Song of Solomon 1-2

English Standard Version

² Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth!
For your ^(B)love is better than wine;
³     your ^(C)anointing oils are fragrant;
your ^(D)name is oil poured out;
    therefore virgins love you.
^4 (E)Draw me after you; ^(F)let us run.
    ^(G)The king has brought me into his chambers.

We will ^(H)exult and rejoice in you;
    we will extol ^(I)your love more than wine;
    rightly do they love you.

⁵ I am very dark, but ^(J)lovely,
    O ^(K)daughters of Jerusalem,
like ^(L)the tents of ^(M)Kedar,
    like the curtains of Solomon.
⁶ Do not gaze at me because I am dark,
    because the sun has looked upon me.
My ^(N)mother's sons were angry with me;
    they made me ^(O)keeper of ^(P)the vineyards,
    but ^(Q)my own vineyard I have not kept!
⁷ Tell me, you ^(R)whom my soul loves,
    where you ^(S)pasture your flock,
    where you make it ^(T)lie down at noon;
for why should I be like one who veils herself
    beside the flocks of your ^(U)companions?

⁸ If you do not know,
    O ^(V)most beautiful among women,
follow in the tracks of the flock,
    and pasture your young goats
    beside the shepherds' tents.

¹¹ We will make for you^[b] ornaments of gold,
    studded with silver.

¹² While ^(Z)the king was on his couch,
    my ^(AA)nard gave forth its fragrance.
¹³ My beloved is to me a sachet of ^(AB)myrrh
    that lies between my breasts.
¹⁴ My beloved is to me a cluster of ^(AC)henna blossoms
    in the vineyards of ^(AD)Engedi.

^15 (AE)Behold, ^(AF)you are beautiful, ^(AG)my love;
    behold, you are beautiful;
    your ^(AH)eyes are doves.

¹⁶ Behold, you are beautiful, ^(AI)my beloved, truly ^(AJ)delightful.
Our couch is green;
¹⁷     the beams of our house are ^(AK)cedar;
    our rafters are ^(AL)pine.

² As a lily among brambles,
    so is ^(AN)my love among the young women.

³ As an apple tree among the trees of the forest,
    so is my ^(AO)beloved among the young men.
With great delight I sat ^(AP)in his shadow,
    and his ^(AQ)fruit was sweet to my taste.
⁴ He ^(AR)brought me to the banqueting house,^[d]
    and his ^(AS)banner over me was love.
⁵ Sustain me with ^(AT)raisins;
    refresh me with apples,
    ^(AU)for I am sick with love.
⁶ His ^(AV)left hand is under my head,
    and his right hand ^(AW)embraces me!
⁷ I ^(AX)adjure you,^[e] O ^(AY)daughters of Jerusalem,
    by ^(AZ)the 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 ^(BA)over the mountains,
    bounding over the hills.
⁹ My beloved is like ^(BB)a 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:
^(BC)“Arise, my love, my beautiful one,
    and come away,
¹¹ for behold, the winter is past;
    ^(BD)the rain is over and gone.
^12 (BE)The flowers appear on the earth,
    the time of singing^[f] has come,
and the voice of ^(BF)the turtledove
    is heard in our land.
^13 (BG)The fig tree ripens its figs,
    and ^(BH)the vines are in blossom;
    they give forth fragrance.
^(BI)Arise, my love, my beautiful one,
    and come away.
¹⁴ O my ^(BJ)dove, in the ^(BK)clefts of the rock,
    in the crannies of the cliff,
let me see your face,
    let me ^(BL)hear your voice,
for your voice is sweet,
    and your face is ^(BM)lovely.
¹⁵ Catch ^(BN)the foxes^[g] for us,
    the little foxes
that spoil the vineyards,
    ^(BO)for our vineyards are in blossom.”