1 Solomon’s Song of Songs.

She[a]

2 Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth—

for your love is more delightful than wine.

3 Pleasing is the fragrance of your perfumes;

your name is like perfume poured out.

No wonder the young women love you!

4 Take me away with you—let us hurry!

Let the king bring me into his chambers.

Friends

We rejoice and delight in you[b];

we will praise your love more than wine.

She

How right they are to adore you!

5 Dark am I, yet lovely,

daughters of Jerusalem,

dark like the tents of Kedar,

like the tent curtains of Solomon.[c]

6 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;

my own vineyard I had to neglect.

7 Tell me, you whom I love,

where you graze your flock

and where you rest your sheep at midday.

Why should I be like a veiled woman

beside the flocks of your friends?

Friends

8 If you do not know, most beautiful of women,

follow the tracks of the sheep

and graze your young goats

by the tents of the shepherds.

He

9 I liken you, my darling, to a mare

among Pharaoh’s chariot horses.

10 Your cheeks are beautiful with earrings,

your neck with strings of jewels.

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.

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

from the vineyards of En Gedi.

He

15 How beautiful you are, my darling!

Oh, how beautiful!

Your eyes are doves.

She

16 How handsome you are, my beloved!

Oh, how charming!

And our bed is verdant.

He

17 The beams of our house are cedars;

our rafters are firs.