Song of Songs 1

1Let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth: for thy breasts are better than wine,

2Smelling sweet of the best ointments. Thy name is as oil poured out: therefore young maidens have loved thee.

3Draw me: we will run after thee to the odour of thy ointments. The king hath brought me into his storerooms: we will be glad and rejoice in thee, remembering thy breasts more than wine: the righteous love thee.

4I am black but beautiful, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents of Cedar, as the curtains of Solomon.

5Do not consider me that I am brown, because the sun hath altered my colour: the sons of my mother have fought against me, they have made me the keeper in the vineyards: my vineyard I have not kept.

6Shew me, O thou whom my soul loveth, where thou feedest, where thou liest in the midday, lest I begin to wander after the flocks of thy companions.

7If thou know not thyself, O fairest among women, go forth, and follow after the steps of the flocks, and feed thy kids beside the tents of the shepherds.

8To my company of horsemen, in Pharao’s chariots, have I likened thee, O my love.

9Thy cheeks are beautiful as the turtledove’s, thy neck as jewels.

10We will make thee chains of gold, inlaid with silver.

11While the king was at his repose, my spikenard sent forth the odour thereof.

12A bundle of myrrh is my beloved to me, he shall abide between my breasts.

13A cluster of cypress my love is to me, in the vineyards of Engaddi.

14Behold thou art fair, O my love, behold thou art fair, thy eyes are as those of doves.

15Behold thou art fair, my beloved, and comely. Our bed is flourishing.

16The beams of our houses are of cedar, our rafters of cypress trees.

1[Sponsa Osculetur me osculo oris sui; quia meliora sunt ubera tua vino,

2fragrantia unguentis optimis. Oleum effusum nomen tuum; ideo adolescentulæ dilexerunt te.

3Chorus Adolescentularum Trahe me, post te curremus in odorem unguentorum tuorum. Introduxit me rex in cellaria sua; exsultabimus et lætabimur in te, memores uberum tuorum super vinum. Recti diligunt te.

4Sponsa Nigra sum, sed formosa, filiæ Jerusalem, sicut tabernacula Cedar, sicut pelles Salomonis.

5Nolite me considerare quod fusca sim, quia decoloravit me sol. Filii matris meæ pugnaverunt contra me; posuerunt me custodem in vineis: vineam meam non custodivi.

6Indica mihi, quem diligit anima mea, ubi pascas, ubi cubes in meridie, ne vagari incipiam post greges sodalium tuorum.

7Sponsus Si ignoras te, o pulcherrima inter mulieres, egredere, et abi post vestigia gregum, et pasce hædos tuos juxta tabernacula pastorum.

8Equitatui meo in curribus Pharaonis assimilavi te, amica mea.

9Pulchræ sunt genæ tuæ sicut turturis; collum tuum sicut monilia.

10Murenulas aureas faciemus tibi, vermiculatas argento.

11Sponsa Dum esset rex in accubitu suo, nardus mea dedit odorem suum.

12Fasciculus myrrhæ dilectus meus mihi; inter ubera mea commorabitur.

13Botrus cypri dilectus meus mihi in vineis Engaddi.

14Sponsus Ecce tu pulchra es, amica mea ! ecce tu pulchra es ! Oculi tui columbarum.

15Sponsa Ecce tu pulcher es, dilecte mi, et decorus ! Lectulus noster floridus.

16Tigna domorum nostrarum cedrina, laquearia nostra cypressina.]

1Bride: May he kiss me with the kiss of his mouth.

2Groom to Bride: So much better than wine are your breasts, fragranced with the finest perfumes.

3Bride to Groom: Your name is oil that has been poured out; therefore, the maidens have loved you. Draw me forward.

4Chorus to Bride: We will run after you in the odor of your perfumes.

5Bride to Chorus: The king has led me into his storerooms.

6Chorus to Bride: We will exult and rejoice in you, remembering your breasts above wine.

7Groom to Bride: The righteous love you.

8Bride to Chorus: O daughters of Jerusalem: I am black, but shapely, like the tabernacles of Kedar, like the tents of Solomon.

9Do not be concerned that I am dark, for the sun has changed my color.

10The sons of my mother have fought against me. They have made me the keeper of the vineyards. My own vineyard I have not kept.

11Bride to Groom: Reveal to me, you whom my soul loves, where you pasture, where you recline at midday, lest I begin to wander after the flocks of your companions.

12Groom to Bride: If you yourself do not know, O most beautiful among women, then go out and follow after the steps of the flocks, and pasture your young goats beside the tabernacles of the shepherds.

13O my love, I have compared you to my company of horsemen against the chariots of Pharaoh.

14Your cheeks are beautiful, like those of a turtledove. Your neck is like a bejeweled collar.

15Chorus to Bride: We will fashion for you chains of gold, accented with reddened silver.

16Bride to Chorus: While the king was taking his rest, my aromatic ointment sent forth its odor.

17My beloved is a bundle of myrrh to me. He shall abide between my breasts.

18My beloved is a cluster of Cyprus grapes to me, in the vineyards of Engaddi.

19Groom to Bride: Behold, you are beautiful, O my love. Behold, you are beautiful. Your eyes are those of a dove.

20Bride to Groom: Behold, you are handsome, O my beloved, and graceful. Our bed is flourishing.

21Groom to Bride: The timbers of our houses are of cedar; our ceilings are of cypress.