Shyr Shalumah (Songs of Solomon) — 1
1 This is Shalumah’s song of songs, more wonderful than any other.
Young Woman
2 Kiss me and kiss me again, for your love is sweeter than wine.
3 How fragrant is your good ointment poured forth; your name is like its spreading fragrance. No wonder all the young women love you!
4 Take me with you; come, let us run! The king has brought me into his bedroom.
How happy we are for you, O king. We praise your love even more than wine, how right they are to adore you.
5 I am dark but beautiful, O women of Yahushalam, dark as the tents of Kadar, dark as the curtains of Shalumah’s tents.
6 Do not 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 could not care for myself, my own vineyard.
7 Tell 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 among your friends and their flocks?
Young Man
8 If you do not know, O most beautiful woman, follow the trail of my flock, and graze your young goats by the shepherds’ tents.
9 You are as exciting, my darling, as a mare among Pharuh’s stallions.
10 How lovely are your cheeks; your earrings set them afire! How lovely is your neck, enhanced by a string of jewels.
11 We will make for you earrings of gold and beads of silver.
Young Woman
12 The king is lying on his couch, enchanted by the fragrance of my perfume.
13 My lover is like a sachet of myrrh lying between my breasts.
14 He is like a bouquet of sweet henna blossoms from the vineyards of An-gadi.
Young Man
15 How beautiful you are, my darling, how beautiful! Your eyes are like doves.
Young Woman
16 You are so handsome, my love, pleasing beyond words! The soft grass is our bed;
17 fragrant cedar branches are the beams of our house, and pleasant smelling firs are the rafters.