Verses from Solomon's
Song of Songs:
The 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.
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."
The Lover:
"How beautiful you are,
my darling!
Oh, how beautiful! Your eyes are
doves."
The Beloved:
"How handsome you are,
my lover! Oh, how charming!
And our bed is verdant.
The beams of our house are cedars;
our rafters are firs.
I am a rose of Sharon, a lily
of the valleys."
The Lover:
"Like a lily among thorns
is my darling among the maidens."
The Beloved:
"Like an apple tree among
the trees of the forest
is my lover among the young men.
I delight to sit in his shade,
and his fruit is sweet to my taste.
He has taken me to the banquet
hall,
and his banner over me is love.
Strengthen me with raisins, refresh
me with apples,
for I am faint with love.
His left arm is under my head,
and his right arm embraces me.
Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge
you
by the gazelles and by the does
of the field:
Do not arouse or awaken love until
it so desires.
Listen! My lover!
Look! Here he comes,
leaping across the mountains, bounding
over the hills.
My lover is like a gazelle or a
young stag.
Look! There he stands behind our
wall,
gazing through the windows, peering
through the lattice.
My lover spoke and said to me,
'Arise, my darling, my beautiful
one, and come with me.
See! The winter is past; the
rains are over and gone.
Flowers appear on the earth;
the season of singing has come,
the cooing of doves is heard
in our land.
The fig tree forms its early
fruit;
the blossoming vines spread
their fragrance.
Arise, come, my darling;
my beautiful one, come with me.'"
The Lover:
"My dove in the clefts
of the rock,
in the hiding places on the mountainside,
show me your face, let me hear
your voice;
for your voice is sweet, and your
face is lovely.
How beautiful you are, my darling!
Oh, how beautiful!
Your eyes behind your veil are
doves.
Your lips are like a scarlet
ribbon; your mouth is lovely.
Your temples behind your veil
are like the halves of a pomegranate.
Your neck is like the tower of
David, built with elegance;
on it hang a thousand shields,
all of them shields of warriors.
Your two breasts are like two fawns,
like twin fawns of a gazelle that
browse among the lilies.
Until the day breaks and the shadows
flee,
I will go to the mountain of myrrh
and to the hill of incense.
All beautiful you are, my darling;
there is no flaw in you.
Come with me from Lebanon, my bride,
come with me from Lebanon.
Descend from the crest of Amana,
from the top of Senir,
the summit of Hermon, from the
lions' dens
and the mountain haunts of the
leopards.
You have stolen my heart, my sister,
my bride;
you have stolen my heart with one
glance of your eyes,
with one jewel of your necklace.
How delightful is your love, my
sister, my bride!
How much more pleasing is your
love than wine,
and the fragrance of your perfume
than any spice!
Your lips drop sweetness as the
honeycomb, my bride;
milk and honey are under your tongue.
The fragrance of your garments
is like that of Lebanon.
You are a garden locked up, my sister,
my bride;
you are a spring enclosed, a sealed
fountain."
The Beloved:
"Awake, north wind, and
come, south wind!
Blow on my garden, that its fragrance
may spread abroad.
Let my lover come into his garden
and taste its choice fruits."
The Lover:
"I have come into my garden,
my sister, my bride;
I have gathered my myrrh with my
spice.
I have eaten my honeycomb and my
honey;
I have drunk my wine and my milk."
The Beloved:
"I slept but my heart was
awake. Listen! My lover is knocking:
'Open to me, my sister, my darling,
my dove, my flawless one.
My head is drenched with dew,
my hair with the dampness of
the night.'
I have taken off my robe-- must
I put it on again?
I have washed my feet-- must I
soil them again?
My lover thrust his hand through
the latch-opening;
my heart began to pound for him.
I arose to open for my lover, and
my hands dripped with myrrh,
my fingers with flowing myrrh,
on the handles of the lock.
