|
|
|
Song of Songs
1 |
|
Solomon's Song of Songs. {2} Let him kiss me with the kisses of
his mouth-- for your love is more delightful than wine. {3}
Pleasing is the fragrance of your perfumes; your name is like perfume
poured out. No wonder the maidens love you! {4} Take me away with
you--let us hurry! Let the king bring me into his chambers. We rejoice
and delight in you ; we will praise your love more than wine. How right
they are to adore you! {5} Dark am I, yet lovely, O daughters of
Jerusalem, dark like the tents of Kedar, like the tent curtains of
Solomon. {6} Do not stare at me because I am dark, because I am
darkened by the sun. My mother's sons were angry with me and made me
take care of the vineyards; my own vineyard I have neglected. {7}
Tell me, you whom I love, where you graze your flock and where you rest
your sheep at midday. Why should I be like a veiled woman beside the
flocks of your friends? {8} If you do not know, most beautiful of
women, follow the tracks of the sheep and graze your young goats by the
tents of the shepherds. {9} I liken you, my darling, to a mare
harnessed to one of the chariots of Pharaoh. {10} Your cheeks are
beautiful with earrings, your neck with strings of jewels. {11}
We will make you earrings of gold, studded with silver. {12}
While the king was at his table, my perfume spread its fragrance.
{13} My lover is to me a sachet of myrrh resting between my breasts.
{14} My lover is to me a cluster of henna blossoms from the
vineyards of En Gedi. {15} How beautiful you are, my darling! Oh,
how beautiful! Your eyes are doves. {16} How handsome you are, my
lover! Oh, how charming! And our bed is verdant. {17} The beams
of our house are cedars; our rafters are firs. |
|
Song of Songs 2 |
|
I am
a rose of Sharon, a lily of the valleys. {2} Like a lily among
thorns is my darling among the maidens. {3} Like an apple tree
among the trees of the forest is my lover among the young men. I delight
to sit in his shade, and his fruit is sweet to my taste. {4} He
has taken me to the banquet hall, and his banner over me is love. {5}
Strengthen me with raisins, refresh me with apples, for I am faint
with love. {6} His left arm is under my head, and his right arm
embraces me. {7} Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you by the
gazelles and by the does of the field: Do not arouse or awaken love
until it so desires. {8} Listen! My lover! Look! Here he comes,
leaping across the mountains, bounding over the hills. {9} My
lover is like a gazelle or a young stag. Look! There he stands behind
our wall, gazing through the windows, peering through the lattice.
{10} My lover spoke and said to me, "Arise, my darling, my beautiful
one, and come with me. {11} See! The winter is past; the rains
are over and gone. {12} Flowers appear on the earth; the season
of singing has come, the cooing of doves is heard in our land. {13}
The fig tree forms its early fruit; the blossoming vines spread
their fragrance. Arise, come, my darling; my beautiful one, come with
me." {14} My dove in the clefts of the rock, in the hiding places
on the mountainside, show me your face, let me hear your voice; for your
voice is sweet, and your face is lovely. {15} Catch for us the
foxes, the little foxes that ruin the vineyards, our vineyards that are
in bloom. {16} My lover is mine and I am his; he browses among
the lilies. {17} Until the day breaks and the shadows flee, turn,
my lover, and be like a gazelle or like a young stag on the rugged
hills. |
|
Song of Songs 3 |
|
All
night long on my bed I looked for the one my heart loves; I looked for
him but did not find him. {2} I will get up now and go about the
city, through its streets and squares; I will search for the one my
heart loves. So I looked for him but did not find him. {3} The
watchmen found me as they made their rounds in the city. "Have you seen
the one my heart loves?" {4} Scarcely had I passed them when I
found the one my heart loves. I held him and would not let him go till I
had brought him to my mother's house, to the room of the one who
conceived me. {5} Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you by the
gazelles and by the does of the field: Do not arouse or awaken love
until it so desires. {6} Who is this coming up from the desert
like a column of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and incense made from all
the spices of the merchant? {7} Look! It is Solomon's carriage,
escorted by sixty warriors, the noblest of Israel, {8} all of
them wearing the sword, all experienced in battle, each with his sword
at his side, prepared for the terrors of the night. {9} King
Solomon made for himself the carriage; he made it of wood from Lebanon.
