If the clouds are full of rain, they send it down on the earth; and if a tree comes down to the south, or the north, in whatever place it comes down, there it will be.

He who is watching the wind will not get the seed planted, and he who is looking at the clouds will not get in the grain.

As you have no knowledge of the way of the wind, or of the growth of the bones in the body of her who is with child, even so you have no knowledge of the works of God who has made all.

In the morning put your seed into the earth, and till the evening let not your hand be at rest; because you are not certain which will do well, this or that--or if the two will be equally good.

But even if a man's life is long and he has joy in all his years, let him keep in mind the dark days, because they will be great in number. Whatever may come is to no purpose.

Have joy, O young man, while you are young; and let your heart be glad in the days of your strength, and go in the ways of your heart, and in the desire of your eyes; but be certain that for all these things God will be your judge.

So put away trouble from your heart, and sorrow from your flesh; because the early years and the best years are to no purpose.

Let your mind be turned to your Maker in the days of your strength, while the evil days come not, and the years are far away when you will say, I have no pleasure in them;

In the day when the keepers of the house are shaking for fear, and the strong men are bent down, and the women who were crushing the grain are at rest because their number is small, and those looking out of the windows are unable to see;

And he is in fear of that which is high, and danger is in the road, and the tree is white with flower, and the least thing is a weight, and desire is at an end, because man goes to his last resting-place, and those who are sorrowing are in the streets;

And the dust goes back to the earth as it was, and the spirit goes back to God who gave it.

And because the Preacher was wise he still gave the people knowledge; searching out, testing, and putting in order a great number of wise sayings.

The words of the wise are pointed, and sayings grouped together are like nails fixed with a hammer; they are given by one guide.

And further, my son, take note of this: of the making of books there is no end, and much learning is a weariness to the flesh.

Sweet is the smell of your perfumes; your name is as perfume running out; so the young girls give you their love.

Take me to you, and we will go after you: the king has taken me into his house. We will be glad and full of joy in you, we will give more thought to your love than to wine: rightly are they your lovers.

I am dark, but fair of form, O daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents of Kedar, as the curtains of Solomon.

Let not your eyes be turned on me, because I am dark, because I was looked on by the sun; my mother's children were angry with me; they made me the keeper of the vine-gardens; but my vine-garden I have not kept.

Say, O love of my soul, where you give food to your flock, and where you make them take their rest in the heat of the day; why have I to be as one wandering by the flocks of your friends?

If you have not knowledge, O most beautiful among women, go on your way in the footsteps of the flock, and give your young goats food by the tents of the keepers.

I have made a comparison of you, O my love, to a horse in Pharaoh's carriages.

Your face is a delight with rings of hair, your neck with chains of jewels.

We will make you chains of gold with ornaments of silver.

As a bag of myrrh is my well-loved one to me, when he is at rest all night between my breasts.

My love is to me as a branch of the cypress-tree in the vine-gardens of En-gedi.

See, you are fair, my love, you are fair; you have the eyes of a dove.

See, you are fair, my loved one, and a pleasure; our bed is green.

I am a rose of Sharon, a flower of the valleys.

As the apple-tree among the trees of the wood, so is my loved one among the sons. I took my rest under his shade with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste.

Make me strong with wine-cakes, let me be comforted with apples; I am overcome with love.

I say to you, O daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes of the field, do not let love be moved till it is ready.

My loved one is like a roe; see, he is on the other side of our wall, he is looking in at the windows, letting himself be seen through the spaces.

My loved one said to me, Get up, my love, my fair one, and come away.

The fig-tree puts out her green fruit and the vines with their young fruit give a good smell. Get up from your bed, my beautiful one, and come away.

O my dove, you are in the holes of the mountain sides, in the cracks of the high hills; let me see your face, let your voice come to my ears; for sweet is your voice, and your face is fair.

My loved one is mine, and I am his: he takes his food among the flowers.

Till the evening comes, and the sky slowly becomes dark, come, my loved one, and be like a roe on the mountains of Bether.

By night on my bed I was looking for him who is the love of my soul: I was looking for him, but I did not see him.

I will get up now and go about the town, in the streets and in the wide ways I will go after him who is the love of my soul: I went after him, but I did not see him.

The watchmen who go about the town came by me; to them I said, Have you seen him who is my heart's desire?

I was but a little way from them, when I came face to face with him who is the love of my soul. I took him by the hands, and did not let him go, till I had taken him into my mother's house, and into the room of her who gave me birth.

I say to you, O daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes of the field, let not love be moved till it is ready.

Who is this coming out of the waste places like pillars of smoke, perfumed with sweet spices, with all the spices of the trader?

King Solomon made himself a bed of the wood of Lebanon.

Go out, O daughters of Jerusalem, and see King Solomon, with the crown which his mother put on his head on the day when he was married, and on the day of the joy of his heart.

See, you are fair, my love, you are fair; you have the eyes of a dove; your hair is as a flock of goats, which take their rest on the side of Gilead.

Your teeth are like a flock of sheep whose wool is newly cut, which come up from the washing; every one has two lambs, and there is not one without young.

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.

Your neck is like the tower of David made for a store-house of arms, in which a thousand breastplates are hanging, breastplates for fighting-men.

Till the evening comes, and the sky slowly becomes dark, I will go to the mountain of myrrh, and to the hill of frankincense.

You are all fair, my love; there is no mark on you.

