The Young Shulammite Bride and Jerusalem’s Daughters
1 TheSong of Songs [the best of songs], which is Solomon’s.
2 “May he kiss me with the kisses of his mouth!” [Solomon arrives, she turns to him, saying,]
“For your love is better than wine.
3 “The aroma of your oils is fragrantandpleasing;
Your name is perfume poured out;
Therefore the maidens love you.
4 “Draw me away with youandlet us runtogether!
Let the king bring me into his chambers.”
“We will rejoice and be glad in you;
We will rememberandextol your love more [sweet and fragrant] than wine.
Rightly do they love you.”
5 “I am deeply tanned but lovely,
O daughters of Jerusalem,
[I am dark] like the tents of [the Bedouins of] Kedar,
Like the [beautiful] curtains of Solomon.
6 “Do not gaze at me because I am deeply tanned,
[I have worked in] the sun; it has left its mark on me.
My mother’s sons were angry with me;
They made me keeper of the vineyards,
But my own vineyard (my complexion) I have not kept.”
7 “Tell me, O you whom my soul loves,
Where do you pastureyour flock,
Where do you make it lie down at noon?
For why should I be like one who is veiled
Beside the flocks of your companions?”
Solomon, the Lover, Speaks
8 “If you do not know [where your lover is],
O you fairest among women,
Run along, follow the tracks of the flock,
And pasture your young goats
By the tents of the shepherds.
9 “To me, my love, you are like
My [favorite] mare among the chariots of Pharaoh.
10 “Your cheeks are lovely with ornaments,
Your neck with strings of jewels.”
11 “We will make for you chainsandornaments of gold,
[Studded] with beads of silver.”
12 “While the king was at his table,
My perfume (Solomon) sent forth [his] fragrance [surrounding me].
13 “My beloved is to me like a pouch of myrrh
Which lies all night between my breasts.
14 “My beloved is to me a cluster of henna flowers
In the [fragrant] vineyards ofEngedi.”
15 “Behold, how beautiful you are, my darling,
Behold, how beautiful you are!
Your eyes are dove’s eyes.”
16 “Behold, how fairandhandsome you are, my beloved;
Andso delightful!
Our arbor is greenandluxuriant.
17 “The beams of our houses are cedars,
Our raftersandpanels are cypresses.