1Chapter
1Solomon’s Most Wonderful Song.
The Woman to the Man She Loves
2Cover me with kisses,
for your love is better than wine.
3Your perfume smells wonderful, but your name is sweeter than the best perfume. That is why the young women love you.
4Take me with you. Let’s run away. The king took me into his room.
3Your perfume smells wonderful, but your name is sweeter than the best perfume. That is why the young women love you.
4Take me with you. Let’s run away. The king took me into his room.
The Women of Jerusalem to the Man
4We will rejoice and be happy for you.
Remember, your love is better than wine.
With good reason, the young women love you.
She Speaks to the Women
5Daughters of Jerusalem,
I am dark and beautiful,
as black as the tents of Kedar and Salma.
6Don’t look at how dark I am, at how dark the sun has made me. My brothers were angry with me. They forced me to take care of their vineyards, so I could not take care of myself.
6Don’t look at how dark I am, at how dark the sun has made me. My brothers were angry with me. They forced me to take care of their vineyards, so I could not take care of myself.
She Speaks to Him
7I love you with all my soul!
Tell me, where do you feed your sheep?
Where do you lay them down at noon?
I should come to be with you
or I will be like a hired woman caring for the sheep of your friends.
He Speaks to Her
8You are such a beautiful woman.
Surely you know what to do.
Go, follow the sheep.
Feed your young goats near the shepherds’ tents.
9My darling, you are more exciting to me than any mare among the stallions pulling Pharaoh’s chariots.
10Your cheeks are so beautiful with those ornaments hanging beside them. Your neck is so lovely under that beautiful string of jewels.
11Let’s make you some more gold jewelry and decorate it with silver.
9My darling, you are more exciting to me than any mare among the stallions pulling Pharaoh’s chariots.
10Your cheeks are so beautiful with those ornaments hanging beside them. Your neck is so lovely under that beautiful string of jewels.
11Let’s make you some more gold jewelry and decorate it with silver.
She Speaks
12The smell of my perfume reaches out
to the king lying on his couch.
13My lover is like the small bag of myrrh around my neck, lying all night between my breasts.
14My lover is like a bunch of henna flowers near the vineyards of En Gedi.
13My lover is like the small bag of myrrh around my neck, lying all night between my breasts.
14My lover is like a bunch of henna flowers near the vineyards of En Gedi.
He Speaks
15My darling, you are so beautiful!
Oh, you are beautiful!
Your eyes are like doves.
She Speaks
16You are so handsome, my lover!
Yes, and so charming!
Our bed is so fresh and pleasant.
17The beams of our house are cedar. The rafters are fir.
17The beams of our house are cedar. The rafters are fir.
2Chapter
1I am a rose on the plain of Sharon,
a lily in the valleys.
He Speaks
2My darling, among other women,
you are like a lily among thorns!
She Speaks
3My lover, among other men,
you are an apple tree among the wild trees in the forest!
She Speaks to the Women
3I enjoy sitting in my lover’s shadow;
his fruit is so sweet to my taste.
4My lover took me to the wine house; his intent toward me was love.
5Strengthen me with raisins ; refresh me with apples, because I am weak with love.
6My lover’s left arm is under my head, and his right arm holds me.
7Women of Jerusalem, promise me by the gazelles and wild deer, don’t awaken love, don’t arouse love, until I am ready.
4My lover took me to the wine house; his intent toward me was love.
5Strengthen me with raisins ; refresh me with apples, because I am weak with love.
6My lover’s left arm is under my head, and his right arm holds me.
7Women of Jerusalem, promise me by the gazelles and wild deer, don’t awaken love, don’t arouse love, until I am ready.
She Speaks Again
8I hear my lover’s voice.
Here it comes, jumping over the mountains,
skipping over the hills.
9My lover is like a gazelle or a young deer. Look at him standing behind our wall, staring out the window, looking through the lattice.
10My lover speaks to me, “Get up, my darling, my beautiful one. Let’s go away!
11Look, winter is past, the rains have come and gone.
12The flowers are blooming in the fields. It’s time to sing! Listen, the doves have returned.
13Young figs are growing on the fig trees. Smell the vines in bloom. Get up, my darling, my beautiful one. Let’s go away!”