You have taken away my heart, my sister, my bride; you have taken away my heart, with one look you have taken it, with one chain of your neck!

A garden walled-in is my sister, my bride; a garden shut up, a spring of water stopped.

You are a fountain of gardens, a spring of living waters, and flowing waters from Lebanon.

Be awake, O north wind; and come, O south, blowing on my garden, so that its spices may come out. Let my loved one come into his garden, and take of his good fruits.

I have come into my garden, my sister, my bride; to take my myrrh with my spice; my wax with my honey; my wine with my milk. Take meat, O friends; take wine, yes, be overcome with love.

I am sleeping, but my heart is awake; it is the sound of my loved one at the door, saying, Be open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my very beautiful one; my head is wet with dew, and my hair with the drops of the night.

I have put off my coat; how may I put it on? My feet are washed; how may I make them unclean?

I got up to let my loved one in; and my hands were dropping with myrrh, and my fingers with liquid myrrh, on the lock of the door.

I made the door open to my loved one; but my loved one had taken himself away, and was gone, my soul was feeble when his back was turned on me; I went after him, but I did not come near him; I said his name, but he gave me no answer.

The keepers who go about the town overtook me; they gave me blows and wounds; the keepers of the walls took away my veil from me.

I say to you, O daughters of Jerusalem, if you see my loved one, what will you say to him? That I am overcome with love.

What is your loved one more than another, O fairest among women? What is your loved one more than another, that you say this to us?

His head is as the most delicate gold; his hair is thick, and black as a raven.

His hands are as rings of gold ornamented with beryl-stones; his body is as a smooth plate of ivory covered with sapphires.

His legs are as pillars of stone on a base of delicate gold; his looks are as Lebanon, beautiful as the cedar-tree.

His mouth is most sweet; yes, he is all beautiful. This is my loved one, and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem.

Where is your loved one gone, O most fair among women? Where is your loved one turned away, that we may go looking for him with you?

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

You are beautiful, O my love, as Tirzah, as fair as Jerusalem; you are to be feared like an army with flags.

Let your eyes be turned away from me; see, they have overcome me; your hair is as a flock of goats which take their rest on the side of Gilead.

Your teeth are like a flock of sheep which come up from the washing; every one has two lambs, and there is not one without young.

My dove, my very beautiful one, is but one; she is the only one of her mother, she is the dearest one of her who gave her birth. The daughters saw her, and gave her a blessing; yes, the queens and the servant-wives, and they gave her praises.

Who is she, looking down as the morning light, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, who is to be feared like an army with flags?

I went down into the garden of nuts to see the green plants of the valley, and to see if the vine was in bud, and the pomegranate-trees were in flower.

Before I was conscious of it, ...

Come back, come back, O Shulammite; come back, come back, so that our eyes may see you. What will you see in the Shulammite? A sword-dance.

How beautiful are your feet in their shoes, O king's daughter! The curves of your legs are like jewels, the work of the hands of a good workman:

Your stomach is a store of grain with lilies round it, and in the middle a round cup full of wine.

Your neck is as a tower of ivory; your eyes like the waters in Heshbon, by the doorway of Bath-rabbim; your nose is as the tower on Lebanon looking over Damascus:

How beautiful and how sweet you are, O love, for delight.

You are tall like a palm-tree, and your breasts are like the fruit of the vine.

I said, Let me go up the palm-tree, and let me take its branches in my hands: your breasts will be as the fruit of the vine, and the smell of your breath like apples;

I am for my loved one, and his desire is for me.

Let us go out early to the vine-gardens; let us see if the vine is in bud, if it has put out its young fruit, and the pomegranate is in flower. There I will give you my love.

The mandrakes give out a sweet smell, and at our doors are all sorts of good fruits, new and old, which I have kept for my loved one.

Oh that you were my brother, who took milk from my mother's breasts! When I came to you in the street, I would give you kisses; yes, I would not be looked down on.

I would take you by the hand into my mother's house, and she would be my teacher. I would give you drink of spiced wine, drink of the pomegranate.

I say to you, O daughters of Jerusalem, do not let love be moved till it is ready.

Who is this, who comes up from the waste places, resting on her loved one? It was I who made you awake under the apple-tree, where your mother gave you birth; there she was in pain at your birth.

Put me as a sign on your heart, as a sign on your arm; love is strong as death, and wrath bitter as the underworld: its coals are coals of fire; violent are its flames.

Much water may not put out love, or the deep waters overcome it: if a man would give all the substance of his house for love, it would be judged a price not great enough.

We have a young sister, and she has no breasts; what are we to do for our sister in the day when she is given to a man?

If she is a wall, we will make on her a strong base of silver; and if she is a door, we will let her be shut up with cedar-wood.

I am a wall, and my breasts are like towers; then was I in his eyes as one to whom good chance had come.

Solomon had a vine-garden at Baal-hamon; he let out the vine-garden to keepers; every one had to give a thousand bits of silver for its fruit.

My vine-garden, which is mine, is before me: you, O Solomon, will have the thousand, and those who keep the fruit of them two hundred.

You who have your resting-place in the gardens, the friends give ear to your voice; make me give ear to it.

Come quickly, my loved one, and be like a roe on the mountains of spice.

Give ear, O heavens, and you, O earth, to the word which the Lord has said: I have taken care of my children till they became men, but their hearts have been turned away from me.