2  Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth!

For your ^blove is better than wine;

3  your ^canointing oils are fragrant;

your ^dname is oil poured out;

therefore virgins love you.

4  ^eDraw me after you; ^flet us run.

^gThe king has brought me into his chambers.

We will ^hexult and rejoice in you;

we will extol ^byour love more than wine;

rightly do they love you.

5  I am very dark, but ⁱlovely,

O ^jdaughters of Jerusalem,

like ^kthe tents of ^lKedar,

like the curtains of Solomon.

6  Do not gaze at me because I am dark,

because the sun has looked upon me.

My ^mmother’s sons were angry with me;

they made me ⁿkeeper of ^othe vineyards,

but ^pmy own vineyard I have not kept!

7  Tell me, you ^qwhom my soul loves,

where you ^rpasture your flock,

where you make it ^slie down at noon;

for why should I be like one who veils herself

beside the flocks of your ^tcompanions?

8  If you do not know,

O ^umost beautiful among women,

follow in the tracks of the flock,

and pasture your young goats

beside the shepherds’ tents.

9  I compare you, ^vmy love,

to ^wa mare among Pharaoh’s chariots.

10  ^xYour cheeks are lovely with ornaments,

your neck with strings of jewels.

11  We will make for you² ornaments of gold,

studded with silver.

12  While ^ythe king was on his couch,

my ^znard gave forth its fragrance.

13  My beloved is to me a sachet of ^amyrrh

that lies between my breasts.

14  My beloved is to me a cluster of ^bhenna blossoms

in the vineyards of ^cEngedi.

15  ^dBehold, ^eyou are beautiful, ^fmy love;

behold, you are beautiful;

your ^geyes are doves.

16  Behold, you are beautiful, ^hmy beloved, truly ⁱdelightful.

Our couch is green;

17  the beams of our house are ^jcedar;

our rafters are ^jpine.

1  I am a rose³ of Sharon,

^ka lily of the valleys.

2  As a lily among brambles,

so is ^lmy love among the young women.

3  As an apple tree among the trees of the forest,

so is my ^mbeloved among the young men.

With great delight I sat ⁿin his shadow,

and his ^ofruit was sweet to my taste.

4  He ^pbrought me to the banqueting house,⁴

and his ^qbanner over me was love.

5  Sustain me with ^rraisins;

refresh me with apples,

^sfor I am sick with love.

6  His ^tleft hand is under my head,

and his right hand ^uembraces me!

7  I ^vadjure you,⁵ O ^wdaughters of Jerusalem,

by ^xthe gazelles or the does of the field,

that you not stir up or awaken love

until it pleases.

8  The voice of my beloved!

Behold, he comes,

leaping ^yover the mountains,

bounding over the hills.

9  My beloved is like ^za gazelle

or a young stag.

Behold, there he stands

behind our wall,

gazing through the windows,

looking through the lattice.

10  My beloved speaks and says to me:

^a“Arise, my love, my beautiful one,

and come away,

11  for behold, the winter is past;

^bthe rain is over and gone.

12  ^cThe flowers appear on the earth,

the time of singing⁶ has come,

and the voice of ^dthe turtledove

is heard in our land.

13  ^eThe fig tree ripens its figs,

and ^fthe vines are in blossom;

they give forth fragrance.

^gArise, my love, my beautiful one,

and come away.

14  O my ^hdove, in the ⁱclefts of the rock,

in the crannies of the cliff,

let me see your face,

let me ^jhear your voice,

for your voice is sweet,

and your face is ^klovely.

15  Catch ^lthe foxes⁷ for us,

the little foxes

that spoil the vineyards,

^ffor our vineyards are in blossom.”

16  ^mMy beloved is mine, and I am his;

he ⁿgrazes⁸ among the lilies.

17  Until ^othe day breathes

and ^pthe shadows flee,

turn, my beloved, be like ^qa gazelle

or a young stag on cleft mountains.⁹

11  ^mCome, my beloved,

let us go out into the fields

and lodge in the villages;¹

12  let us go out early to the vineyards

ⁿand see whether the vines have budded,

whether ^othe grape blossoms have opened

and the pomegranates are in bloom.

There I will give you my love.

13  ^pThe mandrakes give forth fragrance,

and beside our doors are all choice fruits,

^qnew as well as old,

which I have laid up for you, O my beloved.

1  Oh that you were like a brother to me

who nursed at my mother’s breasts!

If I found you outside, I would kiss you,

and none would despise me.

2  I would lead you and ^rbring you

into the house of my mother—

she who used to teach me.

I would give you ^sspiced wine to drink,

the juice of my pomegranate.

3  ^tHis left hand is under my head,

and his right hand embraces me!