Beginning
Title
Maiden’s Soliloquy
2 May[c] you kiss me[d] passionately with your lips,[e]
for your love is better than wine.[f]
3 As fragrance, your perfumes[g] are delightful;[h]
your name is poured out perfume;[i]
therefore young women love you.
4 Draw me after you, let us run!
May the king bring me into his chambers![j]
Let us be joyful and let us rejoice in you;
let us extol your love more than wine.
Rightly do they love you!
Maiden’s Self-Description
5 I am black but beautiful,[k] O maidens of Jerusalem,[l]
like the tents of Kedar, like the curtains of Solomon.
6 Do not gaze at me because I am black, [m]
because the sun has stared at me.
The sons of my mother were angry with me;
they made me keeper of the vineyards,
but my own “vineyard”[n] I did not keep.
Dialogue between Shepherdess and Shepherd
7 Tell me, you whom my heart[o] loves,
where do you pasture your flock,
where do your sheep lie down at the noon?
For why should I be like[p] one who is veiled[q]
beside the flocks of your companions?
8 If you do not know, O fairest among women,
follow the tracks[r] of the flock,
and pasture your little lambs[s] beside the tents of the shepherds.
Man’s Poetic Praise of His Beloved
9 To a mare[t] among the chariots[u] of Pharaoh,
I compare you, my beloved.
10 Your cheeks are beautiful with ornaments,
your neck with strings of jewels.
11 We will make ornaments of gold for you
with studs[v] of silver.
Maiden’s Poetic Praise of Her Beloved
12 While the king was on his couch,
my nard gave its fragrance.
13 My beloved is to me a pouch[w] of myrrh,
he spends the night[x] between my breasts.
14 My beloved is to me a cluster of blossoms of henna
in the vineyards of En Gedi.
Mutual Admiration
15 Look! You are beautiful, my beloved.
Look! You are beautiful;
your eyes are doves.
16 Look! You are beautiful, my beloved,
truly pleasant.
Truly our couch is verdant;[y]
17 the beams of our house are cedar;
our rafter is cypress.
Dialogue between Maiden and Her Beloved
2 I am a rose[z] of Sharon,
a lily of the valleys.
2 Like a lily among the thorns,[aa]
so is my love among the maidens.
3 As an apple tree among the trees of the forest,
so is my beloved among the young men.
In his shade I sat down with delight,[ab]
and his fruit was sweet to my palate.
Banquet Hall of Love
4 He brought me to the house of the wine,
and his intention was love toward me.
5 Sustain me with the raisins,
refresh me with the apples,
for I am lovesick.[ac]
Double Refrain: Embrace and Adjuration
6 His left hand is under my head,
and his right hand embraces[ad] me.
7 I adjure you, O maidens of Jerusalem,[ae]
by the gazelles or by the does of the field,
do not arouse or awaken love until it pleases![af]
Rendezvous in the Countryside
8 The voice of my beloved!
Look! Here he[ag] comes leaping upon the mountains,
bounding over the hills!
9 My beloved is like a gazelle or a young stag.[ah]
Look! He is[ai] standing behind our wall,
gazing through[aj] the window,
looking through[ak] the lattice.
10 My beloved answered and said to me,
“Arise,[al] my beloved! Come, my beauty![am]
11 For look! The winter is over;
the rainy season[an] has turned and gone away.[ao]
12 The blossoms appear[ap] in the land;[aq]
the time of singing[ar] has arrived;[as]
the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land.
13 The fig tree puts forth her figs,
and the vines are in blossom; they give fragrance.
Arise,[at] my beloved! Come, my beauty!”[au]
14 My dove, in the clefts of the rock,
in the secluded place[av][aw] in the mountain,[ax][ay]
Let me see 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 destroying vineyards,
for[az] our vineyards are in blossom!
Poetic Refrain(s)
16 My beloved belongs to me and I belong to him;[ba]
he pastures his flock among the lilies.
17 Until the day breathes and the shadows flee,
turn, my beloved!
