The Song of Solomon The Song
of Songs, which is Solomon's. Let him kiss me with the kisses
of his mouth, for thy love is better than wine. Because of
the savour of thy good ointments, thy name is as ointment poured
forth, therefore do the virgins love thee. Draw me, we will run
after thee. The king hath brought me into
his chambers, We will be glad and rejoice in thee. We will
remember thy love more than wine. The upright love thee. I am black,
but comely, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents of Cedar,
as the curtains of Solomon. Look not upon me, because I am
black, because the sun hath looked upon me. My mother's children
were angry with me. They made me the keeper of the
vineyards, but mine own vineyard have I not kept. Tell me, O thou
whom my soul loveth, where thou feedest, where thou makest thy
flock to rest at noon, for why should I be as one that turneth
aside by the flocks of thy companions? If thou know not, O thou fairest
among women, go thy way forth by the footsteps of the flock,
and feed thy kids beside the shepherd's tents. I have compared
thee, O my love, to a company of horses in Pharaoh's chariots. Thy cheeks are comely with rows
of jewels, and thy neck with chains of gold. We will make
thee borders of gold with studs of silver. While the king sitteth
at his table, my spikenard sendeth forth the smell thereof. A bundle
of myrrh is my well-beloved unto me. He shall lie all night betwixt
my breasts. My beloved is unto me as a cluster
of campfire in the vineyards of Engedi. Behold, thou art fair,
my love, behold, thou art fair, thou hast dove's eyes. Behold,
thou art fair, my beloved, yea, pleasant. Also our bed is green,
the beams of our house are cedar, and our rafters are fir. I am the rose of Sharon, and
the lily of the valleys. As the lily among thorns, so
is my love among the daughters. As the apple tree among the trees
of the wood, so is my beloved among the suns. I sat down under
his shadow with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my
taste. He brought me to the banqueting
house, and his banner over me was love. Stay me with flagons,
comfort me with apples, for I am sick of love. His left hand is
under my head, and his right hand doth embrace me. I charge
you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, by the rows and by the hinds
of the field, that ye stir not up, nor awake, my love, till
he please. the voice of my beloved. Behold,
he cometh leaping upon the mountains, skipping upon the hills. My beloved
is like a roe or a young heart. Behold, he standeth behind our
wall. He looketh forth at the windows,
showing himself through the lattice. My beloved spake and said unto
me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away, For lo, the
winter is past, the rain is over and gone, The flowers appear
on the earth, the time of the singing of birds is come, And
the voice of the turtle is heard in our land. The fig tree putteth
forth her green figs, And the vines, with tender grape, give
a good smell. Arise, my love, my fair one,
and come away. O my dove, that art in the clefts
of the rock, In the secret places of the stairs, Let me see thy
countenance, let me hear thy voice, For sweet is thy voice,
and thy countenance is comely. Take us the foxes, the little
foxes, that spoil the vines, For our vines have tender grapes. My beloved is mine, and I am
his, he feedeth among the lilies. Until the day break, and the
shadows flee away, turn, my beloved, and be thou like a roe or a young
heart upon the mountains of Betha. By night on my bed I sought him
whom my soul loveth. I sought him, but I found him
not. I will rise now and go about the city in the streets and in
the broad ways. I will seek him whom my soul
loveth. I sought him. But I found him
not. The watchmen that go about the
city found me, to whom I said, Saw ye him whom my soul loveth?
It was but a little that I passed from them, but I found him whom
my soul loveth. I held him, and would not let
him go until I had brought him into my mother's house and into
the chamber of her that conceived me. I charge you, O ye daughters
of Jerusalem, by the rows and by the hinds of the field, that
ye stir not up nor awake, my love, till he please. Who is
this that cometh out of the wilderness like pillars of smoke, perfumed
with myrrh and frankincense and all powders of the merchant?
