Song of Solomon 1
1 This is Solomon’s Song of Songs.
2 Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth! For your love is more delightful than wine.
Bride: May he kiss me with the kiss of his mouth. Groom to Bride: So much better than wine are your breasts,
3 The fragrance of your perfume is pleasing; your name is like perfume poured out. No wonder the maidens adore you.
fragranced with the finest perfumes. Bride to Groom: Your name is oil that has been poured out; therefore, the maidens have loved you.
4 Take me away with you—let us hurry! May the king bring me to his chambers. We will rejoice and delight in you; we will praise your love more than wine. It is only right that they adore you.
Draw me forward. Chorus to Bride: We will run after you in the odor of your perfumes. Bride to Chorus: The king has led me into his storerooms. Chorus to Bride: We will exult and rejoice in you, remembering your breasts above wine. Groom to Bride: The righteous love you.
5 I am dark, yet lovely, O daughters of Jerusalem, like the tents of Kedar, like the curtains of Solomon.
Bride to Chorus: O daughters of Jerusalem: I am black, but shapely, like the tabernacles of Kedar, like the tents of Solomon.
6 Do not stare because I am dark, for the sun has gazed upon me. My mother’s sons were angry with me; they made me a keeper of the vineyards, but my own vineyard I have neglected.
Do not be concerned that I am dark, for the sun has changed my color. The sons of my mother have fought against me. They have made me the keeper of the vineyards. My own vineyard I have not kept.
7 Tell me, O one I love, where do you pasture your sheep? Where do you rest them at midday? Why should I be like a veiled woman beside the flocks of your companions?
Bride to Groom: Reveal to me, you whom my soul loves, where you pasture, where you recline at midday, lest I begin to wander after the flocks of your companions.
8 If you do not know, O fairest of women, follow the tracks of the flock, and graze your young goats near the tents of the shepherds.
Groom to Bride: If you yourself do not know, O most beautiful among women, then go out and follow after the steps of the flocks, and pasture your young goats beside the tabernacles of the shepherds.
9 I compare you, my darling, to a mare among Pharaoh’s chariots.
O my love, I have compared you to my company of horsemen against the chariots of Pharaoh.
10 Your cheeks are beautiful with ornaments, your neck with strings of jewels.
Your cheeks are beautiful, like those of a turtledove. Your neck is like a bejeweled collar.
11 We will make you ornaments of gold, studded with beads of silver.
Chorus to Bride: We will fashion for you chains of gold, accented with reddened silver.
12 While the king was at his table, my perfume spread its fragrance.
Bride to Chorus: While the king was taking his rest, my aromatic ointment sent forth its odor.
13 My beloved is to me a sachet of myrrh resting between my breasts.
My beloved is a bundle of myrrh to me. He shall abide between my breasts.
14 My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blossoms in the vineyards of En-gedi.
My beloved is a cluster of Cyprus grapes to me, in the vineyards of Engaddi.
15 How beautiful you are, my darling! Oh, how very beautiful! Your eyes are like doves.
Groom to Bride: Behold, you are beautiful, O my love. Behold, you are beautiful. Your eyes are those of a dove.
16 How handsome you are, my beloved! Oh, how delightful! The soft grass is our bed.
Bride to Groom: Behold, you are handsome, O my beloved, and graceful. Our bed is flourishing.
17 The beams of our house are cedars; our rafters are fragrant firs.
Groom to Bride: The timbers of our houses are of cedar; our ceilings are of cypress.
