[1] This is Solomon’s Song of Songs. [2] Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth! For your love is more delightful than wine. [3] The fragrance of your perfume is pleasing; your name is like perfume poured out. No wonder the maidens adore you. [4] Take me away with you— let us hurry! May the king bring me to his chambers. We will rejoice and delight in you; we will praise your love more than wine. It is only right that they adore you. [5] I am dark, yet lovely, O daughters of Jerusalem, like the tents of Kedar, like the curtains of Solomon. [6] Do not stare because I am dark, for the sun has gazed upon me. My mother’s sons were angry with me; they made me a keeper of the vineyards, but my own vineyard I have neglected. [7] Tell me, O one I love, where do you pasture your sheep? Where do you rest them at midday? Why should I be like a veiled woman beside the flocks of your companions? [8] If you do not know, O fairest of women, follow the tracks of the flock, and graze your young goats near the tents of the shepherds. [9] I compare you, my darling, to a mare among Pharaoh’s chariots. [10] Your cheeks are beautiful with ornaments, your neck with strings of jewels. [11] We will make you ornaments of gold, studded with beads of silver. [12] While the king was at his table, my perfume spread its fragrance. [13] My beloved is to me a sachet of myrrh resting between my breasts. [14] My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blossoms in the vineyards of En-gedi. [15] How beautiful you are, my darling! Oh, how very beautiful! Your eyes are like doves. [16] How handsome you are, my beloved! Oh, how delightful! The soft grass is our bed. [17] The beams of our house are cedars; our rafters are fragrant firs.
