1:1 Solomon’s
The Beloved to Her Lover:
1:2 Oh, how I wish you
For your lovemaking
1:3 The fragrance
your name
No wonder the young women
1:4 Draw me
May the king
The Maidens
We will
we will praise
The Beloved to Her Lover:
How rightly
The Beloved to the Maidens:
1:5 I am dark but lovely, O maidens
dark
lovely
1:6 Do not stare at me because
for
My brothers
they made me the keeper of the vineyards.
Alas, my own vineyard
The Beloved to Her Lover:
1:7 Tell me, O you whom my heart
where do you pasture your sheep?
Where do you rest your sheep during the midday heat?
Tell me lest
beside the flocks of your companions!
The Lover to His Beloved:
1:8 If you do not know, O most beautiful of women,
simply follow the tracks of my flock,
and pasture your little lambs
beside the tents of the shepherds.
The Lover to His Beloved:
1:9 O my beloved, you are like
among Pharaoh’s stallions.
1:10 Your cheeks are beautiful with ornaments;
your neck is lovely
1:11 We
studded with silver.
The Beloved about Her Lover:
1:12 While the king was at his banqueting table,
my nard
1:13 My beloved is like a fragrant pouch of myrrh
spending the night
1:14 My beloved is like a cluster of henna blossoms
in the vineyards of En-Gedi.
The Lover to His Beloved:
1:15 Oh,
Oh, how beautiful you are!
Your eyes
The Beloved to Her Lover:
1:16 Oh, how handsome you are, my lover!
Oh,
The lush foliage
1:17 the cedars are the beams of our bedroom chamber;
the pines are the rafters of our bedroom.
The Beloved to Her Lover:
2:1 I am a
a lily
The Lover to His Beloved:
2:2 Like
so is my darling among the maidens.
The Beloved about Her Lover:
2:3 Like
so is my beloved among the young men.
I delight
and his fruit
The Beloved about Her Lover:
2:4 He brought me
and he looked
2:5 Sustain
refresh me with apples,
for I am faint with love.
The Double Refrain: Embracing and Adjuration
2:6 His left hand caresses my head,
and his right hand stimulates me.
The Beloved to the Maidens:
2:7 I adjure you,
by the gazelles and by the young does
Do not awaken or arouse
The Beloved about Her Lover:
2:8 Listen!
Look!
leaping over the mountains,
bounding over the hills!
2:9 My lover is like a gazelle or a young stag.
Look! There he stands behind our wall,
gazing through the window,
peering through the lattice.
The Lover to His Beloved:
2:10 My lover spoke to me, saying:
“Arise, my darling;
My beautiful one, come away with me!
2:11 Look! The winter has passed,
the winter rains are over and gone.
2:12 The pomegranates have appeared
the time for pruning and singing
the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land.
2:13 The fig tree has budded,
the vines have blossomed and give off their fragrance.
Arise, come away my darling;
my beautiful one, come away with me!”
The Lover to His Beloved:
2:14 O my dove,
in the hiding places of the mountain crags,
let me see your face,
let me hear your voice;
for your voice is sweet,
and your face is lovely.
The Beloved to Her Lover:
2:15 Catch
the little foxes,
that ruin the vineyards
for our vineyard is in bloom.
The Beloved about Her Lover:
2:16 My lover is mine and I am his;
he grazes among the lilies.
The Beloved to Her Lover:
2:17 Until the dawn arrives
turn,
be like a gazelle or a young stag
on the mountain gorges.
The Beloved about Her Lover:
3:1 All night long
I longed for
I longed for
3:2 “I will arise
and throughout the streets
I will search for my beloved.”
I searched for him but I did not find him.
3:3 The night watchmen found me – the ones who guard the city walls.
“Have you seen my beloved?”
3:4 Scarcely
when I found my beloved!
I held onto him
until I brought him to my mother’s house,
to the bedroom chamber
The Beloved to the Maidens:
3:5
by the gazelles and by the young does of the open fields:
“Do not awake or arouse love until it pleases!”
The Speaker:
3:6 Who is this coming up from the desert
like a column of smoke,
like
every kind of fragrant powder
3:7 Look! It is Solomon’s portable couch!
It is surrounded by sixty warriors,
some of Israel’s mightiest warriors.
3:8 All of them are skilled with a sword,
well-trained in the art of warfare.
Each has his sword at his side,
to guard against the terrors of the night.
3:9 King Solomon made a sedan chair
of wood imported from Lebanon.