I opened for my lover, but my lover
had left; he was gone.
My heart sank at his departure.
I looked for him but did not find
him.
I called him but he did not answer.
The watchmen found me as they made
their rounds in the city.
They beat me, they bruised me;
they took away my cloak,
those watchmen of the walls!
O daughters of Jerusalem, I charge
you--
if you find my lover, what will
you tell him?
Tell him I am faint with love."
The Friends:
"How is your beloved better
than others,
most beautiful of women?
How is your beloved better than
others,
that you charge us so?"
The Beloved:
"My lover is radiant and
ruddy,
outstanding among ten thousand.
His head is purest gold; his hair
is wavy and black as a raven.
His eyes are like doves by the
water streams,
washed in milk, mounted like jewels.
His cheeks are like beds of spice
yielding perfume.
His lips are like lilies dripping
with myrrh.
His arms are rods of gold set with
chrysolite.
His body is like polished ivory
decorated with sapphire.
His legs are pillars of marble
set on bases of pure gold.
His appearance is like Lebanon,
choice as its cedars.
His mouth is sweetness itself;
he is altogether lovely.
This is my lover, this my friend,
O daughters of Jerusalem."
The Friends:
"Where has your lover gone,
most beautiful of women?
Which way did your lover turn,
that we may look for him with you?"
The Beloved:
"My lover has gone down
to his garden, to the beds of spices,
to browse in the gardens and to
gather lilies.
I am my lover's and my lover is
mine;
he browses among the lilies."
The Lover:
"You are beautiful, my
darling, as Tirzah, lovely as Jerusalem,
majestic as troops with banners.
Turn your eyes from me; they overwhelm
me.
Sixty queens there may be, and eighty
concubines,
and virgins beyond number;
but my dove, my perfect one, is
unique,
the only daughter of her mother,
the favorite of the one who bore
her.
The maidens saw her and called
her blessed;
the queens and concubines praised
her."
The Friends:
"Who is this that appears
like the dawn, fair as the moon,
bright as the sun, majestic as
the stars in procession?"
The Lover:
"How beautiful your sandaled
feet, O prince's daughter!
Your graceful legs are like jewels,
the work of a craftsman's hands.
Your navel is a rounded goblet
that never lacks blended wine.
Your waist is a mound of wheat
encircled by lilies.
Your breasts are like two fawns,
twins of a gazelle.
Your neck is like an ivory tower.
Your eyes are the pools of Heshbon
by the gate of Bath Rabbim.
Your head crowns you like Mount
Carmel.
Your hair is like royal tapestry;
the king is held captive by its
tresses.
How beautiful you are and how pleasing,
O love, with your delights!
Your stature is like that of the
palm,
and your breasts like clusters
of fruit.
I said, 'I will climb the palm
tree; I will take hold of its fruit.'
May your breasts be like the clusters
of the vine,
the fragrance of your breath like
apples,
and your mouth like the best wine."
The Beloved:
"May the wine go straight
to my lover,
flowing gently over lips and teeth.
I belong to my lover, and his desire
is for me.
Come, my lover, let us go to the
countryside,
let us spend the night in the villages.
Let us go early to the vineyards
to see if the vines have budded,
if their blossoms have opened,
and if the pomegranates are in
bloom--
there I will give you my love.
The mandrakes send out their fragrance,
and at our door is every delicacy,
both new and old,
that I have stored up for you,
my lover."
The Friends:
"Who is this coming up
from the desert
leaning on her lover?"
The Beloved:
"Under the apple tree I
roused you;
there your mother conceived you,
there she who was in labor gave
you birth.
Place me like a seal over your
heart, like a seal on your arm;
for love is as strong as death,
its jealousy unyielding as the
grave.
It burns like blazing fire, like
the very flame of the LORD.
Many waters cannot quench love;
rivers cannot wash it away.
If one were to give all the wealth
of his house for love,
it would be utterly scorned."
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