Song of Solomon 1

¹ This is Solomon’s Song of Songs. ² Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth! For your love is more delightful than wine. ³ The fragrance of your perfume is pleasing; your name is like perfume poured out. No wonder the maidens adore you. ⁴ Take me away with you—let us hurry! May the king bring me to his chambers. We will rejoice and delight in you; we will praise your love more than wine. It is only right that they adore you. ⁵ I am dark, yet lovely, O daughters of Jerusalem, like the tents of Kedar, like the curtains of Solomon. ⁶ Do not stare because I am dark, for the sun has gazed upon me. My mother’s sons were angry with me; they made me a keeper of the vineyards, but my own vineyard I have neglected. ⁷ Tell me, O one I love, where do you pasture your sheep? Where do you rest them at midday? Why should I be like a veiled woman beside the flocks of your companions? ⁸ If you do not know, O fairest of women, follow the tracks of the flock, and graze your young goats near the tents of the shepherds. ⁹ I compare you, my darling, to a mare among Pharaoh’s chariots. ¹⁰ Your cheeks are beautiful with ornaments, your neck with strings of jewels. ¹¹ We will make you ornaments of gold, studded with beads of silver. ¹² While the king was at his table, my perfume spread its fragrance. ¹³ My beloved is to me a sachet of myrrh resting between my breasts. ¹⁴ My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blossoms in the vineyards of En-gedi. ¹⁵ How beautiful you are, my darling! Oh, how very beautiful! Your eyes are like doves. ¹⁶ How handsome you are, my beloved! Oh, how delightful! The soft grass is our bed. ¹⁷ The beams of our house are cedars; our rafters are fragrant firs.