3:10 Its posts were made
its back
Its seat was upholstered with purple wool;
its interior was inlaid
3:11 Come out, O maidens of Zion,
and gaze upon King Solomon!
He is wearing the crown with which his mother crowned him
on his wedding day,
on the most joyous day of his life!
The Lover to His Beloved:
4:1 Oh,
Oh, you are beautiful!
Your eyes behind your veil are like doves.
Your hair is like a flock of female goats
descending
4:2 Your teeth are like a flock of newly-shorn sheep
coming up from the washing place;
each of them has a twin,
and not one of them is missing.
4:3 Your lips are like a scarlet thread;
your mouth is lovely.
Your forehead
is like a slice of pomegranate.
4:4 Your neck is like the tower
built with courses of stones;
one thousand shields are hung on it –
all shields of valiant warriors.
4:5 Your two breasts are like two fawns,
twins of the gazelle
grazing among the lilies.
4:6 Until the dawn arrives
and the shadows flee,
I will go up to the mountain of myrrh,
and to the hill of frankincense.
4:7 You are altogether beautiful, my darling!
There is no blemish in you!
4:8 Come with me from Lebanon, my bride,
come with me from Lebanon.
Descend from the crest of Amana,
from the top of Senir, the summit of Hermon,
from the lions’ dens
and the mountain haunts of the leopards.
4:9 You have stolen my heart,
You have stolen my heart with one glance of your eyes,
with one jewel of your necklace.
4:10 How delightful is your love, my sister, my bride!
How much better is your love than wine;
the fragrance of your perfume is better than any spice!
4:11 Your lips drip sweetness like the honeycomb, my bride,
honey and milk are under your tongue.
The fragrance of your garments is like the fragrance of Lebanon.
The Lover to His Beloved:
4:12 You are a locked garden,
you are an enclosed spring, a sealed-up fountain.
4:13 Your shoots are a royal garden
with choice fruits:
henna with nard,
4:14 nard and saffron;
calamus and cinnamon with every kind of spice,
myrrh and aloes with all the finest spices.
4:15 You are a garden spring,
a well
The Beloved to Her Lover:
4:16 Awake, O north wind; come, O south wind!
Blow on my garden so that its fragrant spices may send out their sweet smell.
May my beloved come into his garden
and eat its delightful fruit!
The Lover to His Beloved:
5:1 I have entered my garden, O my sister, my bride;
I have gathered my myrrh with my balsam spice.
I have eaten my honeycomb and my honey;
I have drunk my wine and my milk!
The Poet to the Couple:
Eat, friends, and drink!
Drink freely, O lovers!
The Beloved about Her Lover:
5:2 I was asleep, but my mind
Listen!
The Lover to His Beloved:
“Open
my dove, my flawless one!
My head is drenched with dew,
my hair with the dampness of the night.”
The Beloved to Her Lover:
5:3 “I have already taken off my robe – must I put it on again?
I have already washed my feet – must I soil them again?”
5:4 My lover thrust his hand
and my feelings
5:5 I arose to open for my beloved;
my hands dripped with myrrh –
my fingers flowed with myrrh
on the handles of the lock.
5:6 I opened for my beloved,
but my lover had already turned
I fell into despair
I looked for him but did not find him;
I called him but he did not answer me.
5:7 The watchmen found me as they made their rounds in the city.
They beat me, they bruised me;
they took away my cloak, those watchmen on the walls!
The Beloved to the Maidens:
5:8 O maidens of Jerusalem, I command you –
If you find my beloved, what will you tell him?
Tell him that I am lovesick!
The Maidens to The Beloved:
5:9 Why is your beloved better than others,
O most beautiful of women?
Why is your beloved better than others,
that you would command us in this manner?
The Beloved to the Maidens:
5:10 My beloved
he stands out
5:11 His head is like the most pure gold.
His hair is curly
5:12 His eyes are like doves by streams of water,
washed in milk, mounted like jewels.
5:13 His cheeks are like garden beds full of balsam trees
His lips are like lilies dripping with drops of myrrh.
5:14 His arms are like rods of gold set with chrysolite.
His abdomen
5:15 His legs are like pillars of marble set on bases of pure gold.
His appearance is like Lebanon, choice as its cedars.
5:16 His mouth is very sweet;
he is totally desirable.
This is my beloved!
This is my companion, O maidens of Jerusalem!
The Maidens to the Beloved:
6:1 Where has your beloved gone,
O most beautiful among women?
Where has your beloved turned?
Tell us,
The Beloved to the Maidens:
6:2 My beloved has gone down to his garden,
to the flowerbeds of balsam spices,
to graze
and to gather lilies.
