Beginning
1 This is the greatest song Solomon ever wrote.
A Shulammite woman says to King Solomon
2 “I long for your lips to kiss me!
Your love makes me happier than wine does.
3 The lotion you have on pleases me.
Your name is like perfume that is poured out.
No wonder the young women love you!
4 Take me away with you. Let us hurry!
King Solomon, bring me into your palace.”
The other women say
“King Solomon, you fill us with joy. You make us happy.
We praise your love more than we praise wine.”
The woman says to the king
“It is right for them to love you!
5 “Women of Jerusalem,
my skin is dark but lovely.
It is dark like the tents in Kedar.
It’s like the curtains of Solomon’s tent.
6 Don’t stare at me because I’m dark.
The sun has made my skin look like this.
My brothers were angry with me.
They made me take care of the vineyards.
I haven’t even taken care of my own vineyard.
7 “King Solomon, I love you.
So tell me where you take care of your flock.
Tell me where you rest your sheep at noon.
Why should I have to act like a prostitute
near the flocks of your friends?”
The other women say
8 “You are the most beautiful woman of all.
Don’t you know where to find the king?
Follow the tracks the sheep make.
Take care of your young goats
near the tents of the shepherds.”
King Solomon says to the Shulammite woman
9 “You are my love.
You are like a mare among Pharaoh’s chariot horses.
10 Your earrings make your cheeks even more beautiful.
Your strings of jewels make your neck even more lovely.
11 We will make gold earrings for you.
We’ll decorate them with silver.”
The woman says
12 “The king was at his table.
My perfume gave off a sweet smell.
13 The one who loves me is like a small bag of myrrh
resting between my breasts.
14 He is like henna flowers
from the vineyards of En Gedi.”
The king says
15 “You are so beautiful, my love!
So beautiful!
Your eyes are like doves.”
The woman says
16 “You are so handsome, my love!
So charming!
The green field is our bed.”
The king says
17 “Cedar trees above us are the beams of our house.
Fir trees overhead are its rafters.”
The woman says
2 “I am like a rose on the coast of Sharon.
I’m like a lily in the valleys.”
The king says
2 “My love, among the young women
you are like a lily among thorns.”
The woman says
3 “My love, among the young men
you are like an apple tree among the trees of the forest.
I’m happy to sit in your shade.
Your fruit tastes so sweet to me.
4 Lead me to the dinner hall.
Let your banner of love be lifted high above me.
5 Give me some raisins to make me strong.
Give me some apples to make me feel like new again.
Our love has made me weak.
6 Your left arm is under my head.
Your right arm is around me.
7 Women of Jerusalem, make me a promise.
Let the antelopes and the does serve as witnesses.
Don’t stir up love.
Don’t wake it up until it’s ready.
8 “Listen! I hear my love!
Look! Here he comes!
He’s leaping across the mountains.
He’s coming over the hills.
9 The one who loves me is like an antelope or a young deer.
Look! There he stands behind our wall.
He’s gazing through the window.
He’s peering through the screen.
10 He said to me, ‘Rise up, my love.
Come with me, my beautiful one.
11 Look! The winter is past.
The rains are over and gone.
12 Flowers are appearing on the earth.
The season for singing has come.
The cooing of doves
is heard in our land.
13 The fig trees are producing their early fruit.
The flowers on the vines are giving off their sweet smell.
Rise up and come, my love.
Come with me, my beautiful one.’ ”
The king says
14 “You are like a dove in an opening in the rocks.
You are like a dove in a hiding place on a mountainside.
Show me your face.
Let me hear your voice.
Your voice is so sweet.
Your face is so lovely.
15 Catch the foxes for us.
Catch the little foxes.
They destroy our vineyards.
The vineyards are in bloom.”
The woman says
16 “My love belongs to me, and I belong to him.
Like an antelope, he eats among the lilies.
17 Until the day begins
and the shadows fade away,
turn to me, my love.
Be like an antelope
or like a young deer
on the rocky hills.
3 “All night long on my bed
I searched for the one my heart loves.
I looked for him but didn’t find him.
2 I will get up and go around in the city.
I’ll look through all of its streets.
I’ll search for the one my heart loves.
So I looked for him but didn’t find him.
3 Those on guard duty found me
as they were walking around in the city.
‘Have you seen the one my heart loves?’ I asked.
4 As soon as I had passed by them
I found the one my heart loves.
I threw my arms around him and didn’t let him go
until I had brought him to my mother’s house.
I took him to my mother’s room.
5 Women of Jerusalem, make me a promise.
Let the antelopes and the does serve as witnesses.
Don’t stir up love.
Don’t wake it up until it’s ready.
6 “Who is this man coming up from the desert
like a column of smoke?
He smells like myrrh and incense
made from all the spices of the trader.
7 Look! There’s Solomon’s movable throne.
Sixty soldiers accompany it.
They have been chosen from the best warriors in Israel.
8 All of them are wearing swords.
They have fought many battles.
Each one has his sword at his side.
Each is prepared for the terrors of the night.
9 King Solomon made the movable throne for himself.
He made it out of wood from Lebanon.
