2:1I said in my heart, Come now, I will try thee with mirth, therefore enjoy pleasure. But behold, this also is vanity. 2:2I said of laughter, Madness! and of mirth, What availeth it? 2:3I searched in my heart how to cherish my flesh with wine, while practising my heart with wisdom; and how to lay hold on folly, till I should see what was that good for the children of men which they should do under the heavens all the days of their life. 2:4I made me great works; I builded me houses; I planted me vineyards; 2:5I made me gardens and parks, and I planted trees in them of every kind of fruit; 2:6I made me ponds of water, to water therewith the wood, where the trees are reared. 2:7I acquired servants and maidens, and had servants born in my house; also I had great possessions of herds and flocks, above all that had been in Jerusalem before me. 2:8I gathered me also silver and gold, and the peculiar treasure of kings and of the provinces; I got me men-singers and women-singers, and the delights of the children of men, a wife and concubines. 2:9And I became great, and increased more than all that had been before me in Jerusalem: also my wisdom remained with me. 2:10And whatsoever mine eyes desired I kept not from them: I withheld not my heart from any joy; for my heart rejoiced in all my labour, and this was my portion from all my labour. 2:11Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labour that it had cost me to do [them]; and behold, all was vanity and pursuit of the wind, and there was no profit under the sun. 2:12And I turned myself to behold wisdom, and madness, and folly; for what shall the man [do] that cometh after the king? that which hath already been done. 2:13And I saw that wisdom excelleth folly, as light excelleth darkness. 2:14The wise man's eyes are in his head, and the fool walketh in darkness; but I myself also perceived that one event happeneth to them all. 2:15And I said in my heart, As it happeneth to the fool so will it happen even to me; and why was I then so wise? Then I said in my heart that this also is vanity. 2:16For there shall be no remembrance of the wise more than of the fool for ever; because everything is already forgotten in the days which come. And how dieth the wise even as the fool? 2:17And I hated life; for the work that is wrought under the sun was grievous unto me; for all is vanity and pursuit of the wind. 2:18And I hated all my labour wherewith I had been toiling under the sun, because I should leave it unto the man that shall be after me. 2:19And who knoweth whether he will be a wise [man] or a fool? yet shall he have rule over all my labour at which I have laboured, and wherein I have been wise under the sun. This also is vanity. 2:20Then I went about to cause my heart to despair of all the labour wherewith I had laboured under the sun. 2:21For there is a man whose labour hath been with wisdom, and with knowledge, and with skill, and who leaveth it to a man that hath not laboured therein, to be his portion. This also is vanity and a great evil. 2:22For what will man have of all his labour and of the striving of his heart, wherewith he hath wearied himself under the sun? 2:23For all his days are sorrows, and his travail vexation: even in the night his heart taketh no rest. This also is vanity. 2:24There is nothing good for man, but that he should eat and drink, and that he should make his soul enjoy good in his labour. This also I saw, that it was from the hand of God. 2:25For who can eat, or who be eager, more than I? 2:26For he giveth to a man that is good in his sight wisdom, and knowledge, and joy; but to the sinner he giveth travail to gather and to heap up, that he may give to him that is good in God's sight. This also is vanity and pursuit of the wind.
3:1To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heavens: 3:2A time to be born, and a time to die; A time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; 3:3A time to kill, and a time to heal; A time to break down, and a time to build up; 3:4A time to weep, and a time to laugh; A time to mourn, and a time to dance; 3:5A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; A time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; 3:6A time to seek, and a time to lose; A time to keep, and a time to cast away; 3:7A time to rend, and a time to sew; A time to keep silence, and a time to speak; 3:8A time to love, and a time to hate; A time of war, and a time of peace. 3:9What profit hath he that worketh from that wherein he laboureth? 3:10I have seen the travail that God hath given to the sons of men to toil in. 3:11He hath made everything beautiful in its time; also he hath set the world in their heart, so that man findeth not out from the beginning to the end the work that God doeth. 3:12I know that there is nothing good for them but to rejoice and to do well in their life; 3:13yea also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy good in all his labour, it is the gift of God. 3:14I know that whatever God doeth, it shall be for ever; there is nothing to be added to it, nor anything to be taken from it; and God doeth [it], that [men] should fear before him. 3:15That which is was long ago, and that which is to be hath already been; and God bringeth back again that which is past. 3:16And moreover I saw under the sun, that in the place of judgment, wickedness was there; and in the place of righteousness, wickedness was there. 3:17I said in my heart, God will judge the righteous and the wicked; for there is a time there for every purpose and for every work. 3:18I said in my heart, It is thus with the children of men, that God may prove them, and that they should see that they themselves are but beasts. 3:19For what befalleth the children of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other, and they have all one breath; and man hath no pre-eminence above the beast: for all is vanity. 3:20All go unto one place: all are of the dust, and all return to dust. 3:21Who knoweth the spirit of the children of men? Doth it go upwards? and the spirit of the beasts, doth it go downwards to the earth? 3:22And I have seen that there is nothing better than that man should rejoice in his own works; for that is his portion; for who shall bring him to see what shall be after him?
