Chapter 1

Song of Solomon

1The Song of Songs, which is Solomon’s.She2Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth!For your love is better than wine;3your anointing oils are fragrant;your name is oil poured out;therefore virgins love you.4Draw me after you; let us run.The king has brought me into his chambers.OthersWe will exult and rejoice in you;we will extol your love more than wine;rightly do they love you.She5I am very dark, but lovely,O daughters of Jerusalem,like the tents of Kedar,like the curtains of Solomon.6Do not gaze at me because I am dark,because the sun has looked upon me.My mother’s sons were angry with me;they made me keeper of the vineyards,but my own vineyard I have not kept!7Tell me, you whom my soul loves,where you pasture your flock,where you make it lie down at noon;for why should I be like one who veils herselfbeside the flocks of your companions?He8If you do not know,O most beautiful among women,follow in the tracks of the flock,and pasture your young goatsbeside the shepherds’ tents.9I compare you, my love,to a mare among Pharaoh’s chariots.10Your cheeks are lovely with ornaments,your neck with strings of jewels.Others11We will make for you ornaments of gold,studded with silver.She12While the king was on his couch,my nard gave forth its fragrance.13My beloved is to me a sachet of myrrhthat lies between my breasts.14My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blossomsin the vineyards of Engedi.He15Behold, you are beautiful, my love;behold, you are beautiful;your eyes are doves.She16Behold, you are beautiful, my beloved, truly delightful.Our couch is green;17the beams of our house are cedar;our rafters are pine.

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