An original translation and arrangement of the Song of Solomon.

Chapter 1

Kiss

Song of songs, which is of Solomon,
yishakaini meneshiqot pihu (let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth),
for better is your love than wine;
for a fragrance, your oils are better for a scent,
oil poured out, is your name, therefore virgins love you;
draw me away, after you we will run,
he has brought me, the king, to his chambers,
we'll rejoice and be glad in you, we will remember your love more than wine, rightly they love you;
black I am, yet lovely, daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents of Kedar, as the curtains of Solomon;
do not look at me, that I am black, darkened by the sun, the sons of my mother were angry with me, they made me keeper of the vineyards, my vineyard, which is mine, I have not kept;
tell me, the one who loves my soul, where do you feed? Where do you lie down at midday? Why should I be as one veiled by the flocks of your companions?
If you do not know, most beautiful among women, go yourself in the footsteps of the flock and feed your young goats by the dwellings of the shepherds;

Gold

to a mare among the chariots of Pharaoh, I have compared you my love;
lovely for your cheeks, with adornments, your neck with chains of jewels;
ornaments of gold, we will make for you with studs of silver;
while the king is at his table, my nard gives its fragrance;
tseror hamor dodi li beyn shadai yalin;
(a bundle of myrrh my beloved is to me between my breasts he lies)
a cluster of henna is my beloved to me in the vineyards of Ayin Gedi;
you are so beautiful, my love; you are so beautiful, your eyes doves;
you are so beautiful, my beloved, surely pleasant, surely our bed is green;
the beams of our house are cedars, the rafters cypresses;


Rose

I am a rose of sharon, a lily of the valleys;
as a lily among the thorns, so is my beloved among the daughters;
as an apple tree in the wood, so is my beloved among the sons - in his shadow I delighted and I sat down and his fruit was sweet to my taste;
he has brought me to the house of wine and his banner over me is love;
sustain me with raisin cakes, refresh me with apples: for I am sick with love;
his left hand is under my head and his right hand embraces me;
I charge you, daughters of Jerusalem, by the gazelles or by the hinds of the field, do not stir and do not awaken the love until he desires;

Dove

the voice of my beloved, look there he comes leaping on the mountains, skipping on the hills;
I have compared my beloved to a gazelle or a young deer, the stag: there he stands behind our wall, looking through the windows, peering through the lattices;
turn my beloved, and said to me, arise, my love, my fair one and come away;
for look, the winter is past, and the rain is over, it is gone;
the flowers appear on the earth, the season of singing has come and the voice of the dove is heard in our land;
the fig tree ripens her green figs, and the vines blossom, give fragrance, arise, come, my love, my fair one, and come away;
o my dove, in the cleft of the rock, in the secret place of ascent, let me see your form, let me hear your voice; for your voice is sweet, and your form is lovely;
catch for us the foxes, the foxes, the little ones, who spoil the vineyards and our vineyard’s blossom;
my beloved is mine, and I am his: he feeds among the lilies;
until dawn of the day, and flee away the shadows, turn, be like yourself, my beloved, as a gazelle or a young deer, the stag on the mountains of Vater;

Crown

on my bed by night, I searched for him, the one who loves my soul, I searched for him, but I did not find him;
I will arise now and go about in the city, in the streets and the broad ways, I will search for the one who loves my soul, I searched for him but I did not find him;
they found me, the watchmen, who go about the city: the one who loves my soul, have you seen him?
When I passed them by a little, I found the one who loves my soul, I lay hold of him and did not let him go until I brought him into the house of my mother and to the room of her who conceived me;
I charge you, daughters of Jerusalem, by the gazelles or by the hinds of the field, do not stir, or do not awaken, the love until he desires;
who is this coming up from the wilderness? As pillars of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, and all the powders of the merchant;
behold, the bed of Solomon, sixty mighty men surrounding of the mighty men of Israel;
all of them holding sword, trained in war, each has his sword on his side, for the terror in the night;
a carriage he made for himself, the king Solomon, from the wood of Lebanon;
its pillars are made of silver, its base gold, its seat purple, inside paved with love by the daughters of Jerusalem;
go out and look, daughters of Zion, on king Solomon, with the crown which crowned him his mother in the day of his wedding, and the day of the gladness of his heart;

