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The Ultimate Song, by Shlomo:

[She]

Let him smother me with kisses from his mouth,
for your love is better than wine.
Your anointing oils have a wonderful fragrance;
your name is like anointing oil poured out.
This is why young women love you —
“Take me with you. We will run after you.”
The king has brought me into his rooms.

[Chorus]

We will be glad and rejoice for you.
We will praise your love more than wine.
How right it is for them to love you!

[She]

I am dark tan but beautiful,
you daughters of Yerushalayim,
like the tents of Kedar,
like the curtains of Shlomo.
Don’t stare at me because I’m dark;
it’s the sun that tanned me.
My mother’s sons were angry with me
and made me look after the vineyards.
But I haven’t cared for my own vineyard.

Tell me, my love, where you pasture your flock,
where you have them rest at noon;
for why should I veil myself [like a whore]
beside the flocks of your friends?

[Chorus]

If you do not know,
you most beautiful of women,
then follow the footprints of the flock
and let your kids graze by the shepherds’ tents.

[He]

My love, I compare you with my mare,
pulling one of Pharaoh’s chariots —
10 your cheeks are lovely with ornaments,
your neck with its strings of beads;
11 we will make you ornaments
of gold, studded with silver.

[She]

12 As the king reclines at table,
my nard gives forth its perfume:
13 to me the man I love is a sachet of myrrh
lodged between my breasts;
14 to me the man I love is a spray of henna flowers
in the vineyards of ‘Ein-Gedi.

[He]

15 Look at you, my love! How beautiful you are!
Your eyes are doves —

[She]

16             — Look at you!
So handsome, so pleasing, my darling!
Our bed is the greenery;
17 cedars are the beams of our houses,
cypresses the rafters.

I am but a rose from the Sharon,
just a lily in the valleys.

[He]

Like a lily among thorns
is my darling among the other women.

[She]

Like an apple tree among the other trees in the forest
is my darling among the other men.
I love to sit in his shadow;
his fruit is sweet to my taste.
He brings me to the banquet hall;
his banner over me is love.
Sustain me with raisins, refresh me with apples,
for I am sick with love.
[I wish] his left arm [were] under my head,
and his right arm around me.

I warn you, daughters of Yerushalayim,
by the gazelles and deer in the wilds,
not to awaken or stir up love
until it wants to arise!

The voice of the man I love! Here he comes,
bounding over the mountains, skipping over the hills!
My darling is like a gazelle or young stag.
There he is, standing outside our wall,
looking in through the windows,
peering in through the lattice.
10 My darling speaks; he is saying to me,
“Get up, my love! My beauty! Come away!
11 For you see that the winter has passed,
the rain is finished and gone,
12 the flowers are appearing in the countryside,
the time has come for [the birds] to sing,
and the cooing of doves can be heard in the land.
13 The fig trees are forming their unripe figs,
and the grapevines in bloom give out their perfume.
Get up, my love, my beauty!
Come away!”

[He]

14 My dove, hiding in holes in the rock,
in the secret recesses of the cliff,
let me see your face and hear your voice;
for your voice is sweet, and your face is lovely.

[She]

15 “Catch the foxes for us,
yes, the little foxes!
They are ruining the vineyards
when our vineyards are in bloom!”

16 My darling is mine, and I am his,
as he pastures his flock among the lilies.
17 Before the daytime breeze rises
and the shadows flee,
return, my love, like a stag or gazelle
on the hills of Beter.

Night after night on my bed
I looked for the man I love.
I looked for him, but I didn’t find him.
“I will get up now and roam the city,
through the streets and the open places,
I will look for the man I love.”
I looked for him, but I didn’t find him.
The guards roaming the city found me.
“Have you seen the man I love?”
Scarcely had I left them,
when I found the man I love.
I took hold of him
and would not let him go
until I had brought him to my mother’s house,
to the bedroom of the woman who conceived me.
I warn you, daughters of Yerushalayim,
by the gazelles and deer in the wilds,
not to awaken or stir up love
until it wants to arise!

Who is this, coming up from the desert
like a column of smoke,
perfumed with myrrh and frankincense,
chosen from the merchant’s crushed spices?
It is Shlomo’s litter,
escorted by sixty valiant men
chosen from Isra’el’s finest;
all of them wield the sword
and are expert fighters;
each one has his sword ready at his side
to combat the terrors of night.
King Shlomo made himself a royal litter
of wood from the L’vanon.
10 He made its columns of silver,
its roof of gold, its seat of purple cloth;
its inside was lovingly inlaid
by the daughters of Yerushalayim.

11 Daughters of Tziyon, come out,
and gaze upon King Shlomo,
wearing the crown with which his mother crowned him
on his wedding day, his day of joy!

Solomon’s Song of Songs.(A)

She[a]

Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth—
    for your love(B) is more delightful than wine.(C)
Pleasing is the fragrance of your perfumes;(D)
    your name(E) is like perfume poured out.
    No wonder the young women(F) love you!
Take me away with you—let us hurry!
    Let the king bring me into his chambers.(G)

Friends

We rejoice and delight(H) in you[b];
    we will praise your love(I) more than wine.

