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

Thine oils have a goodly fragrance; Thy name is as oil poured forth; Therefore do the virgins love thee.

Draw me, we will run after thee: the king hath brought me into his chambers: we will be glad and rejoice in thee, we will remember thy love more than wine: the upright love thee.

I am black, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, like as the tents of the Kedarenes, and as the hangings of Solomon: but yet am I fair and well favored withal.

Marvel not at me that I am so black: For why? The sun hath shined upon me. My mother's children had evil will at me, they made me the keeper of the vineyards; but mine own vineyard have I not kept.

There will I tarry for thee, my love, with mine host and with my chariots, which shall be no fewer than Pharaoh's.

We will make thee borders of gold with studs of silver.

While the king sitteth at his table, my spikenard sendeth forth the smell thereof.

A bundle of myrrh is my wellbeloved unto me; he shall lie all night betwixt my breasts.

O how fair art thou, my beloved, how well favored art thou? Our bed is decked with flowers,

My beloved is like a roe or a young hart: behold, he standeth behind our wall, he looketh forth at the windows, shewing himself through the lattice.

The fig-tree, hath spiced her green figs, and, the vines - all blossom, yield fragrance, - Rise up! my fair - my beautiful - one, and come away!

(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.”

BOTHTake ye for us, the foxes, the little foxes that are spoiling the vines, - and, our vines, are all blossom!

The Beloved about Her Lover: All night long on my bed I longed for my lover. I longed for him but he never appeared.

I will rise now, and go about the city in the streets, and in the broad ways I will seek him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, but I found him not.

The watchmen who go all around the city found me. I asked, "Have you seen the one I love?"

So when I was a little past them, I found him whom my soul loveth. I have gotten hold upon him, and will not let him go, until I bring him into my mother's house, and in to her chamber that bare me.

“I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
By the gazelles or by the hinds of the field,
That you will not arouse or awaken my love
Until she pleases.”

Who is this that cometh out of the wilderness like pillars of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, with all powders of the merchant?

They all hold swords, being expert in war: every man hath his sword upon his thigh because of fear in the night.

Its posts were made of silver; its back was made of gold. Its seat was upholstered with purple wool; its interior was inlaid with leather by the maidens of Jerusalem.

O how fair art thou, my love, how fair art thou? Thou hast doves' eyes, beside that which lieth hid within. Thy hairy locks are like the wool of a flock of goats that be shorn on Mount Gilead.

Thy teeth are like a flock of shorn sheep, Which go up from the washing; Which have all borne twins, And none is barren among them.

Thy neck is like the tower of David builded for an armoury, whereon there hang a thousand bucklers, all shields of mighty men.

Until the day break, and the shadows flee away, I will get me to the mountain of myrrh, and to the hill of frankincense.

Thou art all fair, my love; there is no spot in thee.

How fair is thy love, my sister, my spouse! how much better is thy love than wine! and the smell of thine ointments than all spices!

Thy lips will drop honey droppings, O bride: honey and milk under thy tongue, and the odor of thy garments as the odor of Lebanon.

Thou art a well kept garden, O my sister, my spouse, thou are a well kept watering spring, and a sealed well.

The produce of the garden is pomegranates; with all the best fruits, henna and spikenard,

Spikenard and saffron; calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense; myrrh and aloes, with all the chief spices:

A fountain of gardens, a well of living waters, and streams from Lebanon.

SHEAwake, O north wind, and come in, thou south, Fan my garden - its balsams, will flow out, - Let my beloved enter his garden, and eat his precious fruits.

Come into my garden O my sister, my Spouse: I have gathered my Myrrh with my spice. I will eat my honey and my honeycomb, I will drink my wine and my milk. Eat, O ye friends, drink and be merry, O ye beloved.

The watchmen who went about the city found me and struck me; they wounded me. The keepers of the wall lifted my veil from me.

I charge you, daughters of Jerusalem, If ye find my beloved, ... What will ye tell him? That I am sick of love.

The Beloved to the Maidens: My beloved is dazzling and ruddy; he stands out in comparison to all other men.

His cheeks are like a garden bed, wherein the Apothecaries plant all manner of sweet things; His lips are like roses that drop sweet smelling Myrrh.

His mouth is sweetness -- and all of him desirable, This is my beloved, and this my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem!

Whither is thy beloved gone, Thou fairest among women? Whither is thy beloved turned aside? And we will seek him with thee.

Thy teeth are like a flock of sheep Which go up from the washing; Which have all borne twins, And none is barren among them.

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,

Return, return, O Shulamite; return, return, that we may look upon thee. What will ye see in the Shulamite? As it were the company of two armies.

Thy navel a bowl of roundness, it will not want mixed wine; thy belly a heap of wheat enclosed with lilies.

“How beautiful and how delightful you are,
My love, with all your charms!

I said, I will go up to the palm tree, I will take hold of the boughs thereof: now also thy breasts shall be as clusters of the vine, and the smell of thy nose like apples;

‘And your kisses like the best wine!’”

There will I turn me unto my love, and he shall turn him unto me.

Come, my beloved, we will go forth to the field; we will lodge in the villages.

Let us get up early to the vineyards; let us see if the vine flourish, whether the tender grape appear, and the pomegranates bud forth: there will I give thee my loves.

The mandrakes give a smell, and at our gates are all manner of pleasant fruits, new and old, which I have laid up for thee, O my beloved.

Who will give thee as a brother to me, sucking the breasts of my mother? I shall find thee without, I shall kiss thee; also they shall not despise me.

I will lead thee, I will bring thee to the house of my mother; thou wilt teach me: I will give thee to drink from spiced wine from the new wine of my pomegranate.

I HEadjure you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, - Why will ye wake, and why will ye arouse the dear love until she please! ****

Set me as a seal on your heart,
as a seal on your arm.
For love is as strong as death;
ardent love is as unrelenting as Sheol.
Love’s flames are fiery flames—
the fiercest of all.

Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it: if a man would give all the substance of his house for love, it would utterly be contemned.

B Our sister is young;
she has no breasts.
What will we do for our sister
on the day she is spoken for?

If she be a wall, we will build upon her a palace of silver: and if she be a door, we will inclose her with boards of cedar.

I am a wall, and my breasts like towers: then was I in his eyes as one that found favour.

“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.”