{10} Its posts he made of silver, its base of gold. Its seat was
upholstered with purple, its interior lovingly inlaid by the daughters
of Jerusalem. {11} Come out, you daughters of Zion, and look at
King Solomon wearing the crown, the crown with which his mother crowned
him on the day of his wedding, the day his heart rejoiced. |
|
Song of Songs 4 |
|
How
beautiful you are, my darling! Oh, how beautiful! Your eyes behind your
veil are doves. Your hair is like a flock of goats descending from Mount
Gilead. {2} Your teeth are like a flock of sheep just shorn,
coming up from the washing. Each has its twin; not one of them is alone.
{3} Your lips are like a scarlet ribbon; your mouth is lovely. Your
temples behind your veil are like the halves of a pomegranate. {4}
Your neck is like the tower of David, built with elegance ; on it
hang a thousand shields, all of them shields of warriors. {5}
Your two breasts are like two fawns, like twin fawns of a gazelle that
browse among the lilies. {6} Until the day breaks and the shadows
flee, I will go to the mountain of myrrh and to the hill of incense.
{7} All beautiful you are, my darling; there is no flaw in you.
{8} Come with me from Lebanon, my bride, come with me from Lebanon.
Descend from the crest of Amana, from the top of Senir, the summit of
Hermon, from the lions' dens and the mountain haunts of the leopards.
{9} You have stolen my heart, my sister, my bride; you have stolen
my heart with one glance of your eyes, with one jewel of your necklace.
{10} How delightful is your love, my sister, my bride! How much more
pleasing is your love than wine, and the fragrance of your perfume than
any spice! {11} Your lips drop sweetness as the honeycomb, my
bride; milk and honey are under your tongue. The fragrance of your
garments is like that of Lebanon. {12} You are a garden locked
up, my sister, my bride; you are a spring enclosed, a sealed fountain.
{13} Your plants are an orchard of pomegranates with choice fruits,
with henna and nard, {14} nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon,
with every kind of incense tree, with myrrh and aloes and all the finest
spices. {15} You are a garden fountain, a well of flowing water
streaming down from Lebanon. {16} Awake, north wind, and come,
south wind! Blow on my garden, that its fragrance may spread abroad. Let
my lover come into his garden and taste its choice fruits. |
|
Song of Songs 5 |
|
I
have come into my garden, my sister, my bride; I have gathered my myrrh
with my spice. I have eaten my honeycomb and my honey; I have drunk my
wine and my milk. Eat, O friends, and drink; drink your fill, O lovers.
{2} I slept but my heart was awake. Listen! My lover is knocking:
"Open to me, my sister, my darling, my dove, my flawless one. My head is
drenched with dew, my hair with the dampness of the night." {3} I
have taken off my robe-- must I put it on again? I have washed my feet--
must I soil them again? {4} My lover thrust his hand through the
latch-opening; my heart began to pound for him. {5} I arose to
open for my lover, and my hands dripped with myrrh, my fingers with
flowing myrrh, on the handles of the lock. {6} I opened for my
lover, but my lover had left; he was gone. My heart sank at his
departure. I looked for him but did not find him. I called him but he
did not answer. {7} The watchmen found me as they made their
rounds in the city. They beat me, they bruised me; they took away my
cloak, those watchmen of the walls! {8} O daughters of Jerusalem,
I charge you-- if you find my lover, what will you tell him? Tell him I
am faint with love. {9} How is your beloved better than others,
most beautiful of women? How is your beloved better than others, that
you charge us so? {10} My lover is radiant and ruddy, outstanding
among ten thousand. {11} His head is purest gold; his hair is
wavy and black as a raven. {12} His eyes are like doves by the
water streams, washed in milk, mounted like jewels. {13} His
cheeks are like beds of spice yielding perfume. His lips are like lilies
dripping with myrrh. {14} His arms are rods of gold set with
chrysolite. His body is like polished ivory decorated with sapphires.