Be like[bb] a gazelle[bc] or young stag[bd] on the cleft mountains.[be]
Maiden’s Dream (?): Seeking and Finding
3 On my bed in the night,
I sought[bf] him whom my heart[bg] loves.
I sought him, but I did not find him.
2 Now I will arise, and I will go about in the city,
in the streets and in the squares;
I will seek him whom my heart[bh] loves.
I sought him, but I did not find him.
3 The sentinels who go about in the city found me.
“Have you seen the one whom my heart[bi] loves?”
4 Scarcely had I passed[bj] by them
when I found him whom my heart[bk] loves.
I held him and I would not let him go
until I brought him to the house of my mother,
into the bedroom chamber of she who conceived me.
Adjuration Refrain
5 I adjure you, O maidens of Jerusalem,[bl]
by the gazelles or by the does of the field,
do not arouse or awaken love until it pleases![bm]
Royal Wedding Procession
6 What is this coming up from the desert
like a column of smoke,
perfumed with myrrh and frankincense
from all the fragrant powders of the merchant?
7 Look! It is Solomon’s portable couch![bn]
Sixty mighty men surround it,[bo]
the mighty men of Israel.
8 All of them wield swords;[bp]
they are trained in warfare,[bq]
each with his sword at his thigh
to guard against terror[br] in the night.
9 King Solomon[bs] made for himself a sedan chair
from the wood of Lebanon.
10 He made its column of silver, its back[bt] of gold, its seat of purple;
its interior is inlaid with leather[bu] by the maidens of Jerusalem.[bv]
11 Come out and look, O maidens of Zion,[bw] at King Solomon,[bx]
at the crown with which his mother crowned him
on the day of his wedding,
on the day of the joy of his heart!
Groom’s Praise of His Bride
4 Oh my![by] You are beautiful, my beloved!
Oh my![bz] You are beautiful!
Your eyes are doves
from behind your veil.
Your hair is like a flock of goats
that move down from the mountains of Gilead.
2 Your teeth are like a flock of shorn ewes
that came up from the washing,
all of them bearing twins,
and there is none bereaved among them.
3 Your lips are like a thread of crimson,
and your mouth is lovely.
Your temple is like pomegranate
from behind your veil.
4 Your neck is like the tower of David,
built in courses;
a thousand ornaments[ca] are hung on it,
all the shields of the warriors.
5 Your two breasts are like two fawns,
twins of a gazelle that feed among the lilies.
6 Until the day breathes and the shadows flee,
I will go to the mountain of the myrrh,
to the hill of the frankincense.
7 You are completely beautiful, my beloved!
You are flawless![cb]
The Mountains and Fragrance of Lebanon
8 Come[cc] with me from Lebanon, my bride!
Come with me[cd] from Lebanon!
Look from the top of Amana,
from the top of Senir and Hermon,
from the dwelling places of the lions,
from the mountains of leopard.
9 You have stolen (my) heart, my sister bride!
You have stolen my heart with one glance from your eyes,
with one ornament from your necklaces.
10 How beautiful is your love, my sister bride!
How better is your love than wine,
and the fragrance of your oils than any spice!
11 Your lips drip nectar, my bride;
honey and milk are under your lips;
the scent of your garments is like the scent of Lebanon.
The Locked Garden of Delights Is Unlocked
12 A garden locked is my sister bride,
a spring enclosed,[ce] a fountain sealed.
13 Your shoots[cf] are an orchard of pomegranates with choice fruit,[cg]
henna with nard;
14 nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon spice with all trees of frankincense,
myrrh and aloes with all chief spices.
15 A garden fountain, a well of living water,
flowing (streams) from Lebanon.
16 Awake, O north wind! Come, O south wind!
Blow upon my garden! Let its fragrances[ch] waft forth![ci]
Let my beloved come to his garden,
let him eat his choice fruit!
5 I have come to my garden, my sister bride,
I have gathered my myrrh with my spice,
I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey,
I have drunk my wine with my milk!
