Solomon's

Beloved

Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth-
for your love is more delightful than wine.

Pleasing is the fragrance of your perfumes;
your name is like perfume poured out.
No wonder the maidens love you! Take me away with you-let us hurry!
Let the king bring me into his chambers.


Beloved

How right they are to adore you!

Dark am I, yet lovely,
O daughters of Jerusalem,
dark like the tents of Kedar,
like the tent curtains of Solomon.

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 have neglected.

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?

Lover
I liken you, my darling, to a mare
harnessed to one of the chariots of Pharaoh.

Your cheeks are beautiful with earrings,
your neck with strings of jewels. We will make you earrings of gold,
studded with silver.

Beloved
While the king was at his table,
my perfume spread its fragrance.

My lover is to me a sachet of myrrh
resting between my breasts. My lover is to me a cluster of henna blossoms
from the vineyards of En Gedi.

Beloved

How handsome you are, my lover!
Oh, how charming!
And our bed is verdant.
Lover

The beams of our house are cedars;
our rafters are firs.