Songs

The Song of Songs 1:1 Solomon’s Most Excellent Love Song. The Desire for Love The Beloved to Her Lover: 1:2 Oh, how I wish you would kiss me passionately! For your lovemaking is more delightful than wine. 1:3 The fragrance of your colognes is delightful; your name is like the finest perfume. No wonder the young women adore you! 1:4 Draw me after you; let us hurry! May the king bring me into his bedroom chambers! The Maidens to the Lover: We will rejoice and delight in you; we will praise your love more than wine. The Beloved to Her Lover: How rightly the young women adore you! The Country Maiden and the Daughters of Jerusalem The Beloved to the Maidens: 1:5 I am dark but lovely, O maidens of Jerusalem, dark like the tents of Qedar, lovely like the tent curtains of Salmah. 1:6 Do not stare

2:1 I am a meadow flower from Sharon, a lily from the valleys. The Lover to His Beloved: 2:2 Like a lily among the thorns, so is my darling among the maidens. The Beloved about Her Lover: 2:3 Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest, so is my beloved among the young men. I delight to sit in his shade, and his fruit is sweet to my taste. The Banquet Hall for the Love-Sick The Beloved about Her Lover: 2:4 He brought me into the banquet hall, and he looked at me lovingly. 2:5 Sustain me with raisin cakes, refresh me with apples, for I am faint with love. The Double Refrain: Embracing and Adjuration 2:6 His left hand caresses my head, and his right hand stimulates me. The Beloved to the Maidens: 2:7 I adjure you, O maidens of Jerusalem, by the gazelles

3:1 All night long on my bed I longed for my lover. I longed for him but he never appeared. 3:2 “I will arise and look all around throughout the town, and throughout the streets and squares; I will search for my beloved.” I searched for him but I did not find him. 3:3 The night watchmen found me – the ones who guard the city walls. “Have you seen my beloved?” 3:4 Scarcely had I passed them by when I found my beloved! I held onto him tightly and would not let him go until I brought him to my mother’s house, to the bedroom chamber of the one who conceived me. The Adjuration Refrain The Beloved to the Maidens: 3:5 I admonish you, O maidens of Jerusalem, by the gazelles and by the young does of the open fields: “Do not

4:1 Oh, you are beautiful, my darling! Oh, you are beautiful! Your eyes behind your veil are like doves. Your hair is like a flock of female goats descending from Mount Gilead. 4:2 Your teeth are like a flock of newly-shorn sheep coming up from the washing place; each of them has a twin, and not one of them is missing. 4:3 Your lips are like a scarlet thread; your mouth is lovely. Your forehead behind your veil is like a slice of pomegranate. 4:4 Your neck is like the tower of David built with courses of stones; one thousand shields are hung on it – all shields of valiant warriors. 4:5 Your two breasts are like two fawns, twins of the gazelle grazing among the lilies. 4:6 Until the dawn arrives and the shadows flee, I will go up to the mountain of myrrh, and to the

5:1 I have entered my garden, O my sister, my bride; I have gathered my myrrh with my balsam spice. I have eaten my honeycomb and my honey; I have drunk my wine and my milk! The Poet to the Couple: Eat, friends, and drink! Drink freely, O lovers! The Trials of Love: The Beloved’s Dream of Losing Her Lover The Beloved about Her Lover: 5:2 I was asleep, but my mind was dreaming. Listen! My lover is knocking at the door! The Lover to His Beloved: “Open for me, my sister, my darling, my dove, my flawless one! My head is drenched with dew, my hair with the dampness of the night.” The Beloved to Her Lover: 5:3 “I have already taken off my robe – must I put it on again? I have already washed my feet – must I soil

The Lost Lover Found The Maidens to the Beloved: 6:1 Where has your beloved gone, O most beautiful among women? Where has your beloved turned? Tell us, that we may seek him with you. The Beloved to the Maidens: 6:2 My beloved has gone down to his garden, to the flowerbeds of balsam spices, to graze in the gardens, and to gather lilies. Poetic Refrain: Mutual Possession The Beloved about Her Lover: 6:3 I am my lover’s and my lover is mine; he grazes among the lilies. The Renewal of Love The Lover to His Beloved: 6:4 My darling, you are as beautiful as Tirzah, as lovely as Jerusalem, as awe-inspiring as bannered armies! 6:5 Turn your eyes away from me – they overwhelm me! Your hair is like a flock of goats descending from Mount Gilead. 6:6 Your teeth are like a flock of sheep coming up from the

The Beloved to Her Lover: Why do you gaze upon the Perfect One like the dance of the Mahanaim? The Lover to His Beloved: 7:1 (7:2) How beautiful are your sandaled feet, O nobleman’s daughter! The curves of your thighs are like jewels, the work of the hands of a master craftsman. 7:2 Your navel is a round mixing bowl – may it never lack mixed wine! Your belly is a mound of wheat, encircled by lilies. 7:3 Your two breasts are like two fawns, twins of a gazelle. 7:4 Your neck is like a tower made of ivory. Your eyes are the pools in Heshbon by the gate of Bath-Rabbim. Your nose is like the tower of Lebanon overlooking Damascus. 7:5 Your head crowns you like Mount Carmel. The locks of your hair are like royal tapestries – the king is held captive in its

The Beloved’s Wish Song The Beloved to Her Lover: 8:1 Oh, how I wish you were my little brother, nursing at my mother’s breasts; if I saw you outside, I could kiss you – surely no one would despise me! 8:2 I would lead you and bring you to my mother’s house, the one who taught me. I would give you spiced wine to drink, the nectar of my pomegranates. Double Refrain: Embracing and Adjuration The Beloved about Her Lover: 8:3 His left hand caresses my head, and his right hand stimulates me. The Beloved to the Maidens: 8:4 I admonish you, O maidens of Jerusalem: “Do not arouse or awaken love until it pleases!” The Awakening of Love The Maidens about His Beloved: 8:5 Who is this coming up from the desert, leaning on her beloved? The Beloved to Her Lover: Under the apple tree I