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

The Banquet

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

dWe will run after 3you.

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.

5 I am dark, but lovely,

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.

(To Her Beloved)

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?

The Beloved

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.

The Daughters of Jerusalem

11 We will make 8you ornaments of gold

With studs of silver.

The Shulamite

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.

The Beloved

15 kBehold, you are fair, 1my love!

Behold, you are fair!

You have dove’s eyes.

The Shulamite

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.

2 I am the rose of Sharon,

And the lily of the valleys.

The Beloved

2 Like a lily among thorns,

So is my love among the daughters.

The Shulamite

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 Beloved’s Request

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.”

Her Brothers

15 Catch us gthe foxes,

The little foxes that spoil the vines,

For our vines have tender grapes.

The Shulamite

16 hMy beloved is mine, and I am his.

He feeds his flock among the lilies.

(To Her Beloved)

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.

A Troubled Night

The Shulamite

3 By anight on my bed I sought the one I love;

I sought him, but I did not find him.

2 “I will rise now,” I said,

“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 Coming of Solomon

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.

8 They all hold swords,

Being expert in war.

Every man has his sword on his thigh

Because of fear in the night.

9 Of the wood of Lebanon

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.

The Beloved

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.

9 You have ravished my heart,

My sister, my spouse;

You have ravished my heart

With one look of your eyes,

With one link of your necklace.

10 How fair is your love,

My sister, my spouse!

kHow much better than wine is your love,

And the 3scent of your perfumes

Than all spices!

11 Your lips, O my spouse,

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,

14 Spikenard and saffron,

Calamus and cinnamon,

With all trees of frankincense,

Myrrh and aloes,

With all the chief spices—

15 A fountain of gardens,

A well of nliving waters,

And streams from Lebanon.

The Shulamite

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.

The Beloved

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.”

3 I have taken off my robe;

How can I put it on again?

I have washed my feet;

How can I 3defile them?

4 My beloved put his hand

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.

6 I opened for my beloved,

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!

The Daughters of Jerusalem

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?

The Shulamite

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.

14 His hands are rods of gold

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.

16 His mouth is most sweet,

Yes, he is altogether lovely.

This is my beloved,

And this is my friend,

O daughters of Jerusalem!

The 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?

The Shulamite

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.

8 There are sixty queens

And eighty concubines,

And gvirgins without number.

9 My dove, my hperfect one,

Is the only one,

The only one of her mother,

The …