Song of Solomon 1:1–8:14
1 The asong of songs, which is Solomon’s.
The 1Shulamite
2 Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth—
bFor 2your love is better than wine.
3 Because of the fragrance of your good ointments,
Your name is ointment poured forth;
Therefore the virgins love you.
4 cDraw me away!
The Daughters of Jerusalem
The Shulamite
The king ehas brought me into his chambers.
The Daughters of Jerusalem
We will be glad and rejoice in 4you.
We will remember 3your love more than wine.
The Shulamite
Rightly do they love 3you.
O daughters of Jerusalem,
Like the tents of Kedar,
Like the curtains of Solomon.
6 Do not look upon me, because I am dark,
Because the sun has 5tanned me.
My mother’s sons were angry with me;
They made me the keeper of the vineyards,
But my own fvineyard I have not kept.
7 Tell me, O you whom I love,
Where you feed your flock,
Where you make it rest at noon.
For why should I be as one who 6veils herself
By the flocks of your companions?
8 If you do not know, gO fairest among women,
7Follow in the footsteps of the flock,
And feed your little goats
Beside the shepherds’ tents.
9 I have compared you, hmy love,
iTo my filly among Pharaoh’s chariots.
10 jYour cheeks are lovely with ornaments,
Your neck with chains of gold.
11 We will make 8you ornaments of gold
With studs of silver.
12 While the king is at his table,
My 9spikenard sends forth its fragrance.
13 A bundle of myrrh is my beloved to me,
That lies all night between my breasts.
14 My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blooms
In the vineyards of En Gedi.
15 kBehold, you are fair, 1my love!
Behold, you are fair!
You have dove’s eyes.
16 Behold, you are lhandsome, my beloved!
Yes, pleasant!
Also our 2bed is green.
17 The beams of our houses are cedar,
And our rafters of fir.
And the lily of the valleys.
2 Like a lily among thorns,
So is my love among the daughters.
3 Like an apple tree among the trees of the woods,
So is my beloved among the sons.
I sat down in his shade with great delight,
And ahis fruit was sweet to my taste.
The Shulamite to the Daughters of Jerusalem
4 He brought me to the 1banqueting house,
And his banner over me was love.
5 Sustain me with cakes of raisins,
Refresh me with apples,
For I am lovesick.
6 bHis left hand is under my head,
And his right hand embraces me.
7 cI 2charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
By the gazelles or by the does of the field,
Do not stir up nor awaken love
Until it pleases.
The Shulamite
8 The voice of my beloved!
Behold, he comes
Leaping upon the mountains,
Skipping upon the hills.
9 dMy beloved is like a gazelle or a young stag.
Behold, he stands behind our wall;
He is looking through the windows,
Gazing through the lattice.
10 My beloved spoke, and said to me:
“Rise up, my love, my fair one,
And come away.
11 For lo, the winter is past,
The rain is over and gone.
12 The flowers appear on the earth;
The time of singing has come,
And the voice of the turtledove
Is heard in our land.
13 The fig tree puts forth her green figs,
And the vines with the tender grapes
Give a good smell.
Rise up, my love, my fair one,
And come away!
14 “O my edove, in the clefts of the rock,
In the secret places of the cliff,
Let me see your 3face,
fLet me hear your voice;
For your voice is sweet,
And your face is lovely.”
15 Catch us gthe foxes,
The little foxes that spoil the vines,
For our vines have tender grapes.
16 hMy beloved is mine, and I am his.
He feeds his flock among the lilies.
17 iUntil the day breaks
And the shadows flee away,
Turn, my beloved,
And be jlike a gazelle
Or a young stag
Upon the mountains of 4Bether.
The Shulamite
3 By anight on my bed I sought the one I love;
I sought him, but I did not find him.
“And go about the city;
In the streets and in the squares
I will seek the one I love.”
I sought him, but I did not find him.
3 bThe watchmen who go about the city found me;
I said,
“Have you seen the one I love?”
4 Scarcely had I passed by them,
When I found the one I love.
I held him and would not let him go,
Until I had brought him to the chouse of my mother,
And into the 1chamber of her who conceived me.
5 dI 2charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
By the gazelles or by the does of the field,
Do not stir up nor awaken love
Until it pleases.
The Shulamite
6 eWho is this coming out of the wilderness
Like pillars of smoke,
Perfumed with myrrh and frankincense,
With all the merchant’s fragrant powders?
7 Behold, it is Solomon’s couch,
With sixty valiant men around it,
Of the valiant of Israel.
Being expert in war.
Every man has his sword on his thigh
Because of fear in the night.
Solomon the King
Made himself a 3palanquin:
10 He made its pillars of silver,
Its support of gold,
Its seat of purple,
Its interior paved with love
By the daughters of Jerusalem.
11 Go forth, O daughters of Zion,
And see King Solomon with the crown
With which his mother crowned him
On the day of his wedding,
The day of the gladness of his heart.