4:1And I returned and saw all the oppressions that are done under the sun: and behold, the tears of the oppressed, and they had no comforter; and on the side of their oppressors was power, and they had no comforter. 4:2Then I praised the dead who are already dead more than the living who are yet alive; 4:3and more fortunate than both is he who hath not yet been, who hath not seen the evil work that is done under the sun. 4:4And I saw all labour, and all success of work, that it is man's jealousy of his neighbour. This also is vanity and pursuit of the wind. 4:5The fool foldeth his hands together, and eateth his own flesh. 4:6Better is a handful with quietness, than both hands full with labour and pursuit of the wind. 4:7And I returned and saw vanity under the sun. 4:8There is one [alone] and without a second; also he hath neither son nor brother: yet is there no end of all his labour, neither is his eye satisfied with riches, and [he saith not], For whom then am I labouring, and depriving my soul of good? This also is vanity and a grievous occupation. 4:9Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour. 4:10For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow; but woe to him that is alone when he falleth, and who hath not another to lift him up! 4:11Again, if two lie together, then they have warmth; but how can one alone be warm? 4:12And if a [man] overpower the one, the two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken. 4:13Better is a poor but wise youth than an old and foolish king, who knoweth no more how to be admonished. 4:14For out of the prison-house he came forth to reign, although he was born poor in his kingdom. 4:15I saw all the living that walk under the sun, with the child, the second, that should stand up in his stead. 4:16[There is] no end of all the people, of all that stood before them; those however that come after shall not rejoice in him. Surely this also is vanity and a striving after the wind.
5:1Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and draw near to hear, rather than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they know not that they do evil. 5:2Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thy heart be hasty to utter anything before God: for God is in the heavens, and thou upon earth; therefore let thy words be few. 5:3For a dream cometh through the multitude of business, and a fool's voice through a multitude of words. 5:4When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed. 5:5Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay. 5:6Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin; neither say thou before the angel, that it was an inadvertence. Wherefore should God be wroth at thy voice, and destroy the work of thy hands? 5:7For in the multitude of dreams are vanities; so with many words: but fear God. 5:8If thou seest the oppression of the poor, and violent perverting of judgment and justice in a province, marvel not at the matter; for a higher than the high is watching, and there are higher than they. 5:9Moreover the earth is every way profitable: the king [himself] is dependent upon the field. 5:10He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver, nor he that loveth abundance with increase. This also is vanity. 5:11When goods increase, they are increased that eat them; and what profit is there to the owner thereof, except the beholding [of them] with his eyes? 5:12The sleep of the labourer is sweet, whether he have eaten little or much; but the fulness of the rich doth not suffer him to sleep. 5:13There is a grievous evil that I have seen under the sun: riches kept for the owners thereof to their hurt; 5:14or those riches perish by some evil circumstance, and if he have begotten a son, there is nothing in his hand. 5:15As he came forth from his mother's womb, naked shall he go away again as he came, and shall take nothing of his labour, which he may carry away in his hand. 5:16And this also is a grievous evil, that in all points as he came so doth he go away, and what profit hath he, in having laboured for the wind? 5:17All his days also he eateth in darkness, and hath much vexation, and sickness, and irritation. 5:18Behold what I have seen good and comely: [it is] to eat and to drink, and to enjoy good in all his labour wherewith [man] laboureth under the sun, all the days of his life which God hath given him: for that is his portion. 5:19Every man also to whom God hath given riches and wealth, and power to eat thereof, and to take his portion and to rejoice in his labour: that is a gift of God. 5:20For he will not much remember the days of his life, because God answereth [him] with the joy of his heart.
