Song of Solomon 1:2–4:16

W^c2Oh, that he would kiss me with the kisses of his mouth!

For your ^dlove is ^emore delightful than wine. ^f

³The fragrance of your perfume is intoxicating; ^g

your name is perfume poured out. ^h

No wonder young women ⁱadore you.

⁴Take me with you ^j—let us hurry.

Oh, that the king would bring ^kme to his chambers.

YWe will rejoice and be glad for you;

we will praise your love more than wine.

WIt is only right that they adore you.

⁵Daughters of Jerusalem, ^l

I am dark like the tents of Kedar, ^m

yet lovely ⁿlike the curtains of Solomon.

⁶Do not stare at me because I am dark,

for the sun has gazed on me.

My mother’s sons were angry with me; ^o

they made me a keeper of the vineyards. ^p

I have not kept my own vineyard. ^q

⁷Tell me, you, the one I love: ^r

Where do you pasture your sheep? ^s

Where do you let them rest at noon? ^t

Why should I be like one who veils herself ^uv

beside the flocks of your companions? ^w

M^x8If you do not know,

most beautiful of women, ^y

follow ^zthe tracks of the flock,

and pasture your young goats

near the shepherds’ tents.

⁹I compare you, my darling, ^a

to a ^bmare among Pharaoh’s chariots. ^cd

¹⁰Your cheeks are beautiful with jewelry, ^e

your neck with its necklace.

¹¹We will make gold jewelry for you,

accented with silver.

W¹²While the king is on his couch, ^f

my perfume ^greleases its fragrance. ^h

¹³My love is a sachet of myrrh to me, ⁱ

spending the night between my breasts.

¹⁴My love is a cluster of henna blossoms to me, ^j

in the vineyards of En-gedi. ^kl

M¹⁵How beautiful you are, my darling.

How very beautiful!

Your eyes are doves. ^m

W¹⁶How handsome you are, my love. ⁿ

How delightful!

Our bed is lush with foliage;

¹⁷the beams of our house are cedars,

and our rafters are cypresses. ^o

2I am a rose ^pqof Sharon,

a lily ^rof the valleys. ^s

M²Like a lily among thorns,

so is my darling among the young women.

W³Like an apricot ^ttree among the trees of the forest,

so is my love among the young men.

I delight to sit in his shade,

and his fruit is sweet to my taste.

⁴He brought me to the banquet hall, ^uv

and he looked on me with love. ^wx

⁵Sustain me with raisins;

refresh me with apricots, ^y

for I am lovesick. ^z

⁶His left hand is under my head,

and his right arm embraces me. ^ab

⁷Young women of Jerusalem, I charge you

by the gazelles and the wild does of the field:

do not stir up or awaken love

until the appropriate time. ^cd

⁸Listen! My love is approaching.

Look! Here he comes,

leaping over the mountains, ^e

bounding over the hills.

⁹My love is like a gazelle

or a young stag. ^f

Look, he is standing behind our wall,

gazing through the windows,

peering through the lattice.

¹⁰My love calls to me:

MArise, ^gmy darling.

Come away, my beautiful one.

¹¹For now the winter is past;

the rain has ended and gone away.

¹²The blossoms appear in the countryside.

The time of singing ^hhas come,

and the turtledove’s cooing is heard in our land. ⁱ

¹³The fig tree ripens its figs; ^j

the blossoming vines give off their fragrance. ^k

Arise, my darling.

Come away, my beautiful one.

¹⁴My dove, ^lin the clefts of the rock, ^m

in the crevices of the cliff,

let me see your face, ⁿ

let me hear your voice; ^o

for your voice is sweet,

and your face is lovely. ^p

(W)¹⁵Catch the foxes for us ^q—

the little foxes that ruin the vineyards—

for our vineyards are in bloom. ^r

W¹⁶My love is mine and I am his; ^s

he feeds among the lilies.

¹⁷Before the day breaks ^t

and the shadows flee,

turn to me, my love, and be like a gazelle

or a young stag ^uon the divided mountains. ^vw

3In my bed at night ^x

I sought the one I love; ^y

I sought him, but did not find him. ^za

²I will arise now and go about the city,

through the streets and the plazas. ^b

I will seek the one I love.

I sought him, but did not find him.

³The guards who go about the city found me. ^c

I asked them, “Have you seen the one I love?”

⁴I had just passed them

when I found the one I love.

I held on to him and would not let him go

until I brought him to my mother’s house ^d—

to the chamber of the one who conceived me.

⁵Young women of Jerusalem, I charge you

by the gazelles and the wild does of the field:

do not stir up or awaken love

until the appropriate time. ^ef

N⁶What is this ^gcoming up from the wilderness

like columns of smoke,

scented with myrrh and frankincense ^h

from every fragrant powder of the merchant?

⁷It is Solomon’s royal litter ⁱ

surrounded by 60 warriors

from the mighty of Israel.

⁸All of them are skilled with swords

and trained in warfare.

Each has his sword at his side ^j

to guard against the terror of the night. ^k

⁹King Solomon made a sedan chair ^lfor himself

with wood from Lebanon.

¹⁰He made its posts of silver,

its back ^mof gold,

and its seat of purple.

Its interior is inlaid with love ⁿ

by the young women of Jerusalem. ^o

¹¹Come out, young women of Zion, ^p

and gaze at King Solomon,

wearing the crown his mother placed on him

the day of his wedding ^q—

the day of his heart’s rejoicing.

4MHow beautiful you are, my darling.

How very beautiful!

Behind your veil,

your eyes are doves. ^r

Your hair is like a flock of goats

streaming down Mount Gilead. ^s

²Your teeth are like a flock of newly shorn sheep

coming up from washing,

each one having a twin,

and not one missing. ^tu

³Your lips are like a scarlet cord, ^v

and your mouth ^wis lovely.

Behind your veil,

your brow ^xis like a slice of pomegranate. ^y

⁴Your neck is like the tower of David, ^z

constructed in layers.

A thousand bucklers are hung on it—

all of them shields of warriors. ^a

⁵Your breasts are like two fawns,

twins of a gazelle, ^bthat feed among the lilies.

⁶Before the day breaks ^c

and the shadows flee, ^d

I will make my way to the mountain of myrrh

and the hill of frankincense. ^e

⁷You are absolutely beautiful, ^fmy darling,

with no imperfection in you.

⁸Come with me from Lebanon, ^ghmy bride ⁱ—

with me from Lebanon!

Descend from the peak of Amana,

from the summit of Senir and Hermon, ^j

from the dens of the lions,

from the mountains of the leopards.

⁹You have captured my heart, ^kmy sister, ^lmmy bride.

You have captured my heart with one glance of your eyes,

with one jewel of your necklace.

¹⁰How delightful your love is, my sister, my bride.

Your love is much better than wine, ⁿ

and the fragrance of your perfume than any balsam.

¹¹Your lips drip sweetness like the honeycomb, my bride. ^o

Honey and milk ^pare under your tongue.

The fragrance of your garments is like the fragrance of Lebanon.

¹²My sister, my bride, you are a locked garden—

a locked garden ^qand a sealed spring. ^r

¹³Your branches are a paradise ^sof pomegranates

with choicest fruits, ^t

henna with nard—

¹⁴nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon, ^u

with all the trees of frankincense, ^v

myrrh and aloes, ^w

with all the best spices.

¹⁵You are a garden spring,

a well of flowing water ^x

streaming from Lebanon.

W¹⁶Awaken, ^ynorth wind—

come, south wind.

Blow on my garden,

and spread the fragrance of its spices.

Let my love come to his garden

and eat its choicest fruits. ^z