Gilead

you are so beautiful, my love, behold
beautiful your eyes doves from behind your veil,
Saraik kayader haizim shegaleshu mayhar Gilead;
(your hair is as a flock of goats, that rest on mount Gilead)
shinayik kayader haquzuvot min harachzar sheculam matimot shacula aiyin bahem
(your teeth are like a flock of sheep that are newly shorn, which came up from the washing, every one with twins, and none barren among them)
as a thread of scarlet your lips and your speech is lovely;
kaypelah harimon raqataik mibaad letzamataik
(as a piece of a pomegranate your temples behind your veil)
as the tower of David your neck is built for an armoury, a thousand shields hang on it, all the shields of mighty men;
shnai shadayik cishnai ofarim teomai tzviya haroim bashoshanim
(your breasts are like two young deer that are twins, which feed among the lilies)
until the dawn of the day and flee away the shadows, I will go myself to the mountain of myrrh and to the hill of frankincense
you are all beautiful my love and a stain there is none in you;

Garden

with me from Lebanon, my bride with me, from Lebanon come and see, from the heights of Amana, from the heights of Senir and Hermon, from the dens of the lions, from the mountains of the leopards;
you have ravished my heart my sister my bride, you have ravished my heart with one look of your eyes, with one chain of your neck
how beautiful is your love my sister bride, how much better is you love than wine and the fragrance of your oils more than all spices
a honeycomb dripping, your lips my bride, honey and milk under your tongue, and the fragrance of your garments as the fragrance of Lebanon
a garden locked, my sister my bride, a spring locked, a fountain sealed
the plants of your orchard are pomegranates with excellent fruits of henna with nard
nard and saffron, cane and cinnamon, with all the woods of frankincense, myrrh and aloes, with all the chief spices;
a fountain of gardens, a well of living waters and streams from Lebanon;
awake, north wind; and come, south wind; blow on my garden, let flow his spices, let come my beloved to his garden, and eat his excellent fruits.

Myrrh

I have come to my garden, my sister-bride,
I have gathered my myrrh with my spices,
I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey
I have drunk my wine with my milk,
eat, friends and drink and drink deep beloved ones;
I am asleep but my heart is awake, the voice of my beloved knocking
‘open to me my sister, my love, o my dove, my perfect one,
for my head is full of dew, my locks with the drops of the night’;
I have taken off my shirt, how can I put it on?
I have washed my feet, how can I defile them?
My beloved sent his hand from the doorway and my depths sigh for him;
I rose to open for my beloved and my hand dripped myrrh
and my fingers with myrrh over the handle of the lock;
I opened for my beloved but my beloved had fled away,
my soul went out at his word, I searched for him but did not find him,
I called to him but he did not answer;
they found me, the watchman, who go about the city,
they struck me, they wounded me, they lifted my veil from me, the watchers of the wall;
I charge you, daughters of Jerusalem, if you find my beloved, tell him that I am lovesick;

Friend

How is you beloved, more beloved, most beautiful among women?
How is you beloved, more beloved, that you charge us so?
My beloved is bright and ruddy, marked among ten thousand;
His head as finest gold, his locks full, black as a raven;
His eyes as doves on streams of water, washed with milk, fitly set;
His cheeks a bed of spices, banks of scented herbs,
His lips lilies, dripping myrrh over;
His hands rods of gold, filled with jewels,
His body a plate of ivory overlaid with sapphires;
His legs are pillars of marble set upon bases of gold,
His form as Lebanon choice cedars;
His mouth most sweet and all of him desirable
V’culo m’hammadim (and altogether lovely);
this is my beloved and this is my friend, daughters of Jerusalem.


