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Song of Solomon 1 (asv)

(Online: ASV WEB)

1:1The Song of songs, which is Solomon's.

Colloquy of Bride and Friends

1:2Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth;
For thy love is better than wine.
  1:3Thine oils have a goodly fragrance;
Thy name is as oil 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 make mention of thy love more than of wine:
  Rightly do they love thee.

1:5I am black1, but comely,
  Oh ye daughters of Jerusalem,
As the tents of Kedar,
  As the curtains of Solomon.
1:6Look not upon me, because I am swarthy,
  Because the sun hath scorched me.
My mother's sons were incensed against me;
  They made me keeper of the vineyards;
  But mine own vineyard have I not kept.
1:7Tell me, O 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 that is veiled
  Beside the flocks of thy companions?

1:8If thou know not,
  O thou fairest among women,
Go thy way forth by the footsteps of the flock,
  And feed thy kids
  beside the shepherds' tents.

Colloquy of Bridegroom, Friends, and Bride

1:9I have compared thee, O my love,