Eat, O friends! Drink and become drunk with love![cj]
Maiden’s Dream: Seeking and Not Finding
2 I was asleep but[ck] my heart was awake.
A sound! My beloved knocking![cl]
“Open to me, my sister, my beloved,
my dove, my perfect one!
For my head is full of dew,
my hair drenched from the moist night air.”[cm]
3 I have taken off my tunic, must I put it on?[cn]
I have bathed my feet, must I soil them?[co]
4 My beloved thrust his hand into the opening,
and my inmost yearned for him.
5 I myself arose to open to my beloved;
my hands dripped with myrrh,
my fingers with liquid myrrh
upon the handles of the bolt.
6 I opened myself to my beloved,
but my beloved had turned and gone;[cp]
my heart sank[cq] when he turned away.[cr]
I sought him, but I did not find him;
I called him, but he did not answer me.
7 The sentinels making rounds in the city found me;
they beat me, they wounded me;
they took my cloak[cs] away from me—
those sentinels on the walls![ct]
Adjuration Refrain
8 I adjure you, O maidens of Jerusalem,[cu]
if you find my beloved, what will you tell him?
Tell him that I am lovesick![cv]
Maiden’s Praise of Her Beloved
9 How is your beloved better than another lover,[cw]
O most beautiful among women?
How is your beloved better than another lover, [cx]
that you adjure us thus?
10 My beloved is radiant and ruddy,[cy]
distinguished among[cz] ten thousand.
11 His head is gold, refined gold;
his locks are wavy, black as a raven.
12 His eyes are like doves beside springs[da] of water,
bathed in milk, set like mounted jewels.[db][dc]
13 His cheeks are like beds of spice, a tower of fragrances;
his lips are lilies dripping liquid myrrh.
14 His arms are rods[dd][de] of gold engraved with[df] jewels;
his belly[dg] is polished ivory covered with sapphires.[dh]
15 His legs are columns of alabaster,[di] set on bases of gold;
his appearance is like Lebanon, choice as its cedars.[dj]
16 His mouth[dk] is sweet,
and he is altogether desirable.
This is my beloved;
this is my friend, O young women of Jerusalem.[dl]
6 Where has your beloved gone,
O most beautiful among women?
Where has your beloved turned
that we may seek him with you?
2 My beloved has gone down to his garden,
to the garden bed of the spice,
to pasture his flock and to gather lilies in the garden.
Mutual Possession Refrain
3 I belong to my beloved and he belongs to me;[dm]
he pastures his flock among the lilies.
Solomon’s Praise of His Beloved
4 You are beautiful, my beloved, as Tirzah,
lovely as Jerusalem,
overwhelming as an army with banners.[dn]
5 Turn away your eyes from before me,
for they overwhelm me.
Your hair is like a flock of the goats
that moves down from Gilead.
6 Your teeth are like a flock of the ewes
that have come up from the washing,
all of them bearing twins,
and there is none bereaved among them.
7 Your cheeks behind[do] your veil
are like halves of a pomegranate.
The Maiden’s Beauty Is without Peer
8 Sixty queens there are, eighty concubines,
and maidens beyond number.
9 My dove, she is the one;[dp][dq]
my perfect, she is the only one;[dr][ds]
she is the favorite of[dt][du] her mother who bore her.
Maidens see her and consider her fortunate;[dv]
queens and concubines praise her:
10 “Who is this that looks down like the dawn,
beautiful as the moon,
bright as the sun,[dw][dx]
overwhelming as an army with banners?”[dy]
The Journey to the Valley
11 I went down to the orchard of the walnut trees
to look at the blossoms of the valley,
to see whether the vines have sprouted,
whether the pomegranates have blossomed.
12 I did not know my heart[dz] set me
in a chariot of my princely people.[ea]
13 [eb] Turn, turn,[ec] O Shulammite![ed]
Turn, turn[ee] so that we may look upon you!
