Wedding reading
Song of Solomon 2:10–13
King James Bible
“Song of Solomon 2:10–13” (King James Bible) is a scripture reading read at a wedding ceremony. It takes about 40 seconds read aloud, usually by a guest reader. It is in the public domain, so the full text is printed on this page and goes straight into a ceremony script.
The full text
My beloved spake, and said unto me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away. For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone; The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land; The fig tree putteth forth her green figs, and the vines with the tender grape give a good smell. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.
Public domain, so these words can be printed in a ceremony script or an order of service.
Where it comes from
The book’s first verse calls it “The song of songs, which is Solomon’s”, and the Song of Solomon is a sequence of love poems with no mention of God anywhere in it.
What it says
One lover calls the other outside: winter is over, the rain has gone, flowers are coming up and birds are singing again. The fig tree is ripening and the vines smell sweet. It is an invitation, rise up and come away, set in the first warm days of the year. Nothing in it is about duty or doctrine; it is about the feeling of a season turning and wanting someone beside you to see it.
The one that sounds like a love letter, because it is one. Read at a wedding ceremony. Themes: spring · longing · beauty · invitation · an outdoor wedding.
Who it suits
Spring and early summer weddings, garden and outdoor ceremonies, and couples who want a Bible reading that sounds like a love poem rather than a sermon. It suits a religious family and a secular couple at the same time. It is less suited to a winter wedding unless the officiant makes the contrast part of the point.
Where it goes in the ceremony
A natural opening reading, right after the welcome, because it sets the scene. It is also used as the couple walks in, read over quiet music. A friend or sibling usually reads it.
Reading it aloud
The text on this page is 83 words. At a ceremony pace of about 130 words a minute, which is slower than conversation, that comes to about 40 seconds of reading.
- Read it as speech from one lover to another, not as scripture. Warm, unhurried and a little conversational.
- “The voice of the turtle” means the turtledove. If the reader is worried about a laugh, the officiant can mention it in the introduction, or use a modern translation for that one word with the couple’s agreement.
- The opening and closing lines are nearly the same call to rise up and come away. Make the second one softer, as an ending.
Questions about reading it aloud
How long does “Song of Solomon 2:10–13” take to read aloud?
“Song of Solomon 2:10–13” takes about 40 seconds read aloud at a ceremony pace, which is slower than conversation — roughly 130 words a minute. That is the figure the run-sheet uses when it works out the timing for the whole service.
Who usually reads “Song of Solomon 2:10–13”?
Usually a guest reader rather than the officiant. “Song of Solomon 2:10–13” runs about 40 seconds, which is a manageable amount to hand to a friend or family member. Give them a printed copy of their own, in a size they can read without their glasses, and tell them where to stand and how you will introduce them.
Can “Song of Solomon 2:10–13” be printed in a ceremony script?
Yes. It is in the public domain, so the full text is on this page and can be printed in a script or an order of service.
Where this text was checked
Checked word for word against a full-text edition that is itself the authority — a Project Gutenberg or Wikisource transcription, a publisher’s own edition, or the issuing body’s page.
Checked
A reading is two minutes of the hour.
The rest is the welcome, the vows, the ring exchange, the pronouncement — and the timing that holds them together. Answer some questions about the couple and get the whole ceremony, written out, with this reading in its place.
Other readings that suit the same service
- Song of Solomon 8:6–735 secondsThe same book, at its most intense: love as strong as death
- A Birthday30 secondsA Victorian poem with the same burst of joy
- A Red, Red Rose45 secondsAnother short song-like love poem for a garden ceremony
- Isaiah 55:10–12a minute and a halfKing James Bible
- 1 Corinthians 13:4–8a45 secondsKing James Bible
- 1 Corinthians 13:1–13two minutesKing James Bible