9My lover is like a gazelle or a young deer. Look at him standing behind our wall, staring out the window, looking through the lattice.
10My lover speaks to me, “Get up, my darling, my beautiful one. Let’s go away!
11Look, winter is past, the rains have come and gone.
12The flowers are blooming in the fields. It’s time to sing! Listen, the doves have returned.
13Young figs are growing on the fig trees. Smell the vines in bloom. Get up, my darling, my beautiful one. Let’s go away!”
He Speaks
14My dove, hiding in the caves high on the cliff,
hidden here on the mountain,
let me see you,
let me hear your voice.
Your voice is so pleasant,
and you are so beautiful!
She Speaks to the Women
15Catch the foxes for us—
the little foxes
that spoil the vineyard.
Our vineyard is now in bloom.
16My lover is mine, and I am his! My lover feeds among the lilies,
17while the day breathes its last breath and the shadows run away. Turn, my lover, be like a gazelle or a young deer on the cleft mountains!
16My lover is mine, and I am his! My lover feeds among the lilies,
17while the day breathes its last breath and the shadows run away. Turn, my lover, be like a gazelle or a young deer on the cleft mountains!
3Chapter
She Speaks
1At night on my bed,
I look for the man I love.
I looked for him,
but I could not find him.
2I looked for him, but I could not find him.
3The guards patrolling the city found me. I asked them, “Have you seen the man I love?”
4I had just left the guards when I found the man I love! I held him and would not let him go, while I took him to my mother’s house, to the room of one who bore me.
2I looked for him, but I could not find him.
3The guards patrolling the city found me. I asked them, “Have you seen the man I love?”
4I had just left the guards when I found the man I love! I held him and would not let him go, while I took him to my mother’s house, to the room of one who bore me.
She Speaks to the Women
5Women of Jerusalem, promise me
by the gazelles and wild deer,
don’t awaken love,
don’t arouse love, until I am ready.
The Women of Jerusalem Speak
6Who is this woman
coming from the desert
with this large group of people?
The dust rises behind them
like clouds of smoke from burning myrrh and frankincense and other spices.
7Look, Solomon’s traveling chair. There are 60 soldiers guarding it, strong soldiers of Israel.
8All of them are trained fighting men with their swords at their side, ready for any danger of the night.
9King Solomon made a traveling chair for himself. The wood came from Lebanon.
10The poles were made from silver, and the supports were made from gold. The seat was covered with purple cloth. It was inlaid with love by the women of Jerusalem.
11Women of Zion, come out and see King Solomon. See the crown his mother put on him the day he was married, the day he was so happy!
7Look, Solomon’s traveling chair. There are 60 soldiers guarding it, strong soldiers of Israel.
8All of them are trained fighting men with their swords at their side, ready for any danger of the night.
9King Solomon made a traveling chair for himself. The wood came from Lebanon.
10The poles were made from silver, and the supports were made from gold. The seat was covered with purple cloth. It was inlaid with love by the women of Jerusalem.
11Women of Zion, come out and see King Solomon. See the crown his mother put on him the day he was married, the day he was so happy!
4Chapter
He Speaks to Her
1My darling, you are so beautiful!
Oh, you are beautiful!
Your eyes are like doves
under your veil.
Your hair is long and flowing,
like little goats dancing down the slopes of Mount Gilead.
2Your teeth are white like ewes just coming from their bath. They all give birth to twins; not one of them has lost a baby.
3Your lips are like a red silk thread. Your mouth is beautiful. Your cheeks under your veil are like two slices of pomegranate.
4Your neck is long and thin like David’s tower. That tower was built to be decorated with a thousand shields on its walls, with the shields of powerful soldiers.
5Your breasts are like twin fawns, like twins of a gazelle, feeding among the lilies.
6I will go to that mountain of myrrh and to that hill of frankincense while the day breathes its last breath, and the shadows run away.
7My darling, you are beautiful all over. Every part of you is perfect.
8Come with me, my bride, from Lebanon. Come with me from Lebanon. Come from the peak of Amana, from the top of Senir and Hermon, from the lion’s caves, from the mountain of the leopards.
9My darling, my bride, you excite me! You have stolen my heart with just one quick look from your eyes, with just one of the jewels from your necklace.
10Your love is so beautiful, my darling, my bride! Your love is better than wine. The smell of your perfume is better than any kind of spice!
