The beams of our house are cedar, and our rafters of fir.

HEAs a lily among thorns, So, is my fair one, among the daughters!

As the apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the sons. In his shadow was my desire to sit, for his fruit was sweet to my mouth.

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

Stay me with flagons, comfort me with apples: for I am sick of love.

(The Bridegroom)
“I command that you take an oath, O daughters of Jerusalem,
By the gazelles or by the does of the field [which run free],
That you do not rouse nor awaken my love
Until she pleases.”

My beloved spake, and said unto me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away.

For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone;

The pomegranates have appeared in the land, the time for pruning and singing has come; the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land.

The fig tree putteth forth her green figs, and the vines with the tender grape give a good smell. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.

O my dove, that art in the clefts of the rock, in the secret places of the stairs, let me see thy countenance, let me hear thy voice; for sweet is thy voice, and thy countenance is comely.

Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines have tender grapes.

(The Shulammite Bride)“On my bed night after night [I dreamed that] I sought the one
Whom my soul loves;
I sought him but did not find him.

"I will arise and look all around throughout the town, and throughout the streets and squares; I will search for my beloved." I searched for him but I did not find him.

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

A palanquin king Solomon made for himself, Of the wood of Lebanon,

He made the pillars thereof of silver, the bottom thereof of gold, the covering of it of purple, the midst thereof being paved with love, for the daughters of Jerusalem.

Behold, thou art fair, my love; behold, thou art fair; thou hast doves' eyes within thy locks: thy hair is as a flock of goats, that appear from mount Gilead.

Thy teeth as a row of the shorn ones That have come up from the washing, For all of them are forming twins, And a bereaved one is not among them.

Your red lips are like a bright thread, and your mouth is fair of form; the sides of your head are like pomegranate fruit under your veil.

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

Till the day shall breathe, and the shadows fled away, I will go for myself to the mountain of myrrh, and to the hill of Lebanon.

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!

(The Shulammite Bride)
“Awake, O north wind,
And come, south wind [blow softly upon my garden];
Make my garden breathe out fragrance, [for the one in whom my soul delights],
Let its spices flow forth.
Let my beloved come into his garden
And eat its choicest fruits.” Cross references: Song of Solomon 4:7 : John 14:18; Eph 5:27 Song of Solomon 4:8 : 2 Cor 11:2, 3 Song of Solomon 4:10 : John 15:9; Rom 8:35 Song of Solomon 4:13 : John 15:5; Eph 5:9 Song of Solomon 4:15 : John 4:10; 7:37, 38 end of crossrefs

(The Bridegroom)“I have come into my garden, my sister, my [promised] bride;
I have gathered my myrrh along with my balsam and spice [from your sweet words].
I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey;
I have drunk my wine with my milk.
Eat, friends;
Drink and drink deeply, O lovers.”

I sleep, but my heart waketh: it is the voice of my beloved that knocketh, saying, Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my undefiled: for my head is filled with dew, and my locks with the drops of the night.

My beloved put in his hand by the hole of the door, and my bowels were moved for him.

“I arose to open for my beloved;
And my hands dripped with myrrh,
And my fingers with liquid [sweet-scented] myrrh,
On the handles of the bolt.

“I opened for my beloved,
But my beloved had turned away and was gone.
My heart went out to him when he spoke.
I searched for him, but I could not find him;
I called him, but he did not answer me.

“I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
If you find my beloved,
As to what you will tell him:
For I am lovesick.”

What is thy beloved above any beloved, O fair among women? What is thy beloved above any beloved, That thus thou hast adjured us?

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

Whither hath thy beloved gone, O fair among women? Whither hath thy beloved turned, And we seek him with thee?

I am for my loved one, and my loved one is for me; he takes food among the lilies.

Thou art fair, O my love, as Tirzah, Comely as Jerusalem, Terrible as an army with banners.

Turn away thine eyes from me, for they have overcome me: thy hair is as a flock of goats that appear from Gilead.

Who is she that looketh forth as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners?

The Lover to His Beloved: I went down to the orchard of walnut trees, to look for the blossoms of the valley, to see if the vines had budded or if the pomegranates were in bloom.

I know not how it was , my soul, set for me the chariots of my willing people!

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

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;

How fair and how pleasant art thou, O love, for delights!

And the roof of thy mouth like the best wine for my beloved, that goeth down sweetly, causing the lips of those that are asleep to speak.

I belong to my love,
and his desire is for me.

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.

“Oh, that you were like a brother to me,
Who nursed at the breasts of my mother.
If I found you out of doors, I would kiss you;
No one would blame me or despise me, either.

Who is this coming from the wilderness, Hasting herself for her beloved? Under the citron-tree I have waked thee, There did thy mother pledge thee, There she gave a pledge that bare thee.

Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm: for love is strong as death; jealousy is cruel as the grave: the coals thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame.

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.

We have a little sister, and she hath no breasts: what shall we do for our sister in the day when she shall be spoken for?