She

How right they are to adore you!

Dark am I, yet lovely,(J)
    daughters of Jerusalem,(K)
dark like the tents of Kedar,(L)
    like the tent curtains of Solomon.[c]
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;(M)
    my own vineyard I had to neglect.
Tell me, you whom I love,
    where you graze your flock
    and where you rest your sheep(N) at midday.
Why should I be like a veiled(O) woman
    beside the flocks of your friends?

Friends

If you do not know, most beautiful of women,(P)
    follow the tracks of the sheep
and graze your young goats
    by the tents of the shepherds.

He

I liken you, my darling, to a mare
    among Pharaoh’s chariot horses.(Q)
10 Your cheeks(R) are beautiful with earrings,
    your neck with strings of jewels.(S)
11 We will make you earrings of gold,
    studded with silver.

She

12 While the king was at his table,
    my perfume spread its fragrance.(T)
13 My beloved is to me a sachet of myrrh(U)
    resting between my breasts.
14 My beloved(V) is to me a cluster of henna(W) blossoms
    from the vineyards of En Gedi.(X)

He

15 How beautiful(Y) you are, my darling!
    Oh, how beautiful!
    Your eyes are doves.(Z)

She

16 How handsome you are, my beloved!(AA)
    Oh, how charming!
    And our bed is verdant.

He

17 The beams of our house are cedars;(AB)
    our rafters are firs.

She[d]

I am a rose[e](AC) of Sharon,(AD)
    a lily(AE) of the valleys.

He

Like a lily among thorns
    is my darling among the young women.

She

Like an apple[f] tree among the trees of the forest
    is my beloved(AF) among the young men.
I delight(AG) to sit in his shade,
    and his fruit is sweet to my taste.(AH)
Let him lead me to the banquet hall,(AI)
    and let his banner(AJ) over me be love.
Strengthen me with raisins,
    refresh me with apples,(AK)
    for I am faint with love.(AL)
His left arm is under my head,
    and his right arm embraces me.(AM)
Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you(AN)
    by the gazelles and by the does of the field:
Do not arouse or awaken love
    until it so desires.(AO)

Listen! My beloved!
    Look! Here he comes,
leaping across the mountains,
    bounding over the hills.(AP)
My beloved is like a gazelle(AQ) or a young stag.(AR)
    Look! There he stands behind our wall,
gazing through the windows,
    peering through the lattice.
10 My beloved spoke and said to me,
    “Arise, my darling,
    my beautiful one, 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;(AS)
    the blossoming(AT) vines spread their fragrance.
Arise, come, my darling;
    my beautiful one, come with me.”

He

14 My dove(AU) 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.(AV)
15 Catch for us the foxes,(AW)
    the little foxes
that ruin the vineyards,(AX)
    our vineyards that are in bloom.(AY)

She

16 My beloved is mine and I am his;(AZ)
    he browses among the lilies.(BA)
17 Until the day breaks
    and the shadows flee,(BB)
turn, my beloved,(BC)
    and be like a gazelle
or like a young stag(BD)
    on the rugged hills.[g](BE)

All night long on my bed
    I looked(BF) for the one my heart loves;
    I looked for him but did not find him.
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.
The watchmen found me
    as they made their rounds in the city.(BG)
    “Have you seen the one my heart loves?”
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,(BH)
    to the room of the one who conceived me.(BI)
Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you(BJ)
    by the gazelles and by the does of the field:
Do not arouse or awaken love
    until it so desires.(BK)

Who is this coming up from the wilderness(BL)
    like a column of smoke,
perfumed with myrrh(BM) and incense
    made from all the spices(BN) of the merchant?
Look! It is Solomon’s carriage,
    escorted by sixty warriors,(BO)
    the noblest of Israel,
all of them wearing the sword,
    all experienced in battle,
each with his sword at his side,
    prepared for the terrors of the night.(BP)
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 inlaid with love.
Daughters of Jerusalem, 11 come out,
    and look, you daughters of Zion.(BQ)
Look[h] on King Solomon wearing a crown,
    the crown with which his mother crowned him
on the day of his wedding,
    the day his heart rejoiced.(BR)

Footnotes

  1. Song of Songs 1:2 The main male and female speakers (identified primarily on the basis of the gender of the relevant Hebrew forms) are indicated by the captions He and She respectively. The words of others are marked Friends. In some instances the divisions and their captions are debatable.
  2. Song of Songs 1:4 The Hebrew is masculine singular.
  3. Song of Songs 1:5 Or Salma
  4. Song of Songs 2:1 Or He
  5. Song of Songs 2:1 Probably a member of the crocus family
  6. Song of Songs 2:3 Or possibly apricot; here and elsewhere in Song of Songs
  7. Song of Songs 2:17 Or the hills of Bether
  8. Song of Songs 3:11 Or interior lovingly inlaid / by the daughters of Jerusalem. / 11 Come out, you daughters of Zion, / and look