The Song of Songs, Which is Solomon's
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.
- Thine oils have a
goodly fragrance;
- Thy name is as oil 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 make mention of thy love more than of wine:
- Rightly do they love thee.
- I am black, but comely,
- Oh ye daughters of Jerusalem,
- As the tents of Kedar,
- As the curtains of Solomon.
- Look not upon me,
because I am swarthy,
- Because the sun hath scorched me.
- My mother’s sons were incensed against me;
- They made me keeper of the vineyards;
- But mine own vineyard have I not kept.
- Tell me, O thou whom
my soul loveth,
- Where thou feedest thy flock,
- Where thou makest it to rest at noon:
- For why should I be as one that is veiled
- Beside 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 shepherds’ tents.
-
- I have compared thee,
O my love,
- To a steed in Pharaoh’s chariots.
- Thy cheeks are comely
with plaits of hair,
- Thy neck with strings of jewels.
- We will make thee
plaits of gold
- With studs of silver.
- While the king sat at
his table,
- My spikenard sent forth its fragrance.
- My beloved is unto me
as a bundle of myrrh,
- That lieth betwixt my breasts.
- My beloved is unto me
as a cluster of henna-flowers
- In the vineyards of En-gedi.
-
- Behold, thou art
fair, my love;
- Behold thou art fair;
- Thine eyes are as doves.
-
- Behold, thou art
fair, my beloved, yea, pleasant:
- Also our couch is green.
- The beams of our
house are cedars,
- And our rafters are firs.
- I am a rose of Sharon,
- A lily of the valleys.
-
- As a 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 sons.
- 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 ye me with
raisins, refresh me with apples;
- For I am sick from love.
- His left hand
is under my head,
- And his right hand doth embrace me.
-
- I adjure you, O
daughters of Jerusalem,
- By the roes, or by the hinds of the field,
- That ye stir not up, nor awake my love,
- Until 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 hart:
- Behold, he standeth behind our wall;
- He looketh in at the windows;
- He glanceth 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-dove is heard in our land;
- The fig-tree ripeneth
her green figs,
- And the vines are in blossom;
- They give forth their fragrance.
- Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.
- O my dove, that art
in the clefts of the rock,
- In the covert of the steep place,
- 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 vineyards;
- For our vineyards are in blossom.
- My beloved is mine,
and I am his:
- He feedeth his flock among the lilies.
- Until the day be
cool, and the shadows flee away,
- Turn, my beloved, and be thou like a roe or a young hart
- Upon the mountains of Bether.
- By night on my bed
- I sought him whom my soul loveth:
- I sought him, but I found him not.
- I said, 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,
- When 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 adjure you, O
daughters of Jerusalem,
- By the roes, or by the hinds of the field,
- That ye stir not up, nor awake my love,
- Until he please.
-
- Who is this that
cometh up from the wilderness
- Like pillars of smoke,
- Perfumed with myrrh and frankincense,
- With all powders of the merchant?
- Behold, it is the
litter of Solomon;
- Threescore mighty men are about it,
- Of the mighty men of Israel.
- They all handle the
sword, and are expert in war:
- Every man hath his sword upon his thigh,
- Because of fear in the night.
- King Solomon made
himself a palanquin
- Of the wood of Lebanon.
- He made the pillars
thereof of silver,
- The bottom thereof of gold, the seat of it of purple,
- The midst thereof being paved with love,
- From the daughters of Jerusalem.
- Go forth, O ye
daughters of Zion, and behold king Solomon,
- With the crown wherewith his mother hath 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;
- Thine eyes are as doves behind thy veil.
- Thy hair is as a flock of goats,
- That lie along the side of mount Gilead.
- Thy teeth are like a
flock of ewes that are newly shorn,
- Which are come up from the washing,
- Whereof every one hath twins,
- And none is bereaved among them.
- Thy lips are like a
thread of scarlet,
- And thy mouth is comely.
- Thy temples are like a piece of a pomegranate
- Behind thy veil.
- Thy neck is like the
tower of David builded for an armory,
- Whereon there hang a thousand bucklers,
- All the shields of the mighty men.
- Thy two breasts are
like two fawns
- That are twins of a roe,
- Which feed among the lilies.
-
- Until the day be cool,
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;
- And there is no spot in thee.
- Come with me from
Lebanon, my bride,
- With me from Lebanon:
- Look from the top of Amana,
- From the top of Senir and Hermon,
- From the lions’ dens,
- From the mountains of the leopards.
- Thou hast ravished my
heart, my sister, my bride;
- Thou hast ravished my heart with one of thine eyes,
- With one chain of thy neck.
- How fair is thy love,
my sister, my bride!
- How much better is thy love than wine!
- And the fragrance of thine oils than all manner of spices!
- Thy lips, O my
bride, 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 shut up is
my sister, my bride;
- A spring shut up, a fountain sealed.
- Thy shoots are an
orchard of pomegranates, with precious fruits;
- Henna with spikenard plants,
- Spikenard and saffron,
- Calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense;
- Myrrh and aloes, with all the chief spices.