6:1There is an evil that I have seen under the sun, and it is frequent among men: 6:2one to whom God giveth riches, wealth, and honour, and he wanteth nothing for his soul of all that he desireth, yet God giveth him not power to eat thereof, but a stranger eateth it: this is vanity, and a sore evil. 6:3If a man beget a hundred [sons], and live many years, so that the days of his years be many, but his soul be not filled with good, and also he have no burial, I say an untimely birth is better than he. 6:4For it cometh in vanity, and departeth in darkness, and its name is covered with darkness; 6:5moreover it hath not seen nor known the sun: this hath rest rather than the other. 6:6Yea, though he live twice a thousand years, yet hath he seen no good: do not all go to one place? 6:7All the labour of man is for his mouth, and yet the appetite is not filled. 6:8For what advantage hath the wise above the fool? what hath the poor, that knoweth to walk before the living? 6:9Better is the seeing of the eyes than the wandering of the desire: this also is vanity and pursuit of the wind. 6:10That which is hath already been named; and what man is, is known, and that he cannot contend with him that is mightier than he. 6:11For there are many things that increase vanity: what is man advantaged? 6:12For who knoweth what is good for man in life, all the days of his vain life which he spendeth as a shadow? for who can tell man what shall be after him under the sun?
7:1A [good] name is better than precious ointment, and the day of death than the day of one's birth. 7:2It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting: in that that is the end of all men, and the living taketh it to heart. 7:3Vexation is better than laughter; for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better. 7:4The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools in the house of mirth. 7:5It is better for a man to hear the rebuke of the wise, than to hear the song of fools. 7:6For as the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the fool. This also is vanity. 7:7Surely oppression maketh a wise man mad, and a gift destroyeth the heart. 7:8Better is the end of a thing than its beginning; better is a patient spirit than a proud spirit. 7:9Be not hasty in thy spirit to be vexed; for vexation resteth in the bosom of fools. 7:10Say not, How is it that the former days were better than these? for thou dost not inquire wisely concerning this. 7:11Wisdom is as good as an inheritance, and profitable to them that see the sun. 7:12For wisdom is a defence [as] money is a defence; but the excellency of knowledge is, [that] wisdom maketh them that possess it to live. 7:13Consider the work of God; for who can make straight what he hath made crooked? 7:14In the day of prosperity enjoy good, and in the day of adversity consider: God hath also set the one beside the other, to the end that man should find out nothing [of what shall be] after him. 7:15All [this] have I seen in the days of my vanity: there is a righteous [man] that perisheth by his righteousness, and there is a wicked [man] that prolongeth [his days] by his wickedness. 7:16Be not righteous overmuch; neither make thyself overwise: why shouldest thou destroy thyself? 7:17Be not overmuch wicked, neither be thou foolish: why shouldest thou die before thy time? 7:18It is good that thou shouldest take hold of this; yea, also from that withdraw not thy hand: for he that feareth God cometh forth from them all. 7:19Wisdom strengtheneth the wise more than ten mighty [men] that are in a city. 7:20Surely there is not a righteous man upon earth, that doeth good and sinneth not. 7:21Also give not heed unto all words that are spoken, lest thou hear thy servant curse thee. 7:22For also thine own heart knoweth that oftentimes thou thyself likewise hast cursed others. 7:23All this have I tried by wisdom: I said, I will be wise; but it was far from me. 7:24Whatever hath been, is far off, and exceeding deep: who will find it out? 7:25I turned, I and my heart, to know, and to search, and to seek out wisdom and reason, and to know wickedness to be folly, and foolishness to be madness; 7:26and I found more bitter than death the woman whose heart is nets and snares, [and] whose hands are bands: whoso pleaseth God shall escape from her; but the sinner shall be caught by her. 7:27See this which I have found, saith the Preacher, [searching] one by one to find out the reason; 7:28which my soul yet seeketh, and I have not found: one man among a thousand have I found, but a woman among all those have I not found. 7:29Only see this which I have found: that God made man upright, but they have sought out many devices.
