The Song of Songs [the best of songs], which is Solomon’s.

(The Shulammite Bride)
“May he kiss me with the kisses of his mouth!” [Solomon arrives, she turns to him, saying,]
“For your love is better than wine.

“The aroma of your oils is fragrant and pleasing;
Your name is perfume poured out;
Therefore the maidens love you.

(The Chorus)“We will rejoice and be glad in you;
We will remember and extol your love more [sweet and fragrant] than wine.
Rightly do they love you.”(The Shulammite Bride)
“I am deeply tanned but lovely,
O daughters of Jerusalem,
[I am dark] like the tents of [the Bedouins of] Kedar,
Like the [beautiful] curtains of Solomon.

“Tell me, O you whom my soul loves,
Where do you pasture your flock,
Where do you make it lie down at noon?
For why should I be like one who is veiled
Beside the flocks of your companions?”

(The Bridegroom)
“If you do not know [where your lover is],
O you fairest among women,
Run along, follow the tracks of the flock,
And pasture your young goats
By the tents of the shepherds.

“To me, my love, you are like
My [favorite] mare among the chariots of Pharaoh.

“My beloved is to me like a pouch of myrrh
Which lies all night between my breasts.

“My beloved is to me a cluster of henna flowers
In the [fragrant] vineyards of Engedi.”

(The Shulammite Bride)
“Like an apple tree [rare and welcome] 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 fruit was sweet and delicious to my palate.

“He has brought me to his banqueting place,
And his banner over me is love [waving overhead to protect and comfort me].

“My beloved is like a gazelle or a young stag.
Behold, he is standing behind our wall,
He is looking through the windows,
He is gazing through the lattice.

‘For behold, the winter is past,
The rain is over and gone.

‘The flowers appear on the earth once again;
The time for singing has come,
And the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land.

(The Bridegroom)
“O my dove, [here] in the clefts in the rock,
In the sheltered and secret place of the steep pathway,
Let me see your face,
Let me hear your voice;
For your voice is sweet,
And your face is lovely.”

(The Chorus)
“Catch the foxes for us,
The little foxes that spoil and ruin the vineyards [of love],
While our vineyards are in blossom.”

(The Shulammite Bride)
“My beloved is mine and I am his;
He pastures his flock among the lilies.

“Until the cool of the day when the shadows flee away,
Return quickly, my beloved, and be like a gazelle
Or a young stag on the mountains of Bether [which separate us].” Cross references: Song of Solomon 2:6 : Deut 33:27; Matt 28:20 Song of Solomon 2:8 : John 10:27 Song of Solomon 2:16 : Matt 10:32; Acts 4:12 end of crossrefs

(The Shulammite Bride)
“What is this coming up from the wilderness
Like [stately] pillars of smoke
Perfumed with myrrh and frankincense,
With all the fragrant powders of the merchant?”

(The Chorus)
“Behold, it is the couch (palanquin) of Solomon;
Sixty mighty men around it,
Of the mighty men of Israel.

“Your teeth are like a flock of newly shorn ewes
Which have come up from washing,
All of which bear twins,
And not one among them has lost her young.

“Your lips are like a ribbon of scarlet,
And your mouth is lovely.
Your temples are like a slice of the pomegranate
Behind your veil.

“Your neck is like the tower of David,
Built with rows of [glistening] stones,
Whereon hang a thousand shields,
All of them shields of warriors.

“O my love, you are altogether beautiful and fair.
There is no flaw nor blemish in you!

“How beautiful is your love, my sister, my [promised] bride!
How much better is your love than wine,
And the fragrance of your oils
Than all kinds of balsam and spices.

“Your lips, my [promised] bride, drip honey [as the honeycomb];
Honey and milk are under your tongue,
And the fragrance of your garments is like the fragrance of Lebanon.

“A garden enclosed is my sister, my [promised] bride—
A rock garden locked, a spring sealed up.

(The Shulammite Bride)
“I was asleep, but my heart was awake.
A voice [in my dream]! My beloved was knocking:
‘Open to me, my sister, my darling,
My dove, my perfect one!
For my head is drenched with the [heavy night] dew;
My hair [is covered] with the dampness of the night.’

(The Chorus)
“What is your beloved more than another beloved,
O most beautiful among women?
What is your beloved more than another beloved,
That you should so command us to take an oath?”

