Young Woman*1:1 The headings identifying the speakers are not in the original text, though the Hebrew usually gives clues by means of the gender of the person speaking.

2Kiss me and kiss me again,

for your love is sweeter than wine.

3How pleasing is your fragrance;

your name is like the spreading fragrance of scented oils.

No wonder all the young women love you!

4Take me with you; come, let’s run!

The king has brought me into his bedroom.

Young Women of Jerusalem

How happy we are for you, O king.

We praise your love even more than wine.

Young Woman

How right they are to adore you.

5I am dark but beautiful,

O women of Jerusalem—

dark as the tents of Kedar,

dark as the curtains of Solomon’s tents.

6Don’t stare at me because I am dark—

the sun has darkened my skin.

My brothers were angry with me;

they forced me to care for their vineyards,

so I couldn’t care for myself—my own vineyard.

7Tell me, my love, where are you leading your flock today?

Where will you rest your sheep at noon?

For why should I wander like a prostitute*1:7 Hebrew like a veiled woman.

among your friends and their flocks?

Young Man

8If you don’t know, O most beautiful woman,

follow the trail of my flock,

and graze your young goats by the shepherds’ tents.

9You are as exciting, my darling,

as a mare among Pharaoh’s stallions.

10How lovely are your cheeks;

your earrings set them afire!

How lovely is your neck,

enhanced by a string of jewels.

11We will make for you earrings of gold

and beads of silver.

Young Woman

12The king is lying on his couch,

enchanted by the fragrance of my perfume.

13My lover is like a sachet of myrrh

lying between my breasts.

14He is like a bouquet of sweet henna blossoms

from the vineyards of En-gedi.

Young Man

15How beautiful you are, my darling,

how beautiful!

Your eyes are like doves.

Young Woman

16You are so handsome, my love,

pleasing beyond words!

The soft grass is our bed;

17fragrant cedar branches are the beams of our house,

and pleasant smelling firs are the rafters.

Song of Songs 2

Young Woman

1I am the spring crocus blooming on the Sharon Plain,*2:1 Traditionally rendered I am the rose of Sharon. Sharon Plain is a region in the coastal plain of Palestine.

the lily of the valley.

Young Man

2Like a lily among thistles

is my darling among young women.

Young Woman

3Like the finest apple tree in the orchard

is my lover among other young men.

I sit in his delightful shade

and taste his delicious fruit.

4He escorts me to the banquet hall;

it’s obvious how much he loves me.

5Strengthen me with raisin cakes,

refresh me with apples,

for I am weak with love.

6His left arm is under my head,

and his right arm embraces me.

7Promise me, O women of Jerusalem,

by the gazelles and wild deer,

not to awaken love until the time is right.*2:7 Or not to awaken love until it is ready.