The Young Shulammite Bride and Jerusalem’s Daughters
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 stare 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 bpasture 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, the Lover, Speaks
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 tents of the shepherds.
9 “To me, amy darling, you are like
My bmare among the chariots of Pharaoh.
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 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 “aHow beautiful you are, my darling,
How beautiful you are!
Your beyes are like doves.”
16 “How handsome you are, amy beloved,
And so pleasant!
Indeed, our couch is luxuriant!
17 “The beams of our houses are acedars,
Our rafters, bcypresses.
The Bride’s Admiration
“I am the arose of bSharon,
The clily of the valleys.”
2 “Like a lily among the thorns,
So is amy darling among the maidens.”
3 “Like an aapple tree among the trees of the forest,
So is my beloved among the young men.
In his shade I took great delight and sat down,
And his bfruit was sweet to my taste.
4 “He has abrought me to his banquet hall,
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 aadjure you, 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.”
8 “Listen! My beloved!
Behold, he is coming,
Climbing aon the mountains,
Leaping on the hills!
9 “My beloved is like a agazelle or a byoung stag.
Behold, he is standing behind our wall,
He is looking through the windows,
He is peering cthrough the lattice.
10 “My beloved responded and said to me,
‘aArise, my darling, my beautiful one,
And come along.
11 ‘For behold, the winter is past,
The rain is over and gone.
12 ‘The flowers have already appeared in the land;
The time has arrived for pruning the vines,
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 form,
cLet me hear your voice;
For your voice is sweet,
And your form is dlovely.”
15 “aCatch the foxes for us,
The little foxes that are ruining the vineyards,
While our bvineyards are in blossom.”
16 “aMy beloved is mine, and I am his;
He bpastures his flock among the lilies.
17 “aUntil the cool of the day when the shadows flee away,
Turn, my beloved, and be like a bgazelle
Or a young stag con the mountains of Bether.”
The Bride’s Troubled Dream
“On my bed night after night I sought him
aWhom my soul loves;
I bsought him but did not find him.
2 ‘I must arise now and go about the city;
In the astreets and in the squares
I must seek him whom my soul loves.’
I sought him but did not find him.
3 “aThe watchmen who make the rounds in the city found me,
And I said, ‘Have you seen him whom my soul loves?’
4 “aScarcely had I left them
When I found him whom my soul loves;
I bheld on to him and would not let him go
Until I had cbrought him to my mother’s house,
And into the room of her who conceived me.”
5 “I aadjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
By the bgazelles or by the hinds of the field,
That you will not arouse or awaken my love
Until she pleases.”
Solomon’s Wedding Day
6 “aWhat is this coming up from the wilderness
Like bcolumns of smoke,
Perfumed with cmyrrh and dfrankincense,
With all scented powders of the merchant?
7 “Behold, it is the traveling couch of Solomon;
Sixty mighty men around it,
Of the mighty men of Israel.
8 “All of them are wielders of the sword,
aExpert in war;
Each man has his bsword at his side,
Guarding against the cterrors of the night.
9 “King Solomon has made for himself a sedan chair
From the timber of Lebanon.
10 “He made its posts of silver,
Its back of gold
And its seat of purple fabric,
With its interior lovingly fitted out
By the adaughters of Jerusalem.
11 “Go forth, O adaughters of Zion,
And gaze on King Solomon with the crown
With which his mother has crowned him
On the bday of his wedding,
And on the day of his gladness of heart.”