{The Ballad of Ballads of Solomon} O that thy mouth would give me a kiss!

Draw thou me unto thee; we will run after thee. The king hath brought me into his privy chamber: We will be glad and rejoice in thee, we think more of thy love than of wine. They that be righteous 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.

Tell me, O thou whom my soul loveth, where thou feedest the sheep, where thou maketh the rest at the noon day: for why shall I be like him that goeth wrong about the flocks of thy companions?

If thou know not thyself, O thou fairest among women, then go thy way forth after the footsteps of the sheep, and feed thy goats beside the shepherds' tents.

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

a neck band of gold will we make thee with silver buttons.

for a bundle of Myrrh is my love unto me; he will lie betwixt my breasts.

A cluster of Camphire in the vineyards of Engedi art thou unto me, O my beloved.

O how fair art thou, my love, how fair art thou? Thou hast doves' eyes.

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

I am the flower of the field, and lilies of the valleys.

Set about me cups of wine, comfort me with apples; for I am sick of love.

I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, by the Roes and hinds of the field, that ye wake not up my love nor touch her, till she be content herself.

Me think I hear the voice of my beloved: lo, there cometh he hopping upon the mountains, and leaping over the little hills.

My beloved is like a Roe or a young hart. Behold, he standeth behind our wall, he looketh in at the window, and peepeth through the grate.

The fig tree hath brought forth her figs, and the vine blossoms give a savour.

Get us the foxes, yea the little foxes that hurt the vines, for our vines bear blossoms.

My love is mine, and I am his, which feedeth among the lilies,

until the day break, and till the shadows be gone. Come again privily, O my beloved, like as a Roe or a young hart unto the mountains.

By night in my bed I sought him, whom my soul loveth: yea, diligently sought I him, but I found him not.

I will get up, thought I, and go about the city, in the ways and in all the streets will I seek him whom my soul loveth: but when I sought him, I found him not.

The watchmen that go about the city found me, to whom I said: Saw ye not him whom my soul loveth?

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 charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, by the Roes, and Hinds of the field, that ye wake not up my love nor touch her, till she be content herself.

Who is this, that cometh up out of the wilderness like pillars of smoke, as it were a smell of Myrrh, frankincense and all manner spices of the Apothecary?

King Solomon hath made himself a bedstead of the wood of Lebanon:

Go forth, O ye daughters of Zion, and behold king Solomon in the crown, wherewith his mother crowned him in the day of his marriage, and in the day of the gladness of his heart.

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 lips are like a rose colored ribbon, thy words are lovely: thy cheeks are like a piece of a pomegranate, within thine hairs.

Thy neck is like the tower of David builded with bulwarks, whereupon there hang a thousand shields; yea, all the weapons of the giants.

O that I might go to the mountain of Myrrh, and to the hill of frankincense, till the day break, and till the shadows be past away.

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

Come to me from Lebanon, O my spouse, come to me from Lebanon: come soon the next way from the top of Amana, from the top of Senir and Hermon, from the lions' dens, and from the mountains of the leopards.

Thou hast bewitched my heart, O my sister, my spouse; thou hast bewitched my heart with one of thine eyes, and with one chain of thy neck.

O how fair are thy breasts, my sister, my spouse? Thy breasts are more pleasant than wine, and the smell of thine ointments passeth all spices.

Thy lips, O my spouse, drop as the honeycomb; yea, milk and honey is under thy tongue, and the smell of thy garments is like the smell of frankincense.

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

The fruits that sprout in thee are like a very Paradise of pomegranates with sweet fruits:

Thou art a well of gardens, a well of living waters, which run down from Lebanon.

Up thou North wind, come thou South wind, and blow upon my garden, that the smell thereof may be carried on every side: yea, that my beloved may come into my garden, and eat of the fruits and apples that grow therein.

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.

As I was asleep, and my heart waking, I heard the voice of my beloved, when he knocked. Open to me, said he, O my sister, my love, my darling, my dove: for my head is full of dew, and my locks of my hair are full of the night drops.

I have put off my coat: how can I do it on again? I have washed my feet, how shall I defile them again?

so that I stood up to open unto my beloved. My hands dropped with Myrrh, and the Myrrh ran down my fingers upon the lock.