8:1Who is as the wise? and who knoweth the explanation of things? A man's wisdom maketh his face to shine, and the boldness of his face is changed. 8:2I [say], Keep the king's commandment, and [that] on account of the oath of God. 8:3Be not hasty to go out of his sight; persist not in an evil thing: for he doeth whatever pleaseth him, 8:4because the word of a king is power; and who may say unto him, What doest thou? 8:5Whoso keepeth the commandment shall know no evil thing; and a wise man's heart knoweth time and manner. 8:6For to every purpose there is time and manner. For the misery of man is great upon him; 8:7for he knoweth not that which shall be; for who can tell him how it shall be? 8:8There is no man who hath control over the spirit to retain the spirit; and no one hath control over the day of death; and there is no discharge in that war, neither shall wickedness deliver those that are given to it. 8:9All this have I seen, and applied my heart unto every work that is done under the sun: there is a time when man ruleth man to his hurt. 8:10And I have also seen the wicked buried and going away; and such as had acted rightly went from [the] holy place, and were forgotten in the city. This also is vanity. 8:11Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the children of men is fully set in them to do evil. 8:12Though a sinner do evil a hundred times, and prolong his [days], yet I know that it shall be well with them that fear God, because they fear before him; 8:13but it shall not be well with the wicked, neither shall he prolong [his] days as a shadow, because he feareth not before God. 8:14There is a vanity which is done upon the earth; that there are righteous [men] unto whom it happeneth according to the work of the wicked; and there are wicked [men] to whom it happeneth according to the work of the righteous. I said that this also is vanity. 8:15And I commended mirth, because there is nothing better for man under the sun than to eat, and to drink, and to be merry; for that shall abide with him of his labour the days of his life, which God hath given him under the sun. 8:16When I applied my heart to know wisdom, and to see the business that is done upon the earth (for also there is that neither day nor night seeth sleep with his eyes), 8:17then I saw that all [is] the work of God, [and] that man cannot find out the work that is done under the sun: because however man may labour to seek [it] out, yet doth he not find [it]; and even, if a wise [man] think to know [it], he shall not be able to find [it] out.
9:1For all this I laid to my heart and [indeed] to investigate all this, that the righteous, and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God; man knoweth neither love nor hatred: all is before them. 9:2All things [come] alike to all: one event to the righteous and to the wicked, to the good, and to the clean, and to the unclean, to him that sacrificeth and to him that sacrificeth not: as is the good, so is the sinner; he that sweareth, as he that feareth an oath. 9:3This is an evil among all that is done under the sun, that one thing befalleth all: yea, also the heart of the children of men is full of evil, and madness is in their heart while they live; and after that, [they have to go] to the dead. 9:4For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope; for a living dog is better than a dead lion. 9:5For the living know that they shall die; but the dead know not anything, neither have they any more a reward, for the memory of them is forgotten. 9:6Their love also, and their hatred, and their envy is already perished; neither have they any more for ever a portion in all that is done under the sun. 9:7Go, eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with a merry heart; for God hath already accepted thy works. 9:8Let thy garments be always white, and let not thy head lack oil. 9:9Enjoy life with the wife whom thou lovest all the days of the life of thy vanity, which he hath given thee under the sun, all the days of thy vanity; for that is thy portion in life, and in thy labour wherein thou art labouring under the sun. 9:10Whatever thy hand findeth to do, do with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in Sheol, whither thou goest. 9:11I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to the intelligent, nor yet favour to men of knowledge; but time and chance happeneth to them all. 9:12For man also knoweth not his time: as the fishes that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are taken with the snare, like them are the children of men snared in an evil time, when it falleth suddenly upon them. 9:13This also have I seen as wisdom under the sun, and it was great unto me. 9:14There was a little city, and few men within it; and there came a great king against it, and encompassed it, and built great bulwarks against it: 9:15and there was found in it a poor wise man, who by his wisdom delivered the city; but no man remembered that poor man. 9:16Then said I, Wisdom is better than strength; but the poor man's wisdom is despised, and his words are not heard. 9:17The words of the wise are heard in quiet more than the cry of him that ruleth among fools. 9:18Wisdom is better than weapons of war; but one sinner destroyeth much good.
