Song of Solomon 1
1 The song of songs, which is Solomon's.
2 Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth; For thy love is better 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 Thine ointments savour sweetly; Thy name is an ointment poured forth: Therefore do the virgins love thee.
fragranced with the finest perfumes. Bride to Groom: Your name is oil that has been poured out; therefore, the maidens have loved you.
4 Draw me, we will run after thee! — The king hath brought me into his chambers — We will be glad and rejoice in thee, We will remember thy love more than wine. They love thee uprightly.
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 black, but comely, daughters of Jerusalem, As the tents of Kedar, As 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 Look not upon me, because I am black; Because the sun hath looked upon me. My mother's children were angry with me: They made me keeper of the vineyards; Mine own vineyard have I not kept.
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, thou whom my soul loveth, Where thou feedest [thy flock], Where thou makest it to rest at noon; For why should I be as one veiled Beside the flocks of thy 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 thou know not, thou fairest among women, Go thy way forth by the footsteps of the flock, And feed thy kids beside the shepherds' booths.
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 thee, my love, To a steed in Pharaoh's chariots.
O my love, I have compared you to my company of horsemen against the chariots of Pharaoh.
10 Thy cheeks are comely with bead-rows, Thy neck with ornamental chains.
Your cheeks are beautiful, like those of a turtledove. Your neck is like a bejeweled collar.
11 We will make thee bead-rows of gold With studs of silver.
Chorus to Bride: We will fashion for you chains of gold, accented with reddened silver.
12 While the king is at his table, My spikenard sendeth forth its fragrance.
Bride to Chorus: While the king was taking his rest, my aromatic ointment sent forth its odor.
13 A bundle of myrrh is my beloved unto me; He shall pass the night between my breasts.
My beloved is a bundle of myrrh to me. He shall abide between my breasts.
14 My beloved is unto me a cluster of henna-flowers In the vineyards of Engedi.
My beloved is a cluster of Cyprus grapes to me, in the vineyards of Engaddi.
15 Behold, thou art fair, my love; Behold, thou art fair: thine eyes are doves.
Groom to Bride: Behold, you are beautiful, O my love. Behold, you are beautiful. Your eyes are those of a dove.
16 Behold, thou art fair, my beloved, yea, pleasant; Also our bed is green.
Bride to Groom: Behold, you are handsome, O my beloved, and graceful. Our bed is flourishing.
17 The beams of our houses are cedars, Our rafters are cypresses.
Groom to Bride: The timbers of our houses are of cedar; our ceilings are of cypress.