10 He formed its posts out of silver.
He made its base out of gold.
Its seat was covered with purple cloth.
It was decorated inside with love.
Women of Jerusalem, 11 come out.
“Look, you women of Zion.
Look at King Solomon wearing his crown.
His mother placed it on him.
She did it on his wedding day.
His heart was full of joy.”
The king says to the Shulammite woman
4 “You are so beautiful, my love!
So beautiful!
Your eyes behind your veil are like doves.
Your hair flows like a flock of black goats
coming down from the hills of Gilead.
2 Your teeth are as clean as a flock of sheep.
Their wool has just been clipped.
They have just come up from being washed.
Each of your teeth has its twin.
Not one of them is alone.
3 Your lips are like a bright red ribbon.
Your mouth is so lovely.
Your cheeks behind your veil
are like the halves of a pomegranate.
4 Your neck is strong and beautiful like the tower of David.
That tower is built with rows of stones.
A thousand shields are hanging on it.
All of them belong to mighty soldiers.
5 Your breasts are lovely.
They are like two young antelopes
that eat among the lilies.
6 I will go to the mountain of myrrh.
I’ll go to the hill of incense.
I’ll stay there until the day begins
and the shadows fade away.
7 Every part of you is so beautiful, my love.
There is no flaw in you.
8 “Come with me from Lebanon, my bride.
Come with me from Lebanon.
Come down from the top of Mount Amana.
Come down from the top of Senir.
Come to me from the peak of Mount Hermon.
Leave the dens where the lions live.
Leave the places in the mountains where the leopards stay.
9 My bride, you have stolen my heart
with one glance of your eyes.
My sister, you have stolen my heart
with one jewel in your necklace.
10 My bride, your love is so delightful.
My sister, your love makes me happier than wine does.
Your perfume smells better than any spice.
11 Your lips are as sweet as honey, my bride.
Milk and honey are under your tongue.
Your clothes smell like the cedar trees in Lebanon.
12 My bride, you are like a garden that is locked up.
My sister, you are like a spring of water that has a fence around it.
You are like a fountain that is sealed up.
13 You are like trees whose branches are loaded
with pomegranates, fine fruits, henna and nard,
14 with nard and saffron, cane and cinnamon.
You are like every kind of incense tree.
You have myrrh, aloes
and all the finest spices.
15 You are like a fountain in a garden.
You are like a well of flowing water
streaming down from Lebanon.”
The woman says
16 “Wake up, north wind!
Come, south wind!
Blow on my garden.
Then its sweet smell will spread everywhere.
Let my love come into his garden.
Let him taste its fine fruits.”
The king says
5 “My bride, I have come into my garden.
My sister, I’ve gathered my myrrh and my spice.
I’ve eaten my honeycomb and my honey.
I’ve drunk my wine and my milk.”
The other women say to the Shulammite woman and to Solomon
“Friends, eat and drink.
Drink up all the love you want.”
The woman says
2 “I slept, but my heart was awake.
Listen! The one who loves me is knocking.
He says, ‘My sister, I love you.
Open up so I can come in.
You are my dove.
You are perfect in every way.
My head is soaked with dew.
The night air has made my hair wet.’
3 “But I’ve taken off my robe.
Must I put it on again?
I’ve washed my feet.
Must I get them dirty again?
4 My love put his hand through the opening.
My heart began to pound for him.
5 I got up to open the door for my love.
My hands dripped with myrrh.
It flowed from my fingers
onto the handles of the lock.
6 I opened the door for my love.
But he had left and was gone.
My heart sank because he had left.
I looked for him but didn’t find him.
I called out to him, but he didn’t answer.
7 Those on guard duty found me
as they were walking around in the city.
They beat me. They hurt me.
Those on guard duty at the walls
took my coat away from me.
8 Women of Jerusalem, make me a promise.
If you find the one who loves me,
tell him our love has made me weak.”
The other women say
9 “You are the most beautiful woman of all.
How is the one you love better than others?
How is he better than anyone else?
Why do you ask us to make you this promise?”
The woman says
10 “The one who loves me is tanned and handsome.
He’s the finest man among 10,000.
11 His head is like the purest gold.
His hair is wavy and as black as a raven.
12 His eyes are like doves
by streams of water.
They look as if they’ve been washed in milk.
They are set like jewels in his head.
13 His cheeks are like beds of spice
giving off perfume.
His lips are like lilies
dripping with myrrh.
14 His arms are like rods of gold
set with topaz.
His body is like polished ivory
decorated with lapis lazuli.
15 His legs are like pillars of marble
set on bases of pure gold.
He looks like the finest cedar tree
in the mountains of Lebanon.
16 His mouth is very sweet.
Everything about him is delightful.
That’s what the one who loves me is like.
That’s what my friend is like, women of Jerusalem.”
The other women say
6 “You are the most beautiful woman of all.
Where has the one who loves you gone?
Which way did he turn?
We’ll help you look for him.”
The woman says
2 “My love has gone down to his garden.
He’s gone to the beds of spices.
He’s eating in the gardens.
He’s gathering lilies.
3 I belong to my love, and he belongs to me.
He’s eating among the lilies.”