{15} His legs are pillars of marble set on bases of pure gold. His
appearance is like Lebanon, choice as its cedars. {16} His mouth
is sweetness itself; he is altogether lovely. This is my lover, this my
friend, O daughters of Jerusalem. |
|
Song of Songs 6 |
|
Where
has your lover gone, most beautiful of women? Which way did your lover
turn, that we may look for him with you? {2} My lover has gone
down to his garden, to the beds of spices, to browse in the gardens and
to gather lilies. {3} I am my lover's and my lover is mine; he
browses among the lilies. {4} You are beautiful, my darling, as
Tirzah, lovely as Jerusalem, majestic as troops with banners. {5}
Turn your eyes from me; they overwhelm me. Your hair is like a flock of
goats descending from Gilead. {6} Your teeth are like a flock of
sheep coming up from the washing. Each has its twin, not one of them is
alone. {7} Your temples behind your veil are like the halves of a
pomegranate. {8} Sixty queens there may be, and eighty
concubines, and virgins beyond number; {9} but my dove, my
perfect one, is unique, the only daughter of her mother, the favorite of
the one who bore her. The maidens saw her and called her blessed; the
queens and concubines praised her. {10} Who is this that appears
like the dawn, fair as the moon, bright as the sun, majestic as the
stars in procession? {11} I went down to the grove of nut trees
to look at the new growth in the valley, to see if the vines had budded
or the pomegranates were in bloom. {12} Before I realised it, my
desire set me among the royal chariots of my people. {13} Come
back, come back, O Shulammite; come back, come back, that we may gaze on
you! Why would you gaze on the Shulammite as on the dance of Mahanaim? |
|
Song of Songs 7 |
|
How
beautiful your sandaled feet, O prince's daughter! Your graceful legs
are like jewels, the work of a craftsman's hands. {2} Your navel
is a rounded goblet that never lacks blended wine. Your waist is a mound
of wheat encircled by lilies. {3} Your breasts are like two
fawns, twins of a gazelle. {4} Your neck is like an ivory tower.
Your eyes are the pools of Heshbon by the gate of Bath Rabbim. Your nose
is like the tower of Lebanon looking toward Damascus. {5} Your
head crowns you like Mount Carmel. Your hair is like royal tapestry; the
king is held captive by its tresses. {6} How beautiful you are
and how pleasing, O love, with your delights! {7} Your stature is
like that of the palm, and your breasts like clusters of fruit. {8}
I said, "I will climb the palm tree; I will take hold of its fruit."
May your breasts be like the clusters of the vine, the fragrance of your
breath like apples, {9} and your mouth like the best wine. May
the wine go straight to my lover, flowing gently over lips and teeth.
{10} I belong to my lover, and his desire is for me. {11}
Come, my lover, let us go to the countryside, let us spend the night in
the villages. {12} Let us go early to the vineyards to see if the
vines have budded, if their blossoms have opened, and if the
pomegranates are in bloom-- there I will give you my love. {13}
The mandrakes send out their fragrance, and at our door is every
delicacy, both new and old, that I have stored up for you, my lover. |
|
Song of Songs 8 |
|
If
only you were to me like a brother, who was nursed at my mother's
breasts! Then, if I found you outside, I would kiss you, and no one
would despise me. {2} I would lead you and bring you to my
mother's house-- she who has taught me. I would give you spiced wine to
drink, the nectar of my pomegranates. {3} His left arm is under
my head and his right arm embraces me. {4} Daughters of
Jerusalem, I charge you: Do not arouse or awaken love until it so
desires. {5} Who is this coming up from the desert leaning on her
lover? Under the apple tree I roused you; there your mother conceived
you, there she who was in labour gave you birth. {6} Place me
like a seal over your heart, like a seal on your arm; for love is as
strong as death, its jealousy unyielding as the grave. It burns like
blazing fire, like a mighty flame. {7} Many waters cannot quench
love; rivers cannot wash it away. If one were to give all the wealth of
his house for love, it would be utterly scorned. {8} We have a
young sister, and her breasts are not yet grown. What shall we do for
our sister for the day she is spoken for? {9} If she is a wall,
we will build towers of silver on her. If she is a door, we will enclose
her with panels of cedar. {10} I am a wall, and my breasts are
like towers. Thus I have become in his eyes like one bringing
contentment. {11} Solomon had a vineyard in Baal Hamon; he let
out his vineyard to tenants. Each was to bring for its fruit a thousand
shekels of silver. {12} But my own vineyard is mine to give; the
thousand shekels are for you, O Solomon, and two hundred are for those
who tend its fruit. {13} You who dwell in the gardens with
friends in attendance, let me hear your voice! {14} Come away, my
lover, and be like a gazelle or like a young stag on the spice-laden
mountains. |
|
|
