Canticum Canticorum 1
This is [King] Solomon’s most beautiful song.
2 Osculetur me osculo oris sui; quia meliora sunt ubera tua vino,
Kiss me [on my lips], because your love [for me] is more delightful than wine.
3 fragrantia unguentis optimis. Oleum effusum nomen tuum; ideo adolescentulæ dilexerunt te.
The fragrance of the cologne on your [skin] is [very] sweet/pleasing [CHI]. And your reputation is [very] good and spreads, [like] [SIM] the fragrance of the special oil spread on your skin. That is why the [other] young women are attracted to you.
4 Trahe me, post te curremus in odorem unguentorum tuorum. Introduxit me rex in cellaria sua; exsultabimus et lætabimur in te, memores uberum tuorum super vinum. Recti diligunt te.
Take me quickly; take me to your home. [It is as though] you are my king; take me into your room. We are very happy [DOU] about you; we say that your love [for each other] is better than wine. It is not surprising that the other young women adore you.
5 Nigra sum, sed formosa, filiæ Jerusalem, sicut tabernacula Cedar, sicut pelles Salomonis.
You women of Jerusalem, I am dark but beautiful; my dark skin is like [SIM] the tents in Kedar, [or] like the beautiful curtains in Solomon’s palace.
6 Nolite me considerare quod fusca sim, quia decoloravit me sol. Filii matris meæ pugnaverunt contra me; posuerunt me custodem in vineis: vineam meam non custodivi.
[But] do not stare at me because of the sun having caused my skin to become dark; my brothers were angry with me, [so] they forced me to work [out in the sunshine] in the vineyards, so I was not able to take good care of my body/skin [CHI, MET].
7 Indica mihi, quem diligit anima mea, ubi pascas, ubi cubes in meridie, ne vagari incipiam post greges sodalium tuorum.
You whom I [SYN] love, where will you take your flock of sheep today? Where will you allow them to rest at noontime? I want to know because it is not right [RHQ] for me to wander around like a prostitute looking for you among the flocks that belong to your friends.
8 Si ignoras te, o pulcherrima inter mulieres, egredere, et abi post vestigia gregum, et pasce hædos tuos juxta tabernacula pastorum.
You who are the most beautiful of all the women, if you [search for me and] do not know [where I will take my sheep], follow the tracks/footprints of the sheep. [Then] allow your young goats to (graze/eat grass) near the shepherds’ tents.
9 Equitatui meo in curribus Pharaonis assimilavi te, amica mea.
You [are beautiful], my darling, like the young female horse that pulls the chariot of the king of Egypt.
10 Pulchræ sunt genæ tuæ sicut turturis; collum tuum sicut monilia.
Your cheeks are decorated with jewelry, and there are strings of beads/pearls around your neck.
11 Murenulas aureas faciemus tibi, vermiculatas argento.
We will make for you [some] gold earrings that are decorated/inlaid with silver.
12 Dum esset rex in accubitu suo, nardus mea dedit odorem suum.
While the king was on his couch, the smell of my perfume spread [around the room].
13 Fasciculus myrrhæ dilectus meus mihi; inter ubera mea commorabitur.
The man who loves me is [as delightful as [MET]] a (sachet/small cloth bag) of myrrh between my breasts.
14 Botrus cypri dilectus meus mihi in vineis Engaddi.
He is like [MET] a bunch of flowers from the vineyards at En-Gedi.
15 Ecce tu pulchra es, amica mea! ecce tu pulchra es! Oculi tui columbarum.
You whom I love, you are beautiful; you are very beautiful! Your eyes are [as delightful/charming as] doves.
16 Ecce tu pulcher es, dilecte mi, et decorus! Lectulus noster floridus.
You who love me, you are very delightful/handsome, you are wonderful! This green grass will be [like] a couch [where we lie down].
17 Tigna domorum nostrarum cedrina, laquearia nostra cypressina.
[Branches of] cedar [trees] will shade us; [it is as though branches of] juniper/pine [trees] will be like [MET] a roof [over our heads].