The king says
4 “My love, you are as beautiful as the city of Tirzah.
You are as lovely as Jerusalem.
You are as majestic as troops carrying their banners.
5 Turn your eyes away from me.
They overpower me.
Your hair flows like a flock of black goats
coming down from the hills of Gilead.
6 Your teeth are as clean as a flock of sheep
coming up from being washed.
Each of your teeth has its twin.
Not one of them is missing.
7 Your cheeks behind your veil
are like the halves of a pomegranate.
8 There might be 60 queens and 80 concubines.
There might be more virgins than anyone can count.
9 But you are my perfect dove.
There isn’t anyone like you.
You are your mother’s favorite daughter.
The young women see you and call you blessed.
The queens and concubines praise you.”
The other women say
10 “Who is this woman?
She is like the sunrise in all its glory.
She is as beautiful as the moon.
She is as bright as the sun.
She is as majestic as the stars traveling across the sky.”
The king says
11 “I went down to a grove of nut trees.
I wanted to look at the new plants growing in the valley.
I wanted to find out whether the vines had budded.
I wanted to see if the pomegranate trees had bloomed.
12 Before I realized it,
I was among the royal chariots of my people.”
The other women say
13 “Come back to us.
Come back, Shulammite woman.
Come back to us.
Come back. Then we can look at you.”
The king says to the women
“Why do you want to look at the Shulammite woman
as you would watch a dancer at Mahanaim?”
The king says to the Shulammite woman
7 “You are like a prince’s daughter.
Your feet in sandals are so beautiful.
Your graceful legs are like jewels.
The hands of an artist must have shaped them.
2 Your navel is like a round bowl
that always has mixed wine in it.
Your waist is like a mound of wheat
surrounded by lilies.
3 Your two breasts are lovely.
They are like two young antelopes.
4 Your neck is smooth and beautiful like an ivory tower.
Your eyes are like the pools of Heshbon
by the gate of Bath Rabbim.
Your nose is like the towering mountains of Lebanon
that face the city of Damascus.
5 Your head is like a crown on you.
It is as beautiful as Mount Carmel.
Your hair is as smooth as purple silk.
I am captured by your flowing curls.
6 You are so beautiful! You please me so much!
You are so delightful, my love!
7 You are as graceful as a palm tree.
Your breasts are as sweet as the freshest fruit.
8 I said, ‘I will climb the palm tree.
I’ll take hold of its fruit.’
May your breasts be as sweet as grapes on the vine.
May your breath smell like the tastiest apples.
9 May your lips be like the finest wine.”
The woman says
“May my wine go straight to you, my love.
May it flow gently over our lips as we sleep.
10 “I belong to you, my love.
And you long for me.
11 Come, my love. Let’s go to the country.
Let’s spend the night in the villages.
12 Let’s go out to the vineyards early.
Let’s go and see if the vines have budded.
Let’s find out whether their flowers have opened.
Let’s see if the pomegranate trees are blooming.
There I will give you my love.
13 The mandrake flowers give off their strong smell.
All the best things are waiting for us,
new and old alike.
I’ve stored them up for you, my love.
8 “I wish you were like a brother to me.
I wish my mother’s breasts had nursed you.
Then if I found you outside,
I could kiss you.
No one would look down on me.
2 I’d bring you to my mother’s house.
She taught me everything I know.
I’d give you spiced wine to drink.
It’s the juice of my pomegranates.
3 Your left arm is under my head.
Your right arm is around me.
4 Women of Jerusalem, make me a promise.
Don’t stir up love.
Don’t wake it up until it’s ready.”
The other women say
5 “Who is this woman coming up from the desert?
She’s leaning on the one who loves her.”
The woman says to the king
“Under the apple tree I woke you up.
That’s where your mother became pregnant with you.
She went into labor, and you were born there.
6 Hold me close to your heart where your royal seal is worn.
Keep me as close to yourself as the bracelet on your arm.
My love for you is so strong it won’t let you go.
Love is as powerful as death.
Love’s jealousy is as strong as the grave.
Love is like a blazing fire.
Love burns like a mighty flame.
7 No amount of water can put it out.
Rivers can’t sweep it away.
Suppose someone offers
all their wealth to buy love.
That won’t even come close to being enough.”
The woman’s brothers say
8 “We have a little sister.
Her breasts are still small.
What should we do for our sister
when she gets engaged?
9 If she were a wall,
we’d build silver towers on her.
If she were a door,
we’d cover her with cedar boards.”
The woman says to the king
10 “I am a wall.
My breasts are like well-built towers.
So in your eyes I’ve become
like someone who makes you happy.
11 Solomon, you had a vineyard in Baal Hamon.
You rented your vineyard to others.
They had to pay 25 pounds
of silver for its fruit.
12 But I can give my own vineyard to anyone I want to.
So I give my 25 pounds of silver to you, Solomon.
Give 5 pounds to those who take care of its fruit.”
The king says
13 “My love, you live in the gardens.
My friends listen for your voice.
But let me hear it now.”
The woman says
14 “Come away with me, my love.
Be like an antelope
or like a young deer
on mountains that are full of spices.”
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