4 Behold, ayou are fair, my love!
Behold, you are fair!
You have dove’s eyes behind your veil.
Your hair is like a bflock of goats,
Going down from Mount Gilead.
2 cYour teeth are like a flock of shorn sheep
Which have come up from the washing,
Every one of which bears twins,
And none is 1barren among them.
3 Your lips are like a strand of scarlet,
And your mouth is lovely.
dYour temples behind your veil
Are like a piece of pomegranate.
4 eYour neck is like the tower of David,
Built ffor an armory,
On which hang a thousand 2bucklers,
All shields of mighty men.
5 gYour two breasts are like two fawns,
Twins of a gazelle,
Which feed among the lilies.
6 hUntil the day breaks
And the shadows flee away,
I will go my way to the mountain of myrrh
And to the hill of frankincense.
7 iYou are all fair, my love,
And there is no spot in you.
8 Come with me from Lebanon, my spouse,
With me from Lebanon.
Look from the top of Amana,
From the top of Senir jand Hermon,
From the lions’ dens,
From the mountains of the leopards.
My sister, my spouse;
You have ravished my heart
With one look of your eyes,
With one link of your necklace.
My sister, my spouse!
kHow much better than wine is your love,
And the 3scent of your perfumes
Than all spices!
Drip as the honeycomb;
lHoney and milk are under your tongue;
And the fragrance of your garments
Is mlike the fragrance of Lebanon.
12 A garden 4enclosed
Is my sister, my spouse,
A spring shut up,
A fountain sealed.
13 Your plants are an orchard of pomegranates
With pleasant fruits,
Fragrant henna with spikenard,
Calamus and cinnamon,
With all trees of frankincense,
Myrrh and aloes,
With all the chief spices—
A well of nliving waters,
And streams from Lebanon.
16 Awake, O north wind,
And come, O south!
Blow upon my garden,
That its spices may flow out.
oLet my beloved come to his garden
And eat its pleasant pfruits.
5 I ahave come to my garden, my bsister, my spouse;
I have gathered my myrrh with my spice;
cI have eaten my honeycomb with my honey;
I have drunk my wine with my milk.
(To His Friends)
Eat, O dfriends!
Drink, yes, drink deeply,
O beloved ones!
The Shulamite’s Troubled Evening
The Shulamite
2 I sleep, but my heart is awake;
It is the voice of my beloved!
eHe knocks, saying,
“Open for me, my sister, 1my love,
My dove, my perfect one;
For my head is covered with dew,
My 2locks with the drops of the night.”
How can I put it on again?
I have washed my feet;
How can I 3defile them?
By the 4latch of the door,
And my heart yearned for him.
5 I arose to open for my beloved,
And my hands dripped with myrrh,
My fingers with liquid myrrh,
On the handles of the lock.
But my beloved had turned away and was gone.
My 5heart leaped up when he spoke.
fI sought him, but I could not find him;
I called him, but he gave me no answer.
7 gThe watchmen who went about the city found me.
They struck me, they wounded me;
The keepers of the walls
Took my veil away from me.
8 I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
If you find my beloved,
That you tell him I am lovesick!
9 What is your beloved
More than another beloved,
hO fairest among women?
What is your beloved
More than another beloved,
That you so 6charge us?
10 My beloved is white and ruddy,
7Chief among ten thousand.
11 His head is like the finest gold;
His locks are wavy,
And black as a raven.
12 iHis eyes are like doves
By the rivers of waters,
Washed with milk,
And 8fitly set.
13 His cheeks are like a bed of spices,
Banks of scented herbs.
His lips are lilies,
Dripping liquid myrrh.
Set with beryl.
His body is carved ivory
Inlaid with sapphires.
15 His legs are pillars of marble
Set on bases of fine gold.
His countenance is like Lebanon,
Excellent as the cedars.
Yes, he is altogether lovely.
This is my beloved,
And this is my friend,
O daughters of Jerusalem!
6 Where has your beloved gone,
aO fairest among women?
Where has your beloved turned aside,
That we may seek him with you?
2 My beloved has gone to his bgarden,
To the beds of spices,
To feed his flock in the gardens,
And to gather lilies.
3 cI am my beloved’s,
And my beloved is mine.
He feeds his flock among the lilies.
Praise of the Shulamite’s Beauty
The Beloved
4 O my love, you are as beautiful as Tirzah,
Lovely as Jerusalem,
Awesome as an army with banners!
5 Turn your eyes away from me,
For they have 1overcome me.
Your hair is dlike a flock of goats
Going down from Gilead.
6 eYour teeth are like a flock of sheep
Which have come up from the washing;
Every one bears twins,
And none is 2barren among them.
7 fLike a piece of pomegranate
Are your temples behind your veil.
And eighty concubines,
And gvirgins without number.
9 My dove, my hperfect one,
Is the only one,
The only one of her mother,
The …