August 25 – Song of Solomon 1 and 2 from the Old Testament
Song of Solomon 1 and 2 – Title/Superscription
1:1 Solomon’s Most Excellent Love Song.
The Desire for Love
The Beloved to Her Lover:
1:2 Oh, how I wish youwould kiss me
passionately!
For your lovemaking is more delightfulthan wine.
1:3 The fragrance of your colognes is delightful;
your name is like the finest perfume.
No wonder the young women adore you!
1:4 Draw me after you; let us hurry!
May the kingbring me into his bedroom chambers!
The Maidens to the Lover:
We will rejoice and delight in you;
we will praise your love more than wine.
The Beloved to Her Lover:
How rightlythe young women adore you!
The Country Maiden and the Daughters of Jerusalem
The Beloved to the Maidens:
1:5 I am dark but lovely, O maidens of Jerusalem,
dark like the tents of Qedar,
lovely like the tent curtains of
Salmah.
1:6 Do not stare at me because I am dark,
for the sun has burned my skin.
My brothers were angry with me;
they made me the keeper of the vineyards.
Alas, my own vineyard I could not keep!
The Shepherd and the Shepherdess
The Beloved to Her Lover:
1:7 Tell me, O you whom my heart loves,
where do you pasture your sheep?
Where do you rest your sheep during the midday heat?
Tell me lest I wander around
beside the flocks of your companions!
The Lover to His Beloved:
1:8 If you do not know, O most beautiful of women,
simply follow the tracks of my flock,
and pasture your little lambs
beside the tents of the shepherds.
The Beautiful Mare and the Fragrant Myrrh
The Lover to His Beloved:
1:9 O my beloved, you are like a mare
among Pharaoh’s stallions.
1:10 Your cheeks are beautiful with ornaments;
your neck is lovely with strings of jewels.
1:11 We will make for you gold ornaments
studded with silver.
The Beloved about Her Lover:
1:12 While the king was at his banqueting table,
my nard gave forth its fragrance.
1:13 My beloved is like a fragrant pouch of myrrh
spending the night between my breasts.
1:14 My beloved is like a cluster of henna blossoms
in the vineyards of En-Gedi.
Mutual Praise and Admiration
The Lover to His Beloved:
1:15 Oh, how beautiful you are, my beloved!
Oh, how beautiful you are!
Your eyes are like doves!
The Beloved to Her Lover:
1:16 Oh, how handsome you are, my lover!
Oh, how delightful you are!
The lush foliage is our canopied bed;
1:17 the cedars are the beams of our bedroom chamber;
the pines are the rafters of our bedroom.
The Lily among the Thorns and the Apple Tree in the Forest
The Beloved to Her Lover:
2:1 I am a meadow flower from Sharon,
a lily from the valleys.
The Lover to His Beloved:
2:2 Like a lily among the thorns,
so is my darling among the maidens.
The Beloved about Her Lover:
2:3 Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest,
so is my beloved among the young men.
I delight to sit in his shade,
and his fruit is sweet to my taste.
The Banquet Hall for the Love-Sick
The Beloved about Her Lover:
2:4 He brought me into the banquet hall,
and he looked at me lovingly.
2:5 Sustain me with raisin cakes,
refresh me with apples,
for I am faint with love.
The Double Refrain: Embracing and Adjuration
2:6 His left hand caresses my head,
and his right hand stimulates me.
The Beloved to the Maidens:
2:7 I adjure you, O maidens of Jerusalem,
by the gazelles and by the young does of the open fields:
Do not awaken or arouse love until it pleases!
The Arrival of the Lover
The Beloved about Her Lover:
2:8 Listen! My lover is approaching!
Look! Here he comes,
leaping over the mountains,
bounding over the hills!
2:9 My lover is like a gazelle or a young stag.
Look! There he stands behind our wall,
gazing through the window,
peering through the lattice.
The Season of Love and the Song of the Turtle-Dove
The Lover to His Beloved:
2:10 My lover spoke to me, saying:
“Arise, my darling;
My beautiful one, come away with me!
2:11 Look! The winter has passed,
the winter rains are over and gone.
2:12 The pomegranates have appeared in the land,
the time for pruning and singing has come;
the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land.
2:13 The fig tree has budded,
the vines have blossomed and give off their fragrance.
Arise, come away my darling;
my beautiful one, come away with me!”
The Dove in the Clefts of En-Gedi
The Lover to His Beloved:
2:14 O my dove, in the clefts of the rock,
in the hiding places of the mountain crags,
let me see your face,
let me hear your voice;
for your voice is sweet,
and your face is lovely.
The Foxes in the Vineyard
The Beloved to Her Lover:
2:15 Catch the foxes for us,
the little foxes,
that ruin the vineyards –
for our vineyard is in bloom.
Poetic Refrain: Mutual Possession
The Beloved about Her Lover:
2:16 My lover is mine and I am his;
he grazes among the lilies.
The Gazelle and the Rugged Mountains
The Beloved to Her Lover:
2:17 Until the dawn arrives and the shadows flee,
turn, my beloved –
be like a gazelle or a young stag
on the mountain gorges.