Why do you look upon the Shulammite
as at a dance of the two armies?
Solomon’s Praise of His Dancing Maiden
7 How beautiful are your feet in sandals,
O royal princess![ef]
The curves of your thighs[eg] are like jewels,[eh]
the work of the hands of a craftsman.
2 Your navel is a round wine-mixing bowl[ei]
that does not lack mixed[ej] wine!
Your belly is a heap of wheat
encircled with lilies.
3 Your two breasts are like two fawns,
twins of a gazelle.
4 Your neck is like a tower of ivory;
your eyes are pools in Heshbon at the gate of Beth Rabbim.
Your nose is like the tower of Lebanon
looking out over Damascus.[ek]
5 Your head crowns you like Carmel;[el][em]
the flowing locks of your head are like purple tapestry;[en]
a king is held captive in the tresses!
6 How beautiful you are and how pleasant,
O loved one in the delights!
7 Your stature[eo] is like the palm tree,
and your breasts are like clusters.
8 I say, “I will climb up the palm tree;
I will lay hold of its fruit clusters.”
Let your breasts be pleasing like clusters of the vine
and the scent of your breath like the apples.
9 Your palate is like the best wine that goes down for my beloved,
smoothly gliding over my lips and teeth.[ep]
Mutual Possession Refrain
Rendezvous in the Countryside
11 Come, my beloved, let us go out to the countryside;[es]
let us spend the night[et] in the villages.
12 Let us rise early to go[eu] to the vineyards;
let us see whether the vine has budded,[ev]
whether the grape blossom has opened,
and whether the pomegranates are in bloom;[ew]
there I will give my love to you.
13 The mandrakes give off their fragrance,
and over our doorway is every kind of delicious fruit;[ex]
both fresh and dried fruit I have stored up[ey] for you, O my beloved.
Maiden’s Fanciful Wish
8 How I wish that you were my little brother,[ez][fa]
who nursed upon my mother’s breasts![fb]
If I met you outside,[fc] I would kiss you,
and no one would despise me![fd]
2 I would surely bring you[fe][ff] to the house of my mother,
who would surely teach me;[fg]
I would give you spiced wine to drink,[fh]
the sweet wine[fi] of my pomegranates.[fj]
Double Refrain: Embrace and Adjuration
3 His left hand is under my head,
and his right hand embraces[fk] me.
4 I adjure you, O maidens of Jerusalem,[fl]
do not[fm] arouse or awaken love until it pleases![fn]
Up from the Wilderness and under the Apple Tree
5 Who is this coming up from the wilderness,
leaning upon her beloved?
Under the apple tree I awakened you;
there your mother conceived you;[fo]
there she who was in labor gave birth to you.
The Nature of Genuine Romantic Love
6 Set me as a seal upon your heart,
as a seal upon your arm;
for love is strong as death;
passion is fierce as Sheol;
its flashes are flashes of fire;
it is a blazing flame.
7 Many waters cannot quench love;
rivers cannot sweep it away.[fp]
If a man were to give all the wealth of his house for love,[fq]
he would be utterly scorned.[fr]
Maiden’s Virtuous Chastity and Voluptuous Beauty
8 We have a little sister,[fs]
and she does not yet have any breasts.[ft]
What should we do for our sister
on the day when she is betrothed?[fu][fv]
9 If she is a wall,
we will adorn her with a turret of silver;[fw][fx]
but if she is a door,
we will barricade her with boards of cedar.[fy]
10 I was a wall, and my breasts were like the towers,
so my betrothed viewed me with great delight.[fz]
Solomon’s Vineyard and the Maiden’s Gift
11 Solomon had a vineyard[ga] at Baal-hamon;
he entrusted his vineyard to the keepers;[gb]
people paid a thousand silver pieces for its fruit.[gc]
12 My own “vineyard” belongs to me;[gd]
the “thousand” are for you, O Solomon,
and “two hundred” for those who tend its fruit.[ge]
Closing Words of Mutual Love
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