1:1  Solomon's Song of Songs.

Beloved

1:2  Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth—
for your love is more delightful than wine.

1:3  Pleasing is the fragrance of your perfumes;
your name is like perfume poured out.
No wonder the maidens love you!

1:4  Take me away with you—let us hurry!
Let the king bring me into his chambers.
We rejoice and delight in you ;
we will praise your love more than wine.
How right they are to adore you!

1:5  Dark am I, yet lovely,
O daughters of Jerusalem,
dark like the tents of Kedar,
like the tent curtains of Solomon.

1:6  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 have neglected.

1:7  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?

1:8  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.

1:9  I liken you, my darling, to a mare
harnessed to one of the chariots of Pharaoh.

1:10  Your cheeks are beautiful with earrings,
your neck with strings of jewels.

1:11  We will make you earrings of gold,
studded with silver.

1:12  While the king was at his table,
my perfume spread its fragrance.

1:13  My lover is to me a sachet of myrrh
resting between my breasts.

1:14  My lover is to me a cluster of henna blossoms
from the vineyards of En Gedi.

1:15  How beautiful you are, my darling!
Oh, how beautiful!
Your eyes are doves.

1:16  How handsome you are, my lover!
Oh, how charming!
And our bed is verdant.

1:17  The beams of our house are cedars;
our rafters are firs.