The fragrance of your perfume is intoxicating;
your name is perfume poured out.
No wonder young women adore you.

Take me with you—let us hurry.
Oh, that the king would bring me to his chambers.

Y We will rejoice and be glad for you;
we will praise your love more than wine.

W It is only right that they adore you.

Daughters of Jerusalem,
I am dark like the tents of Kedar,
yet lovely like the curtains of Solomon.

Do not stare at me because I am dark,
for the sun has gazed on me.
My mother’s sons were angry with me;
they made me a keeper of the vineyards.
I have not kept my own vineyard.

Tell me, you, the one I love:
Where do you pasture your sheep?
Where do you let them rest at noon?
Why should I be like one who veils herself
beside the flocks of your companions?

In my bed at night
I sought the one I love;
I sought him, but did not find him.

N What is this coming up from the wilderness
like columns of smoke,
scented with myrrh and frankincense
from every fragrant powder of the merchant?

It is Solomon’s royal litter
surrounded by 60 warriors
from the mighty of Israel.

All of them are skilled with swords
and trained in warfare.
Each has his sword at his side
to guard against the terror of the night.

King Solomon made a sedan chair for himself
with wood from Lebanon.

Come out, young women of Zion,
and gaze at King Solomon,
wearing the crown his mother placed on him
the day of his wedding—
the day of his heart’s rejoicing.

>

Your neck is like the tower of David,
constructed in layers.
A thousand bucklers are hung on it—
all of them shields of warriors.

W Awaken, north wind—
come, south wind.
Blow on my garden,
and spread the fragrance of its spices.
Let my love come to his garden
and eat its choicest fruits.

>

M I have come to my garden—my sister, my bride.
I gather my myrrh with my spices.
I eat my honeycomb with my honey.
I drink my wine with my milk.

N Eat, friends!
Drink, be intoxicated with love!

W I have taken off my clothing.
How can I put it back on?
I have washed my feet.
How can I get them dirty?

Y What makes the one you love better than another,
most beautiful of women?
What makes him better than another,
that you would give us this charge?

Before I knew it,
my desire put me
among the chariots of my noble people.

Y Come back, come back, Shulammite!
Come back, come back, that we may look at you!

M Why are you looking at the Shulammite,
as you look at the dance of the two camps?

>

Your navel is a rounded bowl;
it never lacks mixed wine.
Your waist is a mound of wheat
surrounded by lilies.

The mandrakes give off a fragrance,
and at our doors is every delicacy—
new as well as old.
I have treasured them up for you, my love.

>

If only I could treat you like my brother,
one who nursed at my mother’s breasts,
I would find you in public and kiss you,
and no one would scorn me.

Mighty waters cannot extinguish love;
rivers cannot sweep it away.
If a man were to give all his wealth for love,
it would be utterly scorned.

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 is a wall,
we will build a silver parapet on it.
If she is a door,
we will enclose it with cedar planks.