The Young Shulammite Bride and Jerusalem’s Daughters

      1 The Song of Songs, which is Solomon’s.

2 “May he kiss me with the kisses of his mouth!
          For your love is better than wine.

3 “Your oils have a pleasing fragrance,
          Your name is like purified oil;
          Therefore the maidens love you.

4 “Draw me after you and let us run together!
          The king has brought me into his chambers.”
          
      “We will rejoice in you and be glad;
          We will extol your love more than wine.
          Rightly do they love you.”

5 “I am black but lovely,
          O daughters of Jerusalem,
          Like the tents of Kedar,
          Like the curtains of Solomon.

6 “Do not stare at me because I am swarthy,
          For the sun has burned me.
          My mother’s sons were angry with me;
          They made me caretaker of the vineyards,
          But I have not taken care of my own vineyard.

7 “Tell me, O you whom my soul loves,
          Where do you pasture your flock,
          Where do you make it lie down at noon?
          For why should I be like one who veils herself
          Beside the flocks of your companions?”


Solomon, the Lover, Speaks

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

9 “To me, my darling, you are like
          My mare among the chariots of Pharaoh.

10 “Your cheeks are lovely with ornaments,
          Your neck with strings of beads.”

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

12 “While the king was at his table,
          My perfume gave forth its fragrance.

13 “My beloved is to me a pouch of myrrh
          Which lies all night between my breasts.

14 “My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blossoms
          In the vineyards of Engedi.”

15 “How beautiful you are, my darling,
          How beautiful you are!
          Your eyes are like doves.”

16 “How handsome you are, my beloved,
          And so pleasant!
          Indeed, our couch is luxuriant!

17 “The beams of our houses are cedars,
          Our rafters, cypresses.