- Thou art a
fountain of gardens,
- A well of living waters,
- And flowing 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 precious fruits.
- I am come into my
garden, my sister, my bride:
- 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 was asleep, but my
heart waked:
- 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,
- My locks with the drops of the night.
- I have put off my
garment; 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 heart was moved for him.
- I rose up to open to
my beloved;
- And my hands droppeth with myrrh,
- And my fingers with liquid myrrh,
- Upon the handles of the bolt.
- I opened to my beloved;
- But my beloved had withdrawn himself, and was gone.
- My soul had failed me when he spake:
- I sought him, but I could not find him;
- I called him, but he gave me no answer.
- The watchmen that go
about the city found me,
- They smote me, they wounded me;
- The keepers of the walls took away my mantle from me.
- I adjure you, O
daughters of Jerusalem,
- If ye find my beloved,
- That ye tell him, that I am sick from 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 adjure 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 like
doves beside the water-brooks,
- Washed with milk, and fitly set.
- His cheeks are as a
bed of spices,
- As banks of sweet herbs:
- His lips are as lilies, dropping liquid myrrh.
- His hands are
as rings of gold set with beryl:
- His body is as ivory work overlaid with sapphires.
- His legs are
as pillars of marble, set upon sockets of fine gold:
- His aspect is like 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 hath thy beloved turned him,
- That we may seek him with thee?
-
- My beloved is gone
down to 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 his flock among the lilies,
-
- Thou art fair, O my
love, as Tirzah,
- 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 lie along the side of Gilead.
- Thy teeth are like a
flock of ewes,
- Which are come up from the washing;
- Whereof every one hath twins,
- And none is bereaved among them.
- Thy temples are like a
piece of a pomegranate
- Behind thy veil.
- There are threescore
queens, and fourscore 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 bare her.
- The daughters saw her, and called her blessed;
- 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,
- Terrible as an army with banners?
-
- I went down into the
garden of nuts,
- To see the green plants of the valley,
- To see whether the vine budded,
- And the pomegranates were in flower.
- Before I was aware,
my soul set me
- Among the chariots of my princely people.
-
- Return, return, O
Shulammite;
- Return, return, that we may look upon thee.
- Why will ye look upon the Shulammite,
- As upon the dance of Mahanaim?
- How beautiful are thy
feet in sandals, O prince’s daughter!
- Thy rounded thighs are like jewels,
- The work of the hands of a skilful workman.
- Thy body is
like a round goblet,
- Wherein no mingled wine is wanting:
- Thy waist is like a heap of wheat
- Set about with lilies.
- Thy two breasts are
like two fawns
- That are twins of a roe.
- Thy neck is like the
tower of ivory;
- Thine eyes as the pools in Heshbon,
- By the gate of Bath-rabbim;
- Thy nose is like the tower of Lebanon
- Which looketh toward Damascus.
- Thy head upon thee is
like Carmel,
- And the hair of thy head like purple;
- The king is held captive in the tresses thereof.
- How fair and how
pleasant art thou,
- O love, for delights!
- This thy stature is
like to a palm-tree,
- And thy breasts to its clusters.
- I said, I will climb
up into the palm-tree,
- I will take hold of the branches thereof:
- Let thy breasts be as clusters of the vine,
- And the smell of thy breath like apples,
- And thy mouth like the
best wine,
- That goeth down smoothly for my beloved,
- Gliding through the lips of those that are asleep.
-
- 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 whether the vine hath budded,
- And its blossom is open,
- And the pomegranates are in flower:
- There will I give thee my love.
- The mandrakes give
forth fragrance;
- And at our doors are all manner of precious fruits, new and old,
- Which I have laid up for thee, O my beloved.
- Oh that thou wert as
my brother,
- That sucked the breasts of my mother!
- When I should find thee without, I would kiss thee;
- Yea, and none would despise me.
- 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 adjure you, O
daughters of Jerusalem,
- That ye stir not up, nor awake my love,
- Until he please.
-
- Who is this that
cometh up from the wilderness,
- Leaning upon her beloved?
-
- Under the apple-tree I awakened thee:
- There thy mother was in travail with thee,
- There was she in travail that brought thee forth.
-
- Set me as a seal upon
thy heart,
- As a seal upon thine arm:
- For love is strong as death;
- Jealousy is cruel as Sheol;
- The flashes thereof are flashes of fire,
- A very flame of Jehovah.
- Many waters cannot
quench love,
- Neither can floods drown it:
- If a man would give all the substance of his house for love,
- He 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 turret of silver:
- And if she be a door,
- We will inclose her with boards of cedar.
-
- I am a wall, and my
breasts like the towers thereof
- Then was I in his eyes as one that found peace.
- Solomon had a
vineyard at Baal-hamon;
- 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, shalt have the thousand,
- And those that keep the fruit thereof two hundred.
-
- Thou that dwellest in
the gardens,
- The companions hearken for thy voice:
- Cause me to hear it.
-
- Make haste, my
beloved,
- And be thou like to a roe or to a young hart
- Upon the mountains of spices.
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