The Shulammite Bride’s Desire
The Song of aSongs, which is Solomon’s.
2 “May he kiss me with the kisses of his mouth!
For your alove is better than wine.
3 Your aoils have a pleasing fragrance,
Your bname is like purified oil;
Therefore the cmaidens love you.
4 Draw me after you and let us run together!
The aking has brought me into his chambers.”
“We will rejoice in you and be glad;
We will extol your blove more than wine.
Rightly do they love you.”
5 “I am black but alovely,
O bdaughters of Jerusalem,
Like the ctents of dKedar,
Like the curtains of Solomon.
6 Do not look at me because I am swarthy,
For the sun has burned me.
My amother’s sons were angry with me;
They made me bcaretaker of the vineyards,
But I have not taken care of my own vineyard.
7 Tell me, O you awhom my soul loves,
Where do you bshepherd your flock,
Where do you make it clie down at noon?
For why should I be like one who veils herself
Beside the flocks of your dcompanions?”
Solomon and His Bride Extol Each Other
8 “If you yourself do not know,
aMost beautiful among women,
Go forth on the trail of the flock
And pasture your young goats
By the dwellings of the shepherds.
9 “To a amare of mine among the chariots of Pharaoh
I compare you, O bmy darling.
10 Your acheeks are lovely with ornaments,
Your neck with strings of bbeads.”
11 “We will make for you ornaments of gold
With beads of silver.”
12 “While the king was at his banqueting table,
My aperfume gave forth its fragrance.
13 My beloved is to me a pouch of amyrrh
Which lies all night between my breasts.
14 My beloved is to me a cluster of ahenna blossoms
In the vineyards of bEngedi.”
15 “aBehold, you are beautiful, my darling,
Behold, you are beautiful!
Your beyes are like doves.”
16 “Behold, you are handsome, amy beloved,
Indeed, so pleasant!
Indeed, our couch is luxuriant!
17 The beams of our houses are acedars,
Our rafters, bcypresses.
“I am the arose of bSharon,
The clily of the valleys.”
2 “Like a lily among the thorns,
So is amy darling among the daughters.”
3 “Like an aapple tree among the trees of the forest,
So is my beloved among the sons.
In his shade I had great desire and sat down,
And his bfruit was sweet to my taste.
4 He has abrought me to his house of banqueting,
And his bbanner over me is love.
5 Sustain me with araisin cakes,
Refresh me with bapples,
Because cI am lovesick.
6 Let ahis left hand be under my head
And ahis right hand bembrace me.”
7 “I acall you to solemnly swear, O bdaughters of Jerusalem,
By the cgazelles or by the dhinds of the field,
aThat you do not arouse or awaken my love
Until she pleases.”
The Bride Delights in Her Beloved
8 “The voice of my beloved!
Behold, he is coming,
Leaping aon the mountains,
Jumping on the hills!
9 My beloved is like a agazelle or a byoung stag.
Behold, he is standing behind our wall;
He gazes through the windows;
He is peering cthrough the lattice.
10 “My beloved answered and said to me,
‘aArise, my darling, my beautiful one,
And come along.
11 For behold, the winter is past,
The rain is over; it is gone.
12 The flowers have appeared in the land;
The time for pruning has arrived;
And the voice of the aturtledove has been heard in our land.
13 The afig tree has ripened its figs,
And the bvines in blossom have given forth their fragrance.
Arise, my darling, my beautiful one,
And come along!’”
14 “O amy dove, bin the clefts of the rock,
In the secret place of the steep pathway,
Let me see your appearance,
cLet me hear your voice;
For your voice is sweet,
And your appearance is dlovely.”
15 “aSeize the foxes for us,
The little foxes that are wreaking destruction on the vineyards,
While our bvineyards are in blossom.”
16 “aMy beloved is mine, and I am his,
He who bshepherds his flock among the lilies.
17 aUntil the day breathes and the shadows flee,
Turn, my beloved, and be like a bgazelle
Or a young stag con the mountains of Bether.”