1 The Song of songs, which is Solomon’s.

2Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth;

For thy love is better than wine.

3Thine oils have a goodly fragrance;

Thy name is as oil poured forth;

Therefore do the virgins love thee.

4Draw me; we will run after thee:

The king hath brought me into his chambers;

We will be glad and rejoice in thee;

We will make mention of thy love more than of wine:

Rightly do they love thee.

5I am black, but comely,

Oh ye daughters of Jerusalem,

As the tents of Kedar,

As the curtains of Solomon.

6Look not upon me, because I am swarthy,

Because the sun hath scorched me.

My mother’s sons were incensed against me;

They made me keeper of the vineyards;

But mine own vineyard have I not kept.

7Tell me, O thou whom my soul loveth,

Where thou feedest thy flock,

Where thou makest it to rest at noon:

For why should I be as one that is veiled

Beside the flocks of thy companions?

8If thou know not, O thou fairest among women,

Go thy way forth by the footsteps of the flock,

And feed thy kids beside the shepherds’ tents.

9I have compared thee, O my love,

To a steed in Pharaoh’s chariots.

10Thy cheeks are comely with plaits of hair,

Thy neck with strings of jewels.

11We will make thee plaits of gold

With studs of silver.

12While the king sat at his table,

My spikenard sent forth its fragrance.

13My beloved is unto me as a bundle of myrrh,

That lieth betwixt my breasts.

14My beloved is unto me as a cluster of henna-flowers

In the vineyards of En-gedi.

15Behold, thou art fair, my love;

Behold thou art fair;

Thine eyes are as doves.

16Behold, thou art fair, my beloved, yea, pleasant:

Also our couch is green.

17The beams of our house are cedars,

And our rafters are firs.