Behold his bed, which is Solomon's. Threescore valiant men are about
it, of the valiance of Israel. They all hold swords, being expert
in war. Every man hath his sword upon
his thigh, because of fear in the night. King Solomon made
himself a chariot of the wood of Lebanon. He made the pillars
thereof of silver, the bottom thereof of gold, the covering
of it of purple, the midst thereof being paved with love for the
daughters of Jerusalem. Go forth, O ye daughters of Zion,
and behold King Solomon with the crown wherewith his mother
crowned him in the day of his espousals. and in the day of
the gladness of his heart. Behold thou art fair, my love,
behold thou art fair. Thou hast dove's eyes within
thy locks. Thy hair is as a flock of goats
that appear from Mount Gilead. Thy teeth are like a flock of
sheep that are even shorn, which came up from the washing, whereof
every one bear twins, and none is barren among them. Thy lips
are like a thread of scarlet, and thy speech is comely. Thy
temples are like a piece of a pomegranate within thy locks. Thy neck is
like the Tower of David, builded for an armory, whereon there
hang a thousand bucklers, all shields of mighty men. Thy two
breasts are like two young rose that are twins, which feed among
the lilies. Until the daybreak and the shadows
flee away, I will get me to the mountain of myrrh and to the
hill of frankincense. Thou art all fair, my love, there
is no spot in thee. Come with me from Lebanon, my
spouse, with me from Lebanon. Look from the top of Amarna,
from the top of Shemya and Hermon, from the lion's dens, from the
mountains of the leopards. Thou hast ravished my heart,
my sister, my spouse. Thou hast ravished my heart with
one of thine eyes, with one chain of thy neck. How fair is thy
love, my sister, my spouse! How much better is thy love than
wine! and the smell of thy ointments
than all spices. Thy lips, O my spouse, drop as
the honeycomb. Honey and milk are under thy
tongue, and the smell of thy garments is like the smell of
Lebanon. A garden enclosed is my sister,
my spouse, A spring shut up, a fountain sealed. Thy plants
are an orchard of pomegranates, With pleasant fruits, campfire
with spikenard, Spikenard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon,
With all trees of frankincense, myrrh and aloes, With all the
chief spices. A fountain of gardens, a well
of living waters, And streams from Lebanon. Awake, O north
wind, and come thou south! Blow upon my garden, that the
spices thereof may flow out. Let my beloved come into his
garden, and eat his pleasant fruits. I am come into my garden, my
sister, my spouse. I have gathered my myrrh with
my spice. I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey. I have drunk my
wine with my milk. Eat, O friends, drink, yea, drink
abundantly, O beloved. I sleep, but my heart waketh. It is the voice of my beloved
that knocketh, saying, Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove,
my undefiled. For my head is filled with dew,
and my locks with the drops of the night. I have put off my
coat, how shall I put it on? I have washed my feet, how shall
I defile them? My beloved put in his hand by
the hole of the door, and my bowels were moved for him. I
rose up to open to my beloved, and my hands dropped with myrrh,
and my fingers with sweet-smelling myrrh upon the handles of the
lock. I opened to my beloved, but my
beloved had withdrawn himself and was gone. My soul failed
when he spake. I sought him, but I could not
find him. I called him, but he gave me no answer. The watchmen
that went about the city found me. They smoked me. They wounded
me. The keepers of the walls took away my veil from me. I
charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, if ye find my Beloved, that ye
tell him that I am sick of love. What is thy Beloved more than
another Beloved, O thou fairest among women? What is thy Beloved
more than another Beloved, that thou dost so charge us? My beloved
is white and ruddy, the chiefest among ten thousand. His head
is as the most fine gold, his locks are bushy and black as
a raven. His eyes are as the eyes of doves
by the rivers of waters, washed with milk and fitly set. His cheeks are as a bed of spices,
as sweet flowers, his lips like lilies dropping sweet-smelling
myrrh. His hands are as gold rings set
with the beryl, his belly is as bright ivory overlaid with
sapphires. His legs are as pillars of marble
set upon sockets of fine gold. His countenance is as Lebanon,
excellent as the cedars. His mouth is most sweet. Yea, he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved, and this
is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem. Whither is thy beloved gone,
O thou fairest among women? Whither is thy beloved turned
aside, That we may seek him with thee? My beloved is gone down
into his garden, To the beds of spices to feed in the gardens,
And to gather lilies. I am my beloved's, and my beloved
is mine, He feedeth among the lilies. Thou art beautiful, O my love,
as Terza, comely as Jerusalem, terrible as an army with banners.