Nevertheless when I had opened unto my beloved, he was departed and gone his way. Now like as afore time when he spake, my heart could not longer refrain: Even so now I sought him, but I could not find him: I cried upon him, nevertheless he gave me no answer.

So the watchmen that went about the city found me, smote me, and wounded me: Yea they that kept the walls, took away my kerchief from me.

I charge you therefore, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, if ye find my beloved, that ye tell him how that I am sick for love.

Who is thy love above other lovers, O thou fairest among women? Or what can thy love do, more than other lovers, that thou chargest us so straightly?

As for my loved, he is white and red colored, a singular person among many thousands;

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 throat is sweet; yea, he is altogether lovely. Such one is my love, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, such one is my love.

Whither is thy love gone then, O thou fairest among women; whither is thy love departed, that we may seek him with thee?

My love is mine, and I am his, which feedeth among the lilies.

Thou art beautiful, O my love, even as loveliness itself; thou art fair as Jerusalem, glorious as an army of men with their banners.

Turn away thine eyes from me, for they have set me on fire! Thy hairy locks are like a flock of goats upon the mount of Gilead.

Thy teeth are like a flock of sheep that be clipped, which go out of the washing place: where every one beareth two twins, and not one unfruitful among them.

Thy cheeks are like a piece of a pomegranate, within thy volupers.

But one is my dove, my darling. She is the only beloved of her mother, and dear unto her that bare her. When the daughters saw her, they said, she was blessed: Yea the Queens and concubines praised her.

I went down into the nut garden, to see what grew by the brooks, to look if the vineyard flourished, and if the pomegranates were shot forth.

Turn again, turn again, O thou Shulamite; turn again, turn again, that we may look upon thee. What pleasure have ye more in the Shulamite, than when she danceth among the men of war?

O how pleasant are thy treadings, with thy shoes, thou prince's daughter? The joint of thy thighs are like a fair jewel, which is wrought by a cunning work master;

Thy navel is like a round goblet, which is never without drink. Thy womb is like a heap of wheat, set about with lilies;

Thy neck is as it were a tower of ivory; thine eyes are like the water pools in Heshbon, by the port of Bathrabbim. Thy nose is like the tower of Lebanon, which looketh toward Damascus.

O how fair and lovely art thou, my darling, in pleasures?

Thy stature is like a date tree, and thy breasts like the grapes.

I said, I will climb up the date tree, and take hold of his branches. Thy breasts also shall be as the vine grapes, the smell of thy nostrils like the smell of apples,

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

O come on my love; let us go forth into the field, and take our lodging in the villages.

In the morning will we rise betimes, and go see the vineyard: if it be sprung forth, if the grapes be grown, and if the pomegranates be shot out. There will I give thee my breasts;

there shall the mandragoras give their smell beside our doors; there, O my love, have I kept unto thee all manner of fruits, both new and old.

O that I might find thee without, and kiss thee, whom I love as my brother which sucked my mother's breasts: and that thou wouldest not be offended,

if I took thee, and brought thee into my mother's house - that thou mightest teach me, and that I might give thee drink of spiced wine and of the sweet sap of my pomegranates.

I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, that ye wake not up my love, nor touch her, till she be content herself. What is she, this that cometh up from the wilderness, and leaneth upon her love?

I am the same that waked thee up among the apple trees, where thy mother bare thee, where thy mother brought thee in to the world.

O set me as a seal upon thine heart, and as a seal upon thine arm: for love is mighty as the death, and jealousy as the hell. Her coals are of fire, and a very flame of the LORD:

so that many waters are not able to quench love, neither may the streams drown it. Yea, if a man would give all the good of his house for love, he should count it nothing.

Our sister is but young, and hath no breasts: what shall we do for our sister when she shall be spoken for?

If she be a wall, we shall build a silver bulwark thereupon: if she be an open door, we shall fasten her with boards of Cedar tree.

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

Solomon had a vineyard at Baalhamon; this vineyard delivered he unto the keepers, that every one for the fruit thereof should give him a thousand pieces of silver.

But my vineyard, O Solomon, giveth thee a thousand, and two hundred to the keepers of the fruit.

Thou that dwellest in the gardens, O let me hear thy voice, that my companions may hearken to the same.

O get thee away, my love, as a roe or a young hart unto the sweet smelling mountains.