10:1Dead flies cause the ointment of the apothecary to stink [and] ferment; [so] a little folly is weightier than wisdom [and] honour. 10:2The heart of a wise [man] is at his right hand; but a fool's heart at his left. 10:3Yea also, when he that is a fool walketh by the way, his sense faileth [him], and he saith to every one [that] he is a fool. 10:4If the spirit of the ruler rise up against thee, leave not thy place; for quietness pacifieth great offences. 10:5There is an evil that I have seen under the sun, as an error [that] proceedeth from the ruler: 10:6folly is set in great dignities, but the rich sit in a low place. 10:7I have seen servants upon horses, and princes walking as servants upon the earth. 10:8He that diggeth a pit falleth into it; and whoso breaketh down a hedge, a serpent biteth him. 10:9Whoso removeth stones is hurt therewith; he that cleaveth wood is endangered thereby. 10:10If the iron be blunt, and one do not whet the edge, then must he apply more strength; but wisdom is profitable to give success. 10:11If the serpent bite before enchantment, then the charmer hath no advantage. 10:12The words of a wise man's mouth are gracious; but the lips of a fool swallow up himself. 10:13The beginning of the words of his mouth is folly; and the end of his talk is mischievous madness. 10:14And the fool multiplieth words: [yet] man knoweth not what shall be; and what shall be after him, who will tell him? 10:15The labour of fools wearieth them, because they know not how to go to the city. 10:16Woe to thee, O land, when thy king is a child, and thy princes eat in the morning! 10:17Happy art thou, O land, when thy king is a son of nobles, and thy princes eat in [due] season, for strength, and not for drunkenness! 10:18By much sloth fulness the framework falleth in; and through idleness of the hands the house drippeth. 10:19A feast is made for laughter, and wine maketh life merry; but money answereth everything. 10:20Curse not the king, no, not in thy thought; and curse not the rich in thy bedchamber: for the bird of the air will carry the voice, and that which hath wings will tell the matter.
11:1Cast thy bread upon the waters; for thou shalt find it after many days. 11:2Give a portion to seven, and also to eight; for thou knowest not what evil shall be upon the earth. 11:3If the clouds be full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth; and if a tree fall toward the south, or toward the north, in the place where the tree falleth, there it shall be. 11:4He that observeth the wind will not sow; and he that regardeth the clouds will not reap. 11:5As thou knowest not what is the way of the spirit, how the bones [grow] in the womb of her that is with child, even so thou knowest not the work of God who maketh all. 11:6In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thy hand; for thou knowest not which shall prosper, whether this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good. 11:7Now the light is sweet, and pleasant is it to the eyes to see the sun; 11:8but if a man live many years, [and] rejoice in them all, yet let him remember the days of darkness; for they shall be many: all that cometh is vanity. 11:9Rejoice, young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thy heart, and in the sight of thine eyes; but know that for all these [things] God will bring thee into judgment. 11:10Then remove discontent from thy heart, and put away evil from thy flesh; for childhood and youth are vanity.
12:1And remember thy Creator in the days of thy youth, before the evil days come, and the years draw nigh, of which thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them; 12:2before the sun, and the light, and the moon, and the stars, be darkened, and the clouds return after the rain; 12:3in the day when the keepers of the house tremble, and the strong men bow themselves, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those that look out of the windows are darkened, 12:4and the doors are shut toward the street; when the sound of the grinding is subdued, and they rise up at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of song are brought low; 12:5they are also afraid of what is high, and terrors are in the way, and the almond is despised, and the grasshopper is a burden, and the caper-berry is without effect; (for man goeth to his age-long home, and the mourners go about the streets;) 12:6before the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be shattered at the fountain, or the wheel be broken at the cistern; 12:7and the dust return to the earth as it was, and the spirit return unto God who gave it. 12:8Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher: all is vanity. 12:9And moreover, because the Preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge; and he pondered, and sought out, [and] set in order many proverbs. 12:10The Preacher sought to find out acceptable words; and that which was written is upright, words of truth. 12:11The words of the wise are as goads, and the collections [of them] as nails fastened in: they are given from one shepherd. 12:12And besides, my son, be warned by them: of making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh. 12:13Let us hear the end of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments; for this is the whole of man. 12:14For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good or whether it be evil.
