entitled The Song of Solomon. It is also known as The Best Song. Replete with metaphor, the beautifully composed poetic work is a love song that describes the wooing and wedding of a lowly but very comely shepherdess to the great king Solomon. It speaks of the joys of love as well as its heartaches. Song of Songs is unique within the Bible: it shows no interest in Law or Covenant, nor does it teach or explore "wisdom" like Proverbs or Ecclesiastes; instead, it seems to celebrate sexual love. It gives "the voices of two lovers, praising each other, yearning for each other, proffering invitations to enjoy". The two are in harmony, each desiring the other and rejoicing in sexual intimacy; the women of Jerusalem form a chorus to the lovers, functioning as an audience whose participation in the lovers' erotic encounters facilitates the participation of the reader. Included in this anthology presentation: The King James Version Douay-Rheims Version The American Standard Version Bible in Basic English Version Webster Bible Version The Matthew Henry Commentary