Solomon had a vineyard at Baalhamon; he let out the vineyard unto keepers; every one for the fruit thereof was to bring a thousand pieces of silver.

My vineyard -- my own -- is before me, The thousand is for thee, O Solomon. And the two hundred for those keeping its fruit. O dweller in gardens!

Thou that dwellest in the gardens, The companions hearken for thy voice: Cause me to hear it.

Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the LORD hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me.

O nation full of sin, a people weighted down with crime, a generation of evil-doers, false-hearted children: they have gone away from the Lord, they have no respect for the Holy One of Israel, their hearts are turned back from him.

Wherefore should ye be plagued any more? For ye are ever falling away. The whole head is sick, and the heart is very heavy.

Your country is desolate, your cities are burned with fire: your land, strangers devour it in your presence, and it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers.

“What are all your sacrifices to Me?”
asks the Lord.
“I have had enough of burnt offerings and rams
and the fat of well-fed cattle;
I have no desire for the blood of bulls,
lambs, or male goats.

When you come to appear before me, who asked for this from your hand: you trampling my courts?

Offer me no more oblations, for it is but lost labour. I abhor your incense. I may not away with your new moons, your Sabbaths and solemn days. Your fastings are also in vain.

Your new moons and your set seasons hath My soul hated, They have been upon me for a burden, I have been weary of bearing.

When ye hold out your hands, I will turn my eyes from you. And though ye make many prayers, yet will I hear nothing at all; for your hands are full of blood.

Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow.

But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.

How was the faithful city for a harlot! I filled with judgment; justice will lodge in her; and now they are killing

Thy silver was for dross, thy wine adulterated with water.

Your rulers are rebels
And companions of thieves;
Everyone loves bribes
And chases after gifts.
They do not defend the fatherless,
Nor does the widow’s cause come before them [instead they delay or turn a deaf ear].

For this reason the Lord, the Lord of armies, the Strong One of Israel, has said, I will put an end to my haters, and send punishment on those who are against me;

For the transgressors and ungodly, and such as are become unfaithful unto the LORD, must altogether be utterly destroyed.

For they shall be ashamed of the oaks which ye have desired, and ye shall be confounded for the gardens that ye have chosen.

For ye shall be as an oak whose leaf fadeth, and as a garden that hath no water.

And the strong shall be for tow, and his work a spark; and they shall both burn together, and there shall be none to quench them.

And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.

And He will judge between the nations,
And will mediate [disputes] for many peoples;
And they will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks.
Nation will not lift up the sword against nation,
And never again will they learn war.

For thou hast forsaken thy people the house of Jacob, because they are filled with customs from the east, and are'soothsayers like the Philistines, and they strike hands with the children of foreigners.

And the poor man's head is bent, and the great man goes down on his face: for this cause there will be no forgiveness for their sin.

Enter into the rock, and hide thee in the dust, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty.

For the day of the LORD of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low:

And for all cedars of Lebanon, The high and the exalted ones, And for all oaks of Bashan,

And for all the high mountains, And for all the exalted heights,

And for every high tower, And for every fenced wall,

And for all ships of Tarshish, And for all desirable pictures.

And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth.

In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which they made each one for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats;

To go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the tops of the ragged rocks, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth.

Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils: for wherein is he to be accounted of?

For, behold, the Lord, the LORD of hosts, doth take away from Jerusalem and from Judah the stay and the staff, the whole stay of bread, and the whole stay of water,

Indeed, a man will seize his brother [in] the house of his father: "{You have a cloak}; you shall be a leader for us, and this heap of ruins [shall be] under your hand!"

In that day shall he swear, saying, I will not be an healer; for in my house is neither bread nor clothing: make me not a ruler of the people.

For Jerusalem is ruined, and Judah is fallen: because their tongue and their doings are against the LORD, to provoke the eyes of his glory.

The shew of their countenance doth witness against them; and they declare their sin as Sodom, they hide it not. Woe unto their soul! for they have rewarded evil unto themselves.

Say ye to the righteous, that it shall be well with him: for they shall eat the fruit of their doings.

Woe unto the wicked! it shall be ill with him: for the reward of his hands shall be given him.

As for my people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, they which lead thee cause thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths.

The LORD will enter into judgment with the ancients of his people, and the princes thereof: for ye have eaten up the vineyard; the spoil of the poor is in your houses.

Therefore will My Lord, smite with leprosy the crown of hair of the daughters of Zion, - And, as for Yahweh, their shame, will he lay bare!

The looking-glasses, and the fair linen, and the high head-dresses, and the veils.

And in the place of sweet spices will be an evil smell, and for a fair band a thick cord; for a well-dressed head there will be the cutting-off of the hair, and for a beautiful robe there will be the clothing of sorrow; the mark of the prisoner in place of the ornaments of the free.

For instead of glory, thy men by sword do fall, And thy might in battle.