Song of Solomon
1:1The song of songs, which is Solomon's. 1:2Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth; For thy love is better than wine. 1:3Thine ointments savour sweetly; Thy name is an ointment poured forth: Therefore do the virgins love thee. 1:4Draw me, we will run after thee! The king hath brought me into his chambers We will be glad and rejoice in thee, We will remember thy love more than wine. They love thee uprightly. 1:5I am black, but comely, daughters of Jerusalem, As the tents of Kedar, As the curtains of Solomon. 1:6Look not upon me, because I am black; Because the sun hath looked upon me. My mother's children were angry with me: They made me keeper of the vineyards; Mine own vineyard have I not kept. 1:7Tell me, thou whom my soul loveth, Where thou feedest [thy flock], Where thou makest it to rest at noon; For why should I be as one veiled Beside the flocks of thy companions? 1:8If thou know not, thou fairest among women, Go thy way forth by the footsteps of the flock, And feed thy kids beside the shepherds' booths. 1:9I compare thee, my love, To a steed in Pharaoh's chariots. 1:10Thy cheeks are comely with bead-rows, Thy neck with ornamental chains. 1:11We will make thee bead-rows of gold With studs of silver. 1:12While the king is at his table, My spikenard sendeth forth its fragrance. 1:13A bundle of myrrh is my beloved unto me; He shall pass the night between my breasts. 1:14My beloved is unto me a cluster of henna-flowers In the vineyards of Engedi. 1:15Behold, thou art fair, my love; Behold, thou art fair: thine eyes are doves. 1:16Behold, thou art fair, my beloved, yea, pleasant; Also our bed is green. 1:17The beams of our houses are cedars, Our rafters are cypresses.
2:1I am a narcissus of Sharon, A lily of the valleys. 2:2As the lily among thorns, So is my love among the daughters. 2:3As the apple-tree among the trees of the wood, So is my beloved among the sons: In his shadow have I rapture and sit down; And his fruit is sweet to my taste. 2:4He hath brought me to the house of wine, And his banner over me is love. 2:5Sustain ye me with raisin-cakes, Refresh me with apples; For I am sick of love. 2:6His left hand is under my head, And his right hand doth embrace me. 2:7I charge you, daughters of Jerusalem, By the gazelles, or by the hinds of the field, That ye stir not up, nor awake [my] love, till he please. 2:8The voice of my beloved! Behold, he cometh Leaping upon the mountains, Skipping upon the hills. 2:9My beloved is like a gazelle or a young hart. Behold, he standeth behind our wall, He looketh in through the windows, Glancing through the lattice. 2:10My beloved spake and said unto me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away. 2:11For behold, the winter is past, The rain is over, it is gone: 2:12The flowers appear on the earth; The time of singing is come, And the voice of the turtle-dove is heard in our land; 2:13The fig-tree melloweth her winter figs, And the vines in bloom give forth [their] fragrance. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away! 2:14My dove, in the clefts of the rock, In the covert of the precipice, Let me see thy countenance, let me hear thy voice; For sweet is thy voice, and thy countenance is comely. 2:15Take us the foxes, The little foxes, that spoil the vineyards; For our vineyards are in bloom. 2:16My beloved is mine, and I am his; He feedeth [his flock] among the lilies, 2:17Until the day dawn, and the shadows flee away. Turn, my beloved: be thou like a gazelle or a young hart, Upon the mountains of Bether.
3:1On my bed, in the nights, I sought him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, but I found him not. 3:2I will rise now, and go about the city; In the streets and in the broadways Will I seek him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, but I found him not. 3:3The watchmen that go about the city found me: Have ye seen him whom my soul loveth? 3:4Scarcely had I passed from them, When I found him whom my soul loveth: I held him, and would not let him go, Until I had brought him into my mother's house, And into the chamber of her that conceived me. 3:5I charge you, daughters of Jerusalem, By the gazelles, or by the hinds of the field, That ye stir not up, nor awake [my] love, till he please. 3:6Who is this, [she] that cometh up from the wilderness Like pillars of smoke, Perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, With all powders of the merchant? 3:7Behold his couch, Solomon's own: Threescore mighty men are about it, Of the mighty of Israel. 3:8They all hold the sword, Experts in war; Each hath his sword upon his thigh Because of alarm in the nights. 3:9King Solomon made himself a palanquin Of the wood of Lebanon. 3:10Its pillars he made of silver, Its support of gold, Its seat of purple; The midst thereof was paved [with] love By the daughters of Jerusalem. 3:11Go forth, daughters of Zion, And behold king Solomon With the crown wherewith his mother crowned him In the day of his espousals, And in the day of the gladness of his heart.