(The Shulammite Bride)
“My beloved is exquisitely handsome and ruddy,
Outstanding among ten thousand.

“His head is like [precious] gold, pure gold;
His hair is [curly] like clusters of dates
And black as a raven.

“His hands are rods of gold
Set with beryl;
His abdomen is a figure of carved ivory
Inlaid with sapphires.

“His legs are [strong and steady] pillars of alabaster
Set upon pedestals of fine gold.
His appearance is like Lebanon,
Stately and choice as the cedars.

“His mouth is full of sweetness;
Yes, he is altogether lovely and desirable.
This is my beloved and this is my friend,
O daughters of Jerusalem.” Cross references: Song of Solomon 5:1 : John 16:33 Song of Solomon 5:2 : Job 11:13-15 Song of Solomon 5:3 : Is 32:9; Heb 3:15 Song of Solomon 5:8 : Ps 63:1 Song of Solomon 5:9 : John 10:26 Song of Solomon 5:10 : Ps 45:2; John 1:14 Song of Solomon 5:16 : Ps 92:15; Col 1:15 end of crossrefs

(The Chorus)“Where has your beloved gone,
O most beautiful among women?
Where is your beloved hiding himself,
That we may seek him with you?”

“I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine,
He who feeds his flock among the lilies.”

(The Bridegroom)
“You are as beautiful as Tirzah, my darling,
As lovely as Jerusalem,
As majestic as an army with banners!

“Turn your [flashing] eyes away from me,
For they have confused and overcome me;
Your hair is like [the shimmering black fleece of] a flock of [Arabian] goats
That have descended from Mount Gilead.

“Your teeth are like a flock of ewes
Which have come up from their washing,
All of which bear twins,
And not one among them has lost her young.

But my dove, my perfect one, stands alone [above them all];
She is her mother’s only daughter;
She is the pure child of the one who bore her.
The maidens saw her and called her blessed and happy,
The queens and the concubines also, and they praised her, saying,

‘Who is this that looks down like the dawn,
Fair and beautiful as the full moon,
Clear and pure as the sun,
As majestic as an army with banners?’

(The Chorus)
“Return, return, O Shulammite;
Return, return, that we may gaze at you.”

“Your navel is a round goblet
Which never lacks mixed wine.
Your belly is like a heap of wheat
Surrounded with lilies.

“Your neck is like a tower of ivory,
Your eyes the [sparkling] pools of Heshbon
By the gate of Bath-rabbim.
Your nose is like the tower of Lebanon
Which looks toward Damascus.

“Your head crowns you like Mount Carmel,
And the flowing hair of your head like purple threads;
I, the king, am held captive by your tresses.

“Your stature is like that of a palm tree
And your breasts like its clusters [of dates].

(The Shulammite Bride)“It goes down smoothly and sweetly for my beloved,
Gliding gently over his lips while he sleeps.
“I am my beloved’s,
And his desire is for me.

“Come, my beloved, let us go out into the country,
Let us spend the night in the villages.

“Let us go out early to the vineyards;
Let us see whether the vine has budded
And its blossoms have opened,
And whether the pomegranates have flowered.
There I will give you my love.

(The Chorus)
“Who is this coming up from the wilderness
Leaning upon her beloved?”

(The Shulammite Bride)“Under the apple tree I awakened you [to my love];
There your mother was in labor with you,
There she was in labor and gave you birth.

“Put me like a seal on your heart,
Like a seal on your arm;
For love is as strong as death,
Jealousy is as severe and cruel as Sheol (the place of the dead).
Its flashes are flashes of fire,
[A most vehement flame] the very flame of the Lord!

(The Chorus)
“We have a little sister
And she has no breasts.
What shall we do for our sister
On the day when she is spoken for [in marriage]?

“If she is a wall (discreet, womanly),
We will build on her a turret (dowry) of silver;
But if she is a door (bold, flirtatious),
We will enclose her with planks of cedar.”

(The Shulammite Bride)
“I was a wall, and my breasts were like the towers.
Then I became in the king’s eyes
As one [to be respected and allowed] to find peace.

“My very own vineyard is at my disposal;
The thousand [shekels of silver] are for you, O Solomon,
And two hundred are for those who tend the fruit.”