² “May he kiss me with the kisses of his mouth!
For your ^(B)love is ^[c]sweeter than wine.
³ Your ^(C)oils have a pleasing fragrance,
Your ^(D)name is like ^[d]purified oil;
Therefore the ^[e](E)young women love you.
⁴ Draw me after you and let’s run together!
The ^(F)king has brought me into his chambers.”

“We will rejoice in you and be joyful;
We will praise your ^(G)love more than wine.
Rightly do they love you.”

⁵ “I am black and ^(H)beautiful,
You ^(I)daughters of Jerusalem,
Like the ^(J)tents of ^(K)Kedar,
Like the curtains of Solomon.
⁶ Do not stare at me because I am ^[f]dark,
For the sun has tanned me.
My ^(L)mother’s sons were angry with me;
They made me ^(M)caretaker of the vineyards,
But I have not taken care of my own vineyard.
⁷ Tell me, you ^(N)whom my soul loves,
Where do you ^(O)pasture your flock,
Where do you have it ^(P)lie down at noon?
For why should I be like one who ^[g]veils herself
Beside the flocks of your ^(Q)companions?”

⁸ “If you yourself do not know,
^(R)Most beautiful among women,
Go out on the trail of the flock,
And pasture your young goats
By the tents of the shepherds.

¹¹ “We will make for you jewelry of gold
With beads of silver.”

¹² “While the king was at his table,
My ^[i](W)perfume gave forth its fragrance.
¹³ My beloved is to me a pouch of ^(X)myrrh
Which lies all night between my breasts.
¹⁴ My beloved is to me a cluster of ^(Y)henna blossoms
In the vineyards of ^(Z)Engedi.”

¹⁵ “^[j](AA)How beautiful you are, my darling,
^[k]How beautiful you are!
Your ^(AB)eyes are like doves.”

¹⁶ “^[l]How handsome you are, ^(AC)my beloved,
And so delightful!
Indeed, our bed is luxuriant!
¹⁷ The beams of our house are ^(AD)cedars,
Our rafters, ^(AE)junipers.

2 “I am the ^[m](AF)rose of ^(AG)Sharon,
The ^(AH)lily of the valleys.”

² “Like a lily among the thorns,
So is ^(AI)my darling among the ^[n]young women.”

³ “Like an ^(AJ)apple tree among the trees of the forest,
So is my beloved among the ^[o]young men.
In his shade I took great delight and sat down,
And his ^(AK)fruit was sweet to my ^[p]taste.
⁴ He has ^(AL)brought me to his ^[q]banquet hall,
And his ^(AM)banner over me is love.
⁵ Refresh me with ^(AN)raisin cakes,
Sustain me with ^(AO)apples,
Because ^(AP)I am lovesick.
^6 (AQ)His left hand is under my head,
And ^(AR)his right hand ^(AS)embraces me.”

⁷ “^(AT)Swear to me, you ^(AU)daughters of Jerusalem,
By the ^(AV)gazelles or by the ^(AW)does of the field,
^(AX)That you will not disturb or awaken my love
Until she pleases.”

⁸ “Listen! My beloved!
Behold, he is coming,
Leaping ^(AY)on the mountains,
Jumping on the hills!
⁹ My beloved is like a ^(AZ)gazelle or a ^(BA)young ^[r]stag.
Behold, he is standing behind our wall,
He is looking through the windows,
He is peering ^(BB)through the lattice.

¹⁴ “^(BG)My dove, ^(BH)in the clefts of the ^[t]rock,
In the hiding place of the mountain pathway,
Let me see ^[u]how you look,
^(BI)Let me hear your voice;
For your voice is pleasant,
And ^[v]you look ^(BJ)delightful.”

¹⁵ “^(BK)Catch the ^[w]foxes for us,
The ^[x]little ^[y]foxes that are ruining the vineyards,
While our ^(BL)vineyards are in blossom.”

¹⁶ “^(BM)My beloved is mine, and I am his;
He ^(BN)pastures his flock among the lilies.
^17 (BO)Until the cool of the day, when the shadows flee,
Turn, my beloved, and be like a ^(BP)gazelle
Or a young stag ^(BQ)on the mountains of ^[z]Bether.”

3 “On my bed night after night I sought him
^(BR)Whom my soul loves;
I ^(BS)sought him but did not find him.
² ‘^[aa]I must arise now and ^[ab]go around in the city;
In the ^(BT)streets and in the public squares
^[ac]I must seek him whom my soul loves.’
I sought him but did not find him.
^3 (BU)The watchmen who make the rounds in the city found me,
And I said, ‘Have you seen him whom my soul loves?’
^4 (BV)Hardly had I ^[ad]left them
When I found him whom my soul loves;
I ^(BW)held on to him and would not let him go
Until I had ^(BX)brought him to my mother’s house,
And into the room of her who conceived me.”

⁵ “^(BY)Swear to me, you daughters of Jerusalem,
By the ^(BZ)gazelles or by the does of the field,
That you will not disturb or awaken my love
Until she pleases.”

⁶ “^[ae](CA)What is this coming up from the wilderness
Like ^(CB)columns of smoke,
Perfumed with ^(CC)myrrh and ^(CD)frankincense,
With all the scented powders of the merchant?

⁷ Behold, it is ^[af]the traveling couch of Solomon;
Sixty warriors around it,
Of the warriors of Israel.
⁸ All of them are wielders of the sword,
^(CE)Expert in war;
Each man has his ^(CF)sword at his side,
Guarding against the ^[ag](CG)terrors of the night.
⁹ King Solomon has made for himself a ^[ah]sedan chair
From the timber of Lebanon.
¹⁰ He made its posts of silver,
Its ^[ai]back of gold
And its seat of purple fabric,
With its interior lovingly inlaid
By the ^(CH)daughters of Jerusalem.
¹¹ Go out, you ^(CI)daughters of Zion,
And look at King Solomon with the ^[aj]crown
With which his mother has crowned him
On the ^(CJ)day of his wedding,
And on the day of the joy of his heart.”

4 “^[ak]How beautiful ^(CK)you are, my darling,
^[al]How beautiful you are!
Your ^(CL)eyes are like doves ^(CM)behind your veil;
Your ^(CN)hair is like a flock of goats
That have descended from Mount ^(CO)Gilead.
² Your ^(CP)teeth are like a flock of newly shorn sheep
Which have come up from their watering place,
All of which bear twins,
And not one among them has lost her young.
³ Your lips are like a ^(CQ)scarlet thread,
And your ^(CR)mouth is beautiful.
Your ^(CS)temples are like a slice of a pomegranate
Behind your veil.
⁴ Your ^(CT)neck is like the tower of David,
Built with layers of stones
On which are ^(CU)hung a thousand shields,
All the round ^(CV)shields of the warriors.
⁵ Your ^(CW)two breasts are like two fawns,
Twins of a gazelle
That ^(CX)graze among the lilies.
^6 (CY)Until ^[am]the cool of the day
When the shadows flee,
I will go my way to the mountain of ^(CZ)myrrh
And to the hill of ^(DA)frankincense.

¹⁶ “Awake, north wind,
And come, wind of the south;
^[at]Make my ^(DZ)garden breathe out fragrance,
May its balsam oils flow.
May ^(EA)my beloved come into his garden
And eat its ^(EB)delicious fruits!”