4:1Behold, thou art fair, my love; behold, thou art fair; Thine eyes are doves behind thy veil; Thy hair is as a flock of goats, On the slopes of mount Gilead. 4:2Thy teeth are like a flock of shorn sheep, Which go up from the washing; Which have all borne twins, And none is barren among them. 4:3Thy lips are like a thread of scarlet, And thy speech is comely; As a piece of a pomegranate are thy temples Behind thy veil. 4:4Thy neck is like the tower of David, Built for an armoury: A thousand bucklers hang thereon, All shields of mighty men. 4:5Thy two breasts are like two fawns, twins of a gazelle, Which feed among the lilies. 4:6Until the day dawn, and the shadows flee away, I will get me to the mountain of myrrh, And to the hill of frankincense. 4:7Thou art all fair, my love; And there is no spot in thee. 4:8[Come] with me, from Lebanon, [my] spouse, With me from Lebanon, Come, look from the top of Amanah, From the top of Senir and Hermon, From the lions' dens, From the mountains of the leopards. 4:9Thou hast ravished my heart, my sister, [my] spouse; Thou hast ravished my heart with one of thine eyes, With one chain of thy neck. 4:10How fair is thy love, my sister, [my] spouse! How much better is thy love than wine! And the fragrance of thine ointments than all spices! 4:11Thy lips, [my] spouse, drop [as] the honeycomb; Honey and milk are under thy tongue; And the smell of thy garments is like the smell of Lebanon. 4:12A garden enclosed is my sister, [my] spouse; A spring shut up, a fountain sealed. 4:13Thy shoots are a paradise of pomegranates, with precious fruits; Henna with spikenard plants; 4:14Spikenard and saffron; Calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense; Myrrh and aloes, with all the chief spices: 4:15A fountain in the gardens, A well of living waters, Which stream from Lebanon. 4:16Awake, north wind, and come, [thou] south; Blow upon my garden, [that] the spices thereof may flow forth. Let my beloved come into his garden, And eat its precious fruits.
5:1I am come into my garden, my sister, [my] spouse; I have gathered my myrrh with my spice; I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey; I have drunk my wine with my milk. Eat, O friends; drink, yea, drink abundantly, beloved ones! 5:2I slept, but my heart was awake. The voice of my beloved! he knocketh: Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, mine undefiled; For my head is filled with dew, My locks with the drops of the night. 5:3I have put off my tunic, how should I put it on? I have washed my feet, how should I pollute them? 5:4My beloved put in his hand by the hole [of the door]; And my bowels yearned for him. 5:5I rose up to open to my beloved; And my hands dropped with myrrh, And my fingers with liquid myrrh, Upon the handles of the lock. 5:6I opened to my beloved; But my beloved had withdrawn himself; he was gone: My soul went forth when he spoke. I sought him, but I found him not; I called him, but he gave me no answer. 5:7The watchmen that went about the city found me; They smote me, they wounded me; The keepers of the walls took away my veil from me. 5:8I charge you, daughters of Jerusalem, If ye find my beloved, What will ye tell him? That I am sick of love. 5:9What is thy beloved more than [another] beloved, Thou fairest among women? What is thy beloved more than [another] beloved, That thou dost so charge us? 5:10My beloved is white and ruddy, The chiefest among ten thousand. 5:11His head is [as] the finest gold; His locks are flowing, black as the raven; 5:12His eyes are like doves by the water-brooks, Washed with milk, fitly set; 5:13His cheeks are as a bed of spices, raised beds of sweet plants; His lips lilies, dropping liquid myrrh. 5:14His hands gold rings, set with the chrysolite; His belly is bright ivory, overlaid [with] sapphires; 5:15His legs, pillars of marble, set upon bases of fine gold: His bearing as Lebanon, excellent as the cedars; 5:16His mouth is most sweet: Yea, he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved, yea, this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem.
