Hawo 1
1 Solomo ƒe hawo ƒe ha.
2 Tsɔ wò nu gbugbɔ nu nam, elabena wò lɔlɔ̃ doa dzidzɔ nam wu wain.
Bride: May he kiss me with the kiss of his mouth. Groom to Bride: So much better than wine are your breasts,
3 Wò ami ʋeʋĩ si nèsi la le ʋeʋẽm ɖem nyuie; wò ŋkɔ le abe ami si wowu la ene. Mewɔ nuku be ɖetugbiwo lɔ̃ wò nenema gbegbe o!
fragranced with the finest perfumes. Bride to Groom: Your name is oil that has been poured out; therefore, the maidens have loved you.
4 Kplɔm ɖe asi, na míaɖe abla! Fia la nekplɔm yi eƒe xɔ mee. Míatso aseye, akpɔ dzidzɔ ɖe ŋutiwò, eye míakafu wò lɔlɔ̃ wu wain. Ele eteƒe be wole lɔ̃wòm alea!
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 O! Yerusalem vinyɔnuwo, ame yie menye, ke menyo abe Kedar ƒe agbadɔwo kple Solomo ƒe agbadɔ ƒe mɔnuvɔwo ene.
Bride to Chorus: O daughters of Jerusalem: I am black, but shapely, like the tabernacles of Kedar, like the tents of Solomon.
6 Mègate ŋku nɔ kpɔyem, elabena menyo o; nyae be ɣee ɖum menyɔ alea. Danyevi ŋutsuwo do dɔmedzoe ɖe ŋunye, eye wona mekpɔ woƒe waingblewo dzi, ke megblẽ nye ŋutɔ nye waingble ya ɖi.
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 Gblɔe nam, wò ame si melɔ̃na, afi ka nènyia wò lãhawo le, eye ne ŋdɔ ʋu la, afi ka nènana wotsyɔa akɔ ɖo? Nu ka ŋuti manɔ abe nyɔnu si tsyɔ nu ŋkume ene le xɔ̃wòwo ƒe lãhawo gbɔ?
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 Wò, tugbewo ƒe fia, ne mènyae o la, do afɔ na alẽhawo, eye nànyi wò gbɔ̃viwo le lãkplɔlawo ƒe agbadɔwo gbɔ.
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 Nye lɔlɔ̃tɔ, metsɔ wò sɔ kple sɔnɔ si wotsi ɖe Farao ƒe tasiaɖam ɖeka ŋuti.
O my love, I have compared you to my company of horsemen against the chariots of Pharaoh.
10 Togɛ si nède la wɔe be wò alɔgo nya kpɔ nyuie, eye kɔga siwo nède la hã dze wò.
Your cheeks are beautiful, like those of a turtledove. Your neck is like a bejeweled collar.
11 Míawɔ sikatogɛwo na wò, eye woawɔ klosalokpɛviwo ɖe ete.
Chorus to Bride: We will fashion for you chains of gold, accented with reddened silver.
12 Esi fia la le nuɖukplɔ̃ ŋu la, nye ami ʋeʋĩe le ya ɖem.
Bride to Chorus: While the king was taking his rest, my aromatic ointment sent forth its odor.
13 Nye lɔlɔ̃tɔ le nam abe lifigoe le nye akɔnu ene.
My beloved is a bundle of myrrh to me. He shall abide between my breasts.
14 Nye lɔlɔ̃tɔ le nam abe henaseƒoƒo si wogbe hebla tso En Gedi waingble me ene.
My beloved is a cluster of Cyprus grapes to me, in the vineyards of Engaddi.
15 Nye lɔlɔ̃tɔ, èdze tugbe loo! O, aleke nènya le kpɔkpɔm ale! Wò ŋkuwo le abe ahɔnɛtɔwo ene.
Groom to Bride: Behold, you are beautiful, O my love. Behold, you are beautiful. Your eyes are those of a dove.
16 Nye lɔlɔ̃tɔ, èdze ɖeka ŋutɔ! O, aleke nèhedze ɖekae nye esi! Míaƒe aba de ama nyuie.
Bride to Groom: Behold, you are handsome, O my beloved, and graceful. Our bed is flourishing.
17 Míaƒe xɔ ƒe daɖedziwo nye sedatiwo, eye míaƒe xɔ ƒe dzisasãwo nye vɔvɔli.
Groom to Bride: The timbers of our houses are of cedar; our ceilings are of cypress.