Dawn

Where has you beloved gone most beautiful among women?
Where has your beloved turned? And we will seek him with you;
my beloved has gone down to his garden, to the beds of spices
to feed in the gardens and gather lilies;
I am beloveds and my beloved is mine, he feeds among the lilies;
Beautiful you are my love as Tirzah, lovely as Jerusalem, awesome as an army with banners;
Turn you eyes away from me, they have overwhelmed me,
your hair kayader haizim shegaleshu minhar Gilead;
(as a flock of goats, that rest on mount Gilead)
shinayik kayader harailim shealu min harachzar sheculam matimot shacula aiyin bahem
(your teeth are like a flock of ewes rising up from the washing, every one with
twins, and none barren among them)
kaypelah harimon raqataik mibaad letzamataik
(as a piece of a pomegranate your temples behind your veil)
60 there are queens and 80 companions and virgins without number;
one is she my dove, my perfect one is she to her mother, the favourite of the one who bore,
they saw her, the daughters and blessed her, the queens and companions, and they praised her;
who is this looking down? As the dawn fair as the moon, pure as the sun, awesome as army with banners;
to the garden of walnuts, I went down to see the fruits of the valley,
to see if flower the vine, if budded the pomegranates;
I did not know my soul set me as the chariots of my noble people;

Royal

return, return Shulamite, return return and we will gaze on you;
what would you see in Shulamite, as the dance of 2 armies;
how beautiful are your steps in sandals, daughter royal,
the curves of your thighs as jewels, the work of the hands of a skilful craftsman;
your navel a vessel round, there is no lack of mixed wine,
your waist a heap of wheat surrounded with lilies;
shnai shadayik cishnai ofarim teomai tzviya haroim bashoshanim
(your breasts are like two young roes that are twins, which feed among the lilies);
your neck as a tower of ivory, your eyes pools in Heshbon by the gate of Bath Rabbim,
your nose as a tower of Lebanon looking towards Damaseq;
your head on you as Carmel and the hair of your head as purple, a king is held captive in the tresses;
how fair and how pleasant you are love with your delights;

Desire

this is your stature like to a palm tree v’shadaik laieshacalot
(and your breasts as clusters);
I said I will go up in the palm tree, I will lay hold of its branches
ve’yiyu na shadaik ceshacalot v’raya apaik catapuchim
(and let be please your breasts be as clusters of the vine and the fragrance of your breath as apples);
and your mouth as the best wine, flowing for my beloved,
smoothly moving gently the lips of the sleepers;
I am my beloveds and on me his desire; come my beloved let us go out to the fields,
let us stay in the villages; let us arise early to the vineyards, let us see if flowers the vine,
open the blossom, if bud the pomegranate, there I will give my love to you;
the mandrakes give fragrance an at our gates all excellent fruits, new and old my beloved,
I have stored for you;

Flame

who can give you to me as a brother, nursed upon the breasts of my mother?
If I should find you outside, I would kiss you I would not be despised;
I would lead you I would bring you into the house of my mother who instructed me,
I would cause you to drink of spiced wine from the juice of my pomegranate;
his left hand is under my head and his right hand embraced me;
I charge you, daughters of Jerusalem, do not stir and do not awaken the love until he desires;
who is this coming up from the wilderness, leaning on her beloved, under the apple tree
I awakened you, there your mother, she brought you forth,
there she brought you forth, the one you gave you birth;
set me as a seal on your heart, as a seal on your arm, for strong as death, love,
cruel as sheol, jealousy, flaming coals of fire, flame of God (shal’hevetja);
many waters cannot quench this love and the floods not overflow,
if a man gives all the wealth of his house for love, it would be utterly despised;

Stag

ahot lanu qatana v’shadaik ayin la (a little sister for us and she has no breasts)
what shall we do for our sister in the day she is spoken for?
If she is a wall, we will build on her a palace of silver
and if a door we will enclose her with boards of cedar;
I am a wall v’shadai camigdalot (and my breasts as towers)
then I became in his eyes as one who found shalom;
a vineyard there was of Solomon in Baal Hamon, he gave the vineyard to keepers,
each to bring of its fruit a thousand pieces of silver;
my vineyard which is mine before me, a thousand for you Solomon and 200 for the keepers of its fruit;
dwellers in the gardens, companions listen for your voice, let me hear it;
make haste, my beloved, and be like a gazelle or a young deer the stag on the mountains of spices…