Song of Solomon 1
The bride expresses her desire for the groom's affection and praise, and he responds with admiration for her beauty, comparing her to fine perfumes and precious objects. The chorus joins in, celebrating the bride's beauty and the couple's love for each other. The bride asks the groom to reveal where he spends his time, and he tells her to follow the flocks and find him among the shepherds. The groom then praises the bride's beauty, comparing her to a turtledove and a bejeweled collar, and the chorus offers to fashion her chains of gold.
1 Bride: May he kiss me with the kiss of his mouth 2 Groom to Bride: So much better than wine are your breasts, fragranced with the finest perfumes. 3 Bride to Groom: Your name is oil that has been poured out; therefore, the maidens have loved you. Draw me forward 4 Chorus to Bride: We will run after you in the odor of your perfumes 5 Bride to Chorus: The king has led me into his storerooms 6 Chorus to Bride: We will exult and rejoice in you, remembering your breasts above wine. 7 Groom to Bride: The righteous love you 8 Bride to Chorus: O daughters of Jerusalem: I am black, but shapely, like the tabernacles of Kedar, like the tents of Solomon 9 Do not be concerned that I am dark, for the sun has changed my color 10 The sons of my mother have fought against me. They have made me the keeper of the vineyards. My own vineyard I have not kept 11 Bride to Groom: Reveal to me, you whom my soul loves, where you pasture, where you recline at midday, lest I begin to wander after the flocks of your companions 12 Groom to Bride: If you yourself do not know, O most beautiful among women, then go out and follow after the steps of the flocks, and pasture your young goats beside the tabernacles of the shepherds 13 O my love, I have compared you to my company of horsemen against the chariots of Pharaoh 14 Your cheeks are beautiful, like those of a turtledove. Your neck is like a bejeweled collar 15 Chorus to Bride: We will fashion for you chains of gold, accented with reddened silver 16 Bride to Chorus: While the king was taking his rest, my aromatic ointment sent forth its odor 17 My beloved is a bundle of myrrh to me. He shall abide between my breasts 18 My beloved is a cluster of Cyprus grapes to me, in the vineyards of Engaddi 19 Groom to Bride: Behold, you are beautiful, O my love. Behold, you are beautiful. Your eyes are those of a dove 20 Bride to Groom: Behold, you are handsome, O my beloved, and graceful. Our bed is flourishing 21 Groom to Bride: The timbers of our houses are of cedar; our ceilings are of cypress