The Beloved about Her Lover:
6:3 I am my lover’s
he grazes among the lilies.
The Lover to His Beloved:
6:4 My darling, you are as beautiful as Tirzah,
as lovely as Jerusalem,
as awe-inspiring
6:5 Turn your eyes away from me –
they overwhelm
Your hair is like a flock of goats
descending from Mount Gilead.
6:6 Your teeth are like a flock of sheep
coming up from the washing;
each has its twin;
not one of them is missing.
6:7 Like a slice of pomegranate
is your forehead
6:8 There may be sixty
and eighty concubines,
and young women
6:9 But she is unique!
My dove, my perfect one!
She is the special daughter
she is the favorite
The maidens
the queens and concubines praised her:
6:10 “Who
Beautiful as the moon,
awe-inspiring
The Lover to His Beloved:
6:11 I went down to the orchard of walnut trees,
to look for the blossoms of the valley,
to see if the vines had budded
or if the pomegranates were in bloom.
6:12
There please give me your myrrh,
O daughter of my princely people.
The Lover to His Beloved:
6:13 (7:1)
Turn, turn, that I
The Beloved to Her Lover:
Why
like the dance of the Mahanaim?
The Lover to His Beloved:
7:1 (7:2) How beautiful are your sandaled
O nobleman’s daughter!
The curves
the work of the hands of a master craftsman.
7:2 Your navel
may it never lack
Your belly
encircled
7:3 Your two breasts are like two fawns,
twins of a gazelle.
7:4 Your neck is like a tower made of ivory.
Your eyes are the pools in Heshbon
by the gate of Bath-Rabbim.
Your nose is like the tower of Lebanon
overlooking Damascus.
7:5 Your head crowns
The locks of your hair
the king is held captive
7:6 How beautiful you are! How lovely,
O love,
The Lover to His Beloved:
7:7 Your stature
and your breasts are like clusters of grapes.
7:8 I want
and take hold of its fruit stalks.
May your breasts be like the clusters of grapes,
and may the fragrance of your breath be like apricots!
7:9 May your mouth
flowing smoothly for my beloved,
gliding gently over our lips as we sleep together.
The Beloved about Her Lover:
7:10 I am my beloved’s,
and he desires me!
The Beloved to Her Lover:
7:11 Come, my beloved, let us go to the countryside;
let us spend the night in the villages.
7:12 Let us rise early to go to the vineyards,
to see if the vines have budded,
to see if their blossoms have opened,
if the pomegranates are in bloom –
there I will give you my love.
7:13 The mandrakes
over our door is every delicacy,
both new and old, which I have stored up for you, my lover.
The Beloved to Her Lover:
8:1 Oh, how I wish you were
nursing at my mother’s breasts;
if I saw
surely
8:2 I would lead you and bring you to my mother’s house,
the one who taught me.
I would give you
the nectar of my pomegranates.
The Beloved about Her Lover:
8:3 His left hand caresses my head,
and his right hand stimulates me.
The Beloved to the Maidens:
8:4 I admonish you, O maidens
“Do not
The Maidens about His Beloved:
8:5 Who is this coming up from the desert,
leaning on her beloved?
The Beloved to Her Lover:
Under the apple tree I aroused you;
there your mother conceived you,
there she who bore you was in labor of childbirth.
The Beloved to Her Lover:
8:6 Set me like a cylinder seal
like a signet
For love is as strong as death,
passion
Its flames burst forth,
it is a blazing flame.
8:7 Surging waters cannot quench love;
floodwaters
If someone were to offer all his possessions
the offer
The Beloved’s Brothers:
8:8 We have a little sister,
and as yet she has no breasts.
What shall we do for our sister
on the day when she is spoken for?
8:9 If she is a wall,
we will build on her a battlement
but if she is a door,
we will barricade
The Beloved:
8:10 I was a wall,
and my breasts were like fortress towers.
Then I found favor
The Beloved to Her Lover:
8:11 Solomon had a vineyard at Baal-Hamon;
he leased out
Each was to bring a thousand shekels of silver for its fruit.
8:12 My vineyard,
The thousand shekels belong to you, O Solomon,
and two hundred shekels belong to those who maintain it for its fruit.
The Lover to His Beloved:
8:13 O you who stay in the gardens,
my companions are listening attentively
let me be the one to
The Beloved to Her Lover:
8:14 Make haste, my beloved!
Be like a gazelle or a young stag
on the mountains of spices.