1 The Song of Songs, which is Solomon’s.
2 W Let him kiss me with kisses of his mouth,for your love is better than wine,
3 better than the fragrance of your perfumes.Your name is a flowing perfume—therefore young women love you.
4 Draw me after you! Let us run!The king has brought me to his bed chambers.Let us exult and rejoice in you;let us celebrate your love: it is beyond wine!Rightly do they love you!
5 W I am black and beautiful,Daughters of Jerusalem—Like the tents of Qedar,like the curtains of Solomon.
6 Do not stare at me because I am so black,because the sun has burned me.The sons of my mother were angry with me;they charged me with the care of the vineyards:my own vineyard I did not take care of.
7 W Tell me, you whom my soul loves,where you shepherd, where you give rest at midday.Why should I be like one wanderingafter the flocks of your companions?
8 M If you do not know,most beautiful among women,Follow the tracks of the flockand pasture your lambsnear the shepherds’ tents.
9 M To a mare among Pharaoh’s chariotryI compare you, my friend:
10 Your cheeks lovely in pendants,your neck in jewels.
11 We will make pendants of gold for you,and ornaments of silver.
12 W While the king was upon his couch,my spikenard gave forth its fragrance.
13 My lover is to me a sachet of myrrh;between my breasts he lies.
14 My lover is to me a cluster of hennafrom the vineyards of En-gedi.
15 M How beautiful you are, my friend,how beautiful! your eyes are doves!
16 W How beautiful you are, my lover—handsome indeed!Verdant indeed is our couch;
17 the beams of our house are cedars,our rafters, cypresses.