The Bride’s Dream

¹On my bed at nightI sought the one I love;I sought him,but did not find him.

²I will arise now and go about the city,through the streets and squares.I will seek the one I love.So I sought him but did not find him.

³I encountered the watchmen on their rounds of the city:“Have you seen the one I love?”

⁴I had just passed them when I found the one I love.I held him and would not let gountil I had brought him to my mother’s house,to the chamber of the one who conceived me.

⁵O daughters of Jerusalem, I adjure youby the gazelles and does of the field:Do not arouse or awaken loveuntil the time is right.

Solomon Arrives on His Wedding Day

⁶Who is this coming up from the wildernesslike a column of smoke,scented with myrrh and frankincensefrom all the spices of the merchant?

⁷Behold, it is Solomon’s carriage,escorted by sixty of the mightiest men of Israel.

⁸All are skilled with the sword,experienced in warfare.Each has his sword at his sideprepared for the terror of the night.

⁹King Solomon has made his carriageout of the timber of Lebanon.

¹⁰He has made its posts of silver,its base of gold, its seat of purple fabric.Its interior is inlaid with loveby the daughters of Jerusalem.

¹¹Come out, O daughters of Zion,and gaze at King Solomon,wearing the crown with which his mother crowned himon the day of his wedding—the day of his heart’s rejoicing.

The Bride and Her Beloved

The Bridegroom

¹I have come to my garden, my sister, my bride;I have gathered my myrrh with my spice.I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey;I have drunk my wine with my milk.The FriendsEat, O friends, and drink;drink freely, O beloved.

The Bride

²I sleep, but my heart is awake.A sound! My beloved is knocking:“Open to me, my sister, my darling,my dove, my flawless one.My head is drenched with dew,my hair with the dampness of the night.”

³I have taken off my robe—must I put it back on?I have washed my feet—must I soil them again?

⁴My beloved put his hand to the latch;my heart pounded for him.

⁵I rose up to open for my beloved.My hands dripped with myrrh,my fingers with flowing myrrhon the handles of the bolt.

⁶I opened for my beloved,but he had turned and gone.My heart sank at his departure.I sought him but did not find him.I called, but he did not answer.

⁷I encountered the watchmen on their rounds of the city.They beat me and bruised me;they took away my cloak,those guardians of the walls.

⁸O daughters of Jerusalem, I adjure you,if you find my beloved,tell him I am sick with love.

The Friends

⁹How is your beloved better than others,O most beautiful among women?How is your beloved better than another,that you charge us so?

The Bride

¹⁰My beloved is dazzling and ruddy,outstanding among ten thousand.

¹¹His head is purest gold;his hair is wavy and black as a raven.

¹²His eyes are like dovesbeside the streams of water,bathed in milkand mounted like jewels.

¹³His cheeks are like beds of spice,towers of perfume.His lips are like lilies,dripping with flowing myrrh.

¹⁴His arms are rods of goldset with beryl.His body is polished ivorybedecked with sapphires.

¹⁵His legs are pillars of marbleset on bases of pure gold.His appearance is like Lebanon,as majestic as the cedars.

¹⁶His mouthis most sweet;he is altogether lovely.This is my beloved, and this is my friend,O daughters of Jerusalem.

Solomon Admires His Bride

The Bridegroom

¹How beautiful you are, my darling—how very beautiful!Your eyes are like dovesbehind your veil.Your hair is like a flock of goatsstreaming down Mount Gilead.

²Your teeth are like a flock of newly shorn sheepcoming up from the washing;each has its twin,and not one of them is lost.

³Your lips are like a scarlet ribbon,and your mouth is lovely.Your brow behind your veilis like a slice of pomegranate.

⁴Your neck is like the tower of David,built with rows of stones;on it hang a thousand shields,all of them shields of warriors.

⁵Your breasts are like two fawns,twins of a gazelle grazing among the lilies.

⁶Before the day breaks and the shadows flee,I will make my wayto the mountain of myrrhand to the hill of frankincense.

⁷You are altogether beautiful, my darling;in you there is no flaw.

⁸Come with me from Lebanon, my bride,come with me from Lebanon!Descendfrom the peak of Amana,from the summits of Senir and Hermon,from the dens of the lions,from the mountains of the leopards.

⁹You have captured my heart,my sister, my bride;you have stolen my heart with one glance of your eyes,with one jewel of your neck.

¹⁰How delightful is your love,my sister, my bride!Your love is much better than wine,and the fragrance of your perfume than all spices.

¹¹Your lips, my bride,drip sweetness like the honeycomb;honey and milk are under your tongue,and the fragrance of your garmentsis like the aroma of Lebanon.

¹²My sister, my bride, you are a garden locked up,a spring enclosed, a fountain sealed.

¹³Your branches are an orchard of pomegranateswith the choicest of fruits, with henna and nard,

¹⁴with nard and saffron, with calamus and cinnamon,with every kind of frankincense tree,with myrrh and aloes,with all the finest spices.

¹⁵You are a garden spring,a well of fresh waterflowing down from Lebanon.

The Bride

¹⁶Awake, O north wind,and come, O south wind.Breathe on my gardenand spread the fragrance of its spices.Let my beloved come into his gardenand taste its choicest fruits.

My Heart Is Stirred by a Noble Theme

¹My heart is stirred by a noble themeas I recite my verses to the king;my tongue is the pen of a skillful writer.

²You are the most handsome of men;grace has anointed your lips;therefore God has blessed you forever.

³Strap your sword at your side, O mighty warrior;appear in your majesty and splendor.

⁴In your splendor ride forth in victoryon behalf of truth and humility and justice;may your right hand show your awesome deeds.

⁵Your arrows pierce the hearts of the king’s foes;the nations fall beneath your feet.

⁶Your throne, O God, endures forever and ever,and justice is the scepter of Your kingdom.

⁷You have loved righteousnessand hated wickedness;therefore God, your God, has anointed youabove your companions with the oil of joy.

⁸All your garments are fragrantwith myrrh and aloes and cassia;from palaces of ivory the harps make you glad.

⁹The daughters of kings are among your honored women;the queen stands at your right hand,adorned with the gold of Ophir.

¹⁰Listen, O daughter! Consider and incline your ear:Forget your people and your father’s house,

¹¹and the king will desire your beauty;bow to him, for he is your lord.

¹²The Daughter of Tyre will come with a gift;men of wealth will seek your favor.

¹³All glorious is the princess in her chamber;her gown is embroidered with gold.

¹⁴In colorful garments she is led to the king;her virgin companions are brought before you.

¹⁵They are led in with joy and gladness;they enter the palace of the king.

¹⁶Your sons will succeed your fathers;you will make them princes throughout the land.

¹⁷I will commemorate your name through all generations;therefore the nations will praise you forever and ever.