Song of Solomon 1:2–17

The Banquet

The ¹

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

^bFor ²your love is better than wine.

³Because of the fragrance of your good ointments,

Your name is ointment poured forth;

Therefore the virgins love you.

^4cDraw me away!

^dWe will run after ³you.

The king ^ehas brought me into his chambers.

We will be glad and rejoice in ⁴you.

We will remember your love more than wine.

Rightly do they love you.

⁵I am dark, but lovely,

O daughters of Jerusalem,

Like the tents of Kedar,

Like the curtains of Solomon.

⁶Do 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.

⁷Tell 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?

⁸If you do not know, ^gO fairest among women,

⁷Follow in the footsteps of the flock,

And feed your little goats

Beside the shepherds’ tents.

⁹I have compared you, ^hmy love,

ⁱTo my filly among Pharaoh’s chariots.

^10jYour cheeks are lovely with ornaments,

Your neck with chains of gold.

¹¹We will make ⁸you ornaments of gold

With studs of silver.

¹²While the king is at his table,

My ⁹spikenard sends forth its fragrance.

¹³A bundle of myrrh is my beloved to me,

That lies all night between my breasts.

¹⁴My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blooms

In the vineyards of En Gedi.

^15kBehold, you are fair, ¹my love!

Behold, you are fair!

You have dove’s eyes.

¹⁶Behold, you are ^lhandsome, my beloved!

Yes, pleasant!

Also our ²bed is green.

¹⁷The beams of our houses are cedar,

And our rafters of fir.