Chapter 1
Title and Prologue
1 The Song of Songs by Solomon.
Longing for Love
Bride:
2 Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth.
Your love is more delightful than wine;
3 fragrant is the scent of your anointing oils.
Your name is a perfume poured out,
and that is why the maidens love you.
4 Take me with you, and let us make haste;
bring me into your chamber, O king.
Companions:
We will exult and rejoice in you;
we will praise your love more than wine;
how right it is to love you.
First Poem
Tell Me, You Whom My Heart Loves
Let Me Not Be Found Wandering . . .
Bride:
5 I am dark but lovely,
O daughters of Jerusalem,
like the tents of Kedar,
like the curtains of Salma.
6 Do not stare at me because I am dark,
for I was scorched by the sun.
My mother’s sons vented their rage against me;
they forced me to look after the vineyards,
but my own vineyard I could not watch over.
7 Tell me, you whom my heart loves,
where you pasture your flocks,
and where you rest them at midday,
so that I may not be found wandering
beside the flocks of your companions.
Companions:
8 If you do not know,
O fairest among women,
follow the tracks of the flocks
and pasture your young goats
close to the tents of the shepherds.
To Sit in His Shadow Is My Delight
Bridegroom:
9 I compare you, my beloved,
to a mare harnessed to Pharaoh’s chariot.
10 Your cheeks are beautiful with pendants
and your neck with its jeweled necklaces.
11 We will make ornaments of gold for you
that are studded with silver.
Bride:
12 While the king reclines on his couch,
my nard yields its fragrance.
13 My beloved is for me a sachet of myrrh
that lies between my breasts.
14 My beloved is for me a cluster of henna blossoms
in the vineyards of En-gedi.
Bridegroom:
15 How beautiful you are, my beloved,
how beautiful you are;
your eyes are doves.
Bride:
16 How handsome you are, my love,
and how you delight me.
Our couch is verdant.
Bridegroom:
17 The beams of our house are cedar;
our rafters are all of pine.
Footnotes
- Song of Songs 1:1
- Song of Songs 1:1
- Song of Songs 1:2
- Song of Songs 1:3
- Song of Songs 1:5
- Song of Songs 1:5
- Song of Songs 1:5
- Song of Songs 1:6
- Song of Songs 1:7
- Song of Songs 1:9
- Song of Songs 1:9
- Song of Songs 1:12
- Song of Songs 1:13
- Song of Songs 1:14
- Song of Songs 1:15
- Song of Songs 1:16
