Canticum Canticorum 1
The Song of songs, which is Solomon's.
2 Osculetur me osculo oris sui; quia meliora sunt ubera tua vino,
Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth, for thy love is better than wine.
3 fragrantia unguentis optimis. Oleum effusum nomen tuum; ideo adolescentulæ dilexerunt te.
Thine oils have a good fragrance. Thy name is oil poured forth. Therefore the virgins love thee.
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.
Draw me, we will run after thee. The king has brought me into his chambers. We will be glad and rejoice in thee. We will make mention of thy love more than of wine. Rightly do they love thee.
5 Nigra sum, sed formosa, filiæ Jerusalem, sicut tabernacula Cedar, sicut pelles Salomonis.
I am black, but comely, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents of Kedar, as the curtains of Solomon.
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.
Look not upon me, because I am swarthy, because the sun has scorched me. My mother's sons were incensed against me. They made me keeper of the vineyards, but my own vineyard I have not kept.
7 Indica mihi, quem diligit anima mea, ubi pascas, ubi cubes in meridie, ne vagari incipiam post greges sodalium tuorum.
Tell me, O thou whom my soul loves, where thou feed thy flock, where thou make it to rest at noon. For why should I be as she who is veiled beside the flocks of thy companions?
8 Si ignoras te, o pulcherrima inter mulieres, egredere, et abi post vestigia gregum, et pasce hædos tuos juxta tabernacula pastorum.
If thou know not, O thou fairest among women, go thy way forth by the footsteps of the flock, and feed thy kids beside the shepherds' tents.
9 Equitatui meo in curribus Pharaonis assimilavi te, amica mea.
I have compared thee, O my love, to a steed in Pharaoh's chariots.
10 Pulchræ sunt genæ tuæ sicut turturis; collum tuum sicut monilia.
Thy cheeks are comely with plaits of hair, thy neck with strings of jewels.
11 Murenulas aureas faciemus tibi, vermiculatas argento.
We will make thee plaits of gold with studs of silver.
12 Dum esset rex in accubitu suo, nardus mea dedit odorem suum.
While the king sat at his table, my spikenard sent forth its fragrance.
13 Fasciculus myrrhæ dilectus meus mihi; inter ubera mea commorabitur.
My beloved is to me a bundle of myrrh that lies between my breasts.
14 Botrus cypri dilectus meus mihi in vineis Engaddi.
My beloved is to me a cluster of henna-flowers in the vineyards of En-gedi.
15 Ecce tu pulchra es, amica mea! ecce tu pulchra es! Oculi tui columbarum.
Behold, thou are fair, my love, behold thou are fair. Thine eyes are doves.
16 Ecce tu pulcher es, dilecte mi, et decorus! Lectulus noster floridus.
Behold, thou are fair, my beloved, yea, pleasant. Also our couch is green.
17 Tigna domorum nostrarum cedrina, laquearia nostra cypressina.
The beams of our house are cedars, our rafters are firs.