6:1Whither is thy beloved gone, Thou fairest among women? Whither is thy beloved turned aside? And we will seek him with thee. 6:2My beloved is gone down into his garden, to the beds of spices, To feed in the gardens and to gather lilies. 6:3I am my beloved's, and my beloved is mine: He feedeth [his flock] among the lilies. 6:4Thou art fair, my love, as Tirzah, Comely as Jerusalem, Terrible as troops with banners: 6:5Turn away thine eyes from me, For they overcome me. Thy hair is as a flock of goats On the slopes of Gilead. 6:6Thy teeth are like a flock of sheep Which go up from the washing; Which have all borne twins, And none is barren among them. 6:7As a piece of a pomegranate are thy temples Behind thy veil. 6:8There are threescore queens, and fourscore concubines, And virgins without number: 6:9My dove, mine undefiled, is but one; She is the only one of her mother, She is the choice one of her that bore her. The daughters saw her, and they called her blessed; The queens and the concubines, and they praised her. 6:10Who is she that looketh forth as the dawn, Fair as the moon, clear as the sun, Terrible as troops with banners? 6:11I went down into the garden of nuts, To see the verdure of the valley, To see whether the vine budded, Whether the pomegranates blossomed. 6:12Before I was aware, My soul set me upon the chariots of my willing people. 6:13Return, return, O Shulamite; Return, return, that we may look upon thee. What would ye look upon in the Shulamite? As it were the dance of two camps.
7:1How beautiful are thy footsteps in sandals, O prince's daughter! The roundings of thy thighs are like jewels, The work of the hands of an artist. 7:2Thy navel is a round goblet, [which] wanteth not mixed wine; Thy belly a heap of wheat, set about with lilies; 7:3Thy two breasts are like two fawns, twins of a gazelle; 7:4Thy neck is as a tower of ivory; Thine eyes, [like] the pools in Heshbon, By the gate of Bath-rabbim; Thy nose like the tower of Lebanon, Which looketh toward Damascus; 7:5Thy head upon thee is like Carmel, And the locks of thy head like purple; The king is fettered by [thy] ringlets! 7:6How fair and how pleasant art thou, [my] love, in delights! 7:7This thy stature is like to a palm-tree, And thy breasts to grape clusters. 7:8I said, I will go up to the palm-tree, I will take hold of the boughs thereof; And thy breasts shall indeed be like clusters of the vine, And the fragrance of thy nose like apples, 7:9And the roof of thy mouth like the best wine, That goeth down smoothly for my beloved, And stealeth over the lips of them that are asleep. 7:10I am my beloved's, And his desire is toward me. 7:11Come, my beloved, let us go forth into the fields; Let us lodge in the villages. 7:12We will go up early to the vineyards, We will see if the vine hath budded, [If] the blossom is opening, And the pomegranates are in bloom: There will I give thee my loves. 7:13The mandrakes yield fragrance; And at our gates are all choice fruits, new and old: I have laid them up for thee, my beloved.
8:1Oh that thou wert as my brother, That sucked the breasts of my mother! Should I find thee without, I would kiss thee; And they would not despise me. 8:2I would lead thee, bring thee into my mother's house; Thou wouldest instruct me: I would cause thee to drink of spiced wine, Of the juice of my pomegranate. 8:3His left hand would be under my head, And his right hand embrace me. 8:4I charge you, daughters of Jerusalem, Why should ye stir up, why awake [my] love, till he please? 8:5Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness, Leaning upon her beloved? I awoke thee under the apple-tree: There thy mother brought thee forth; There she brought thee forth [that] bore thee. 8:6Set me as a seal upon thy heart, As a seal upon thine arm: For love is strong as death; Jealousy is cruel as Sheol: The flashes thereof are flashes of fire, Flames of Jah. 8:7Many waters cannot quench love, Neither do the floods drown it: Even if a man gave all the substance of his house for love, It would utterly be contemned. 8:8We have a little sister, And she hath no breasts: What shall we do for our sister In the day when she shall be spoken for? 8:9If she be a wall, We will build upon her a turret of silver; And if she be a door, We will enclose her with boards of cedar. 8:10I am a wall, and my breasts like towers; Then was I in his eyes as one that findeth peace. 8:11Solomon had a vineyard at Baal-hamon: He let out the vineyard unto keepers; Every one for the fruit thereof was to bring a thousand silver-pieces. 8:12My vineyard, which is mine, is before me: The thousand [silver-pieces] be to thee, Solomon; And to the keepers of its fruit, two hundred. 8:13Thou that dwellest in the gardens, The companions hearken to thy voice: Let me hear [it]. 8:14Haste, my beloved, And be thou like a gazelle or a young hart Upon the mountains of spices.