Song of Songs 1

1 This is Solomon's most beautiful song.

2 Kiss me tenderly! Your love is better than wine,

3 and you smell so sweet. All the young women adore you; the very mention of your name is like spreading perfume. *

4 Hurry, my king! Let's hurry. Take me to your home. We are happy for you! And we praise your love even more than wine. Young women of Jerusalem, it is only right that you should adore him.

5 My skin is dark and beautiful, like a tent in the desert or like Solomon's curtains.

6 Don't stare at me just because the sun has darkened my skin. My brothers were angry with me; they made me work in the vineyard, and so I neglected my complexion.

7 My darling, I love you! Where do you feed your sheep and let them rest at noon? Don't let the other shepherds think badly of me. I'm not one of those women who shamelessly follow after shepherds.

8 My dearest, if you don't know, just follow the path of the sheep. Then feed your young goats near the shepherds' tents.

9 You move as gracefully as the pony that leads the chariot of the king.

10 Earrings add to your beauty, and you wear a necklace of precious stones.

11 Let's make you some jewelry of gold, woven with silver.

12 My king, while you were on your couch, my aroma was a magic charm.

13 My darling, you are perfume between my breasts;

14 you are flower blossoms from the gardens of En-Gedi.

15 My darling, you are lovely, so very lovely— your eyes are those of a dove.

16 My love, you are handsome, truly handsome— the fresh green grass will be our wedding bed

17 in the shade of cedar and cypress trees.