Song of Solomon 1:2–17

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.