Turn away thine eyes from me, for they have overcome me. Thy
hair is as a flock of goats that appear from Gilead. Thy teeth
are as a flock of sheep which go up from the washing, whereof
every one beareth twins, and there is not one barren among
them. As a piece of a pomegranate are thy temples within thy locks.
There are three score queens and four score concubines and
virgins without number. My dove, my undefiled, is but
one. She is the only one of her mother. She is the choice one of her
that bear her. The daughters saw her and blessed
her, yea, the queens and the concubines, and they praised
her. Who is she that looketh forth as the morning, fair as
the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners?
I went down into the garden of nuts to see the fruits of the
valley, and to see whether the vine flourished and the pomegranates
budded. Wherever I was aware, my soul
made me like the chariots of a Minidib. Return, return, O
Shulamite, return, return, that we may look upon thee. What will
he see in the Shulamite? As it were the company of two
armies. How beautiful are thy feet with
shoes, O Prince's daughter! The joints of thy thighs are
like jewels, the work of the hands of a cunning workman. Thy
navel is like a round goblet that wanteth not liquor. Thy
belly is like a heap of wheat set about with lilies. Thy two
breasts are like two young rose that are twins. Thy neck is as
a tower of ivory. Thy eyes like the fish pools
in Heshbon, by the gates of Bathrabim. Thy nose is as the tower of Lebanon
which looketh toward Damascus. Thine head upon thee is like
Carmel, and the hair of thine head like purple. The king is
held in the galleries. How fair and how pleasant art
thou, O love, for delights! This thy stature is like to a
palm tree, And thy breasts the clusters of grapes. I said, I
will go up to the palm tree, I will take hold of the boughs
thereof. Now also thy breasts shall be as clusters of the vine,
And the smell of thy nose like apples, And the roof of thy mouth
like the best wine For my beloved, that goeth down sweetly, Causing
the lips of those that are asleep to speak. I am my beloved's,
and his desire is toward me. Come, my beloved, let us go forth
into the field. Let us lodge in the villages.
Let us get up early to the vineyards. Let us see if the vine flourish,
whether the tender grape appear, and the pomegranates bud forth. There will I give thee my loves. The man drinks, give a smell. And at our gates are all manner
of pleasant fruits, new and old, which I have laid up for thee,
O my beloved. Oh, that you were as my brother,
that sucked the breasts of my mother! When I should find thee
without, I would kiss thee, yea, I should not be despised. I would
lead thee and bring thee into my mother's house, who would
instruct me. I would cause thee to drink of
spiced wine of the juice of my pomegranate. His left hand should
be under my head, and his right hand should embrace me. I charge
you, O daughters of Jerusalem, that ye stir not up nor awake
my love until ye please. Who is this that cometh up from
the wilderness, leaning upon her beloved? I raise thee up
under the apple tree. There thy mother brought thee
forth. There she brought thee forth that beareth thee. Set
me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm. For
love is strong as death, jealousy as cruel as the grave. The coals
thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame. Many
waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it. If a
man would give all the substance of his house for love, it would
utterly be contemned. We have a little sister, and
she hath no breasts. What shall we do for our sister
in the day when she shall be spoken for? If she be a wall,
we will build upon her a palace of silver, and if she be a door,
we will enclose her with boards of cedar. I am a wall, and my
breasts like towers. Then was I in his eyes as one
that found favor. Solomon had a vineyard at Baal-Haman. He let out the vineyard unto
keepers. Every one for the fruit thereof
was to bring a thousand pieces of silver. My vineyard, which
is mine, is before me. Thou, O Solomon, must have a
thousand, and those that keep the fruit thereof, two hundred. Thou that dwellest in the gardens,
the companions hearken to thy voice. Cause me to hear it. Make haste, my beloved, and be
thou like to a roe or to a young heart upon the mountains of spices.