11My bride, your lips drip honey. Honey and milk are under your tongue. Your clothes smell as sweet as perfume.
12My darling, my bride, you are pure like a locked garden. You are like a locked pool, a closed fountain.
13Your limbs are like a garden filled with pomegranates and other pleasant fruit, with all the best spices: henna,
14Your limbs are like a garden filled with trees of frankincense, myrrh, and aloe.
15You are like a garden fountain— a well of fresh water— flowing down from the mountains of Lebanon.
2Your teeth are white like ewes just coming from their bath. They all give birth to twins; not one of them has lost a baby.
3Your lips are like a red silk thread. Your mouth is beautiful. Your cheeks under your veil are like two slices of pomegranate.
4Your neck is long and thin like David’s tower. That tower was built to be decorated with a thousand shields on its walls, with the shields of powerful soldiers.
5Your breasts are like twin fawns, like twins of a gazelle, feeding among the lilies.
6I will go to that mountain of myrrh and to that hill of frankincense while the day breathes its last breath, and the shadows run away.
7My darling, you are beautiful all over. Every part of you is perfect.
8Come with me, my bride, from Lebanon. Come with me from Lebanon. Come from the peak of Amana, from the top of Senir and Hermon, from the lion’s caves, from the mountain of the leopards.
9My darling, my bride, you excite me! You have stolen my heart with just one quick look from your eyes, with just one of the jewels from your necklace.
10Your love is so beautiful, my darling, my bride! Your love is better than wine. The smell of your perfume is better than any kind of spice!
11My bride, your lips drip honey. Honey and milk are under your tongue. Your clothes smell as sweet as perfume.
12My darling, my bride, you are pure like a locked garden. You are like a locked pool, a closed fountain.
13Your limbs are like a garden filled with pomegranates and other pleasant fruit, with all the best spices: henna,
14Your limbs are like a garden filled with trees of frankincense, myrrh, and aloe.
15You are like a garden fountain— a well of fresh water— flowing down from the mountains of Lebanon.
She Speaks
16Wake up, north wind.
Come, south wind.
Blow on my garden.
Spread its sweet smell.
Let my lover enter his garden
and eat its pleasant fruit.
5Chapter
He Speaks
1My darling my bride, I have entered my garden.
I have gathered my myrrh and spice.
I have eaten my honey and honeycomb.
I have drunk my wine and milk.
The Women Speak to the Lovers
1Dearest friends, eat, drink!
Be drunk with love!
She Speaks
2I am asleep,
but my heart is awake.
I hear my lover knocking, saying,
“Open to me, my darling, my love,
my dove, my perfect one!
My head is soaked with dew.
My hair is wet with the mist of the night.”
3“I have taken off my robe. I don’t want to put it on again. I have washed my feet. I don’t want to get them dirty again.”
4But my lover put his hand through the opening, and I felt sorry for him.
5I got up to open for my lover, myrrh dripping from my hands, myrrh scented lotion dripped from my fingers onto the handles of the lock.
6I opened for my lover, but my lover had turned away and was gone! I nearly died when he came and went. I looked for him, but I couldn’t find him. I called for him, but he didn’t answer me.
7The guards patrolling the city found me. They hit me. They hurt me. The guards on the wall took my robe from me.
8I tell you, women of Jerusalem, if you find my lover, tell him I am weak with love.
3“I have taken off my robe. I don’t want to put it on again. I have washed my feet. I don’t want to get them dirty again.”
4But my lover put his hand through the opening, and I felt sorry for him.
5I got up to open for my lover, myrrh dripping from my hands, myrrh scented lotion dripped from my fingers onto the handles of the lock.
6I opened for my lover, but my lover had turned away and was gone! I nearly died when he came and went. I looked for him, but I couldn’t find him. I called for him, but he didn’t answer me.
7The guards patrolling the city found me. They hit me. They hurt me. The guards on the wall took my robe from me.
8I tell you, women of Jerusalem, if you find my lover, tell him I am weak with love.
The Women of Jerusalem Answer Her
9Beautiful woman,
how is your lover different from other lovers?
Is your lover better than other lovers?
Is that why you ask us to make this promise?
She Answers the Women of Jerusalem
10My lover is tanned and radiant.
He would stand out among 10,000 men.
11His head is like the purest gold. His hair is curly and as black as a raven.
12His eyes are like doves by a stream, like doves in a pool of milk, like a jewel in its setting.
13His cheeks are like a garden of spices, like flowers used for perfume. His lips are like lilies, dripping with liquid myrrh.
14His arms are like gold rods, filled with jewels. His body is like smooth ivory with sapphires set in it.
15His legs are like marble pillars on bases of fine gold. He stands tall like the finest cedar tree in Lebanon!
16Yes, women of Jerusalem, my lover is everything I desire. His mouth is the sweetest of all. This is my lover; this is my darling.
11His head is like the purest gold. His hair is curly and as black as a raven.
12His eyes are like doves by a stream, like doves in a pool of milk, like a jewel in its setting.
13His cheeks are like a garden of spices, like flowers used for perfume. His lips are like lilies, dripping with liquid myrrh.
14His arms are like gold rods, filled with jewels. His body is like smooth ivory with sapphires set in it.
15His legs are like marble pillars on bases of fine gold. He stands tall like the finest cedar tree in Lebanon!
16Yes, women of Jerusalem, my lover is everything I desire. His mouth is the sweetest of all. This is my lover; this is my darling.
6Chapter
The Women of Jerusalem Speak to Her
1Beautiful woman,
where has your lover gone?
Which way did your lover go?
Tell us so that we can help you look for him.
She Answers the Women of Jerusalem
2My lover has gone down to his garden,
where sweet-smelling spices grow.
There, like a sheep, he will eat the grass,
and he will enjoy the lilies.
3I belong to my lover, and my lover belongs to me. He is the one feeding among the lilies.
3I belong to my lover, and my lover belongs to me. He is the one feeding among the lilies.
He Speaks to Her
4My darling, you are as beautiful as Tirzah,
as pleasant as Jerusalem,
as awesome as the stars in the sky.
5Don’t look at me! Your eyes excite me too much! And your hair is long and flowing, like little goats dancing down the slopes of Mount Gilead.
6Your teeth are white like ewes just coming from their bath. They all give birth to twins. Not one of them has lost a baby.
7Your cheeks under your veil are like slices of pomegranate.
8There might be 60 queens and 80 slave women, and young women too many to count,
9but there is only one woman for me, my dove, my perfect one. She is the favorite of her mother, her mother’s favorite child. The young women see her and praise her. Even the queens and slave women praise her.
5Don’t look at me! Your eyes excite me too much! And your hair is long and flowing, like little goats dancing down the slopes of Mount Gilead.
6Your teeth are white like ewes just coming from their bath. They all give birth to twins. Not one of them has lost a baby.
7Your cheeks under your veil are like slices of pomegranate.
8There might be 60 queens and 80 slave women, and young women too many to count,
9but there is only one woman for me, my dove, my perfect one. She is the favorite of her mother, her mother’s favorite child. The young women see her and praise her. Even the queens and slave women praise her.
The Women Praise Her
10Who is that young woman?
She shines out like the dawn.
She is as pretty as the moon.
She is as bright as the sun.
She is as awesome
as the stars in the sky.
He Speaks to Her
11I went down to the grove of walnut trees,
to see the fruit of the valley,
to see if the vines were in bloom,
to see if the pomegranates had budded.
12I was so excited when she put me in the royal chariot.
12I was so excited when she put me in the royal chariot.
The Women of Jerusalem Call to Her
13Why are you staring at Shulamith,
as she dances the Mahanaim dance ?
7Chapter
He Praises Her Beauty
1Princess, your feet are beautiful in those sandals.
The curves of your thighs are like jewelry made by an artist.
2Your navel is like a round cup ; may it never be without wine. Your belly is like a pile of wheat surrounded by lilies.
3Your breasts are like twin fawns of a young gazelle.
4Your neck is like an ivory tower. Your eyes are like the pools in Heshbon near the gate of Bath Rabbim. Your nose is like the tower of Lebanon that looks toward Damascus.
5Your head is like Carmel, and the hair on your head is like silk. Your long flowing hair captures even a king.
6You are so beautiful and so pleasant, a lovely, delightful young woman!
7You are tall— as tall as a palm tree. And your breasts are like the clusters of fruit on that tree.
8May your breasts be like clusters of grapes and your fragrance like apples.
9May your mouth be like the best wine, flowing straight to my love, flowing gently to the sleeper’s lips.
2Your navel is like a round cup ; may it never be without wine. Your belly is like a pile of wheat surrounded by lilies.
3Your breasts are like twin fawns of a young gazelle.
4Your neck is like an ivory tower. Your eyes are like the pools in Heshbon near the gate of Bath Rabbim. Your nose is like the tower of Lebanon that looks toward Damascus.
5Your head is like Carmel, and the hair on your head is like silk. Your long flowing hair captures even a king.
6You are so beautiful and so pleasant, a lovely, delightful young woman!
7You are tall— as tall as a palm tree. And your breasts are like the clusters of fruit on that tree.
8May your breasts be like clusters of grapes and your fragrance like apples.
9May your mouth be like the best wine, flowing straight to my love, flowing gently to the sleeper’s lips.
She Speaks to Him
10I belong to my lover,
and he wants me.
11Come, my lover, let’s go out into the field; let’s spend the night in the villages.
12Let’s get up early and go to the vineyards. Let’s see if the vines are in bloom. Let’s see if the blossoms have opened and if the pomegranates are in bloom. There I will give you my love.
13Smell the mandrakes and all the pleasant flowers by our door. I have saved many pleasant things for you, my lover, pleasant things, new and old.
11Come, my lover, let’s go out into the field; let’s spend the night in the villages.
12Let’s get up early and go to the vineyards. Let’s see if the vines are in bloom. Let’s see if the blossoms have opened and if the pomegranates are in bloom. There I will give you my love.
13Smell the mandrakes and all the pleasant flowers by our door. I have saved many pleasant things for you, my lover, pleasant things, new and old.
8Chapter
1If you were a baby, like my little brother nursing at his mother’s breasts,
and if I found you outside,
I could kiss you,
and no one would say it was wrong.
2I would lead you into my mother’s house, to the room of she who taught me. I would give you spiced wine squeezed from my pomegranate.
2I would lead you into my mother’s house, to the room of she who taught me. I would give you spiced wine squeezed from my pomegranate.
She Speaks to the Women
3His left arm is under my head,
and his right hand holds me.
4Women of Jerusalem, promise me, don’t awaken love, don’t arouse love, until I am ready.
4Women of Jerusalem, promise me, don’t awaken love, don’t arouse love, until I am ready.
The Women of Jerusalem Speak
5Who is this woman
coming from the desert, leaning on her lover?
She Speaks to Him
5I woke you under the apple tree,
where your mother gave birth to you,
where you were born.
6Keep me near you like a seal you wear over your heart, like a signet ring you wear on your hand. Love is as strong as death. Passion is as strong as the grave. Its sparks become a flame, and it grows to become a great fire !
7A flood cannot put out love. Rivers cannot drown love. Would people despise a man for giving everything he owns for love?
6Keep me near you like a seal you wear over your heart, like a signet ring you wear on your hand. Love is as strong as death. Passion is as strong as the grave. Its sparks become a flame, and it grows to become a great fire !
7A flood cannot put out love. Rivers cannot drown love. Would people despise a man for giving everything he owns for love?
Her Brothers Speak
8We have a little sister,
and her breasts are not yet grown.
What should we do for our sister
when a man comes asking to marry her?
9If she were a wall, we would put silver trim around her. If she were a door, we would put a cedar board around her.
9If she were a wall, we would put silver trim around her. If she were a door, we would put a cedar board around her.
She Answers Her Brothers
10I am a wall,
and my breasts are my towers.
And he is satisfied with me!
He Speaks
11Solomon had a vineyard at Baal Hamon.
He put men in charge of the vineyard.
Each man brought in grapes
worth 1000 shekels of silver.
12Solomon, you can keep your 1000 shekels. Give 200 shekels to each man for the grapes he brought. But I will keep my own vineyard.
12Solomon, you can keep your 1000 shekels. Give 200 shekels to each man for the grapes he brought. But I will keep my own vineyard.
He Speaks to Her
13There you are, sitting in the garden.
Friends are listening to your voice.
Let me hear it too!
She Speaks to Him
14Hurry, my lover!
Be like a gazelle or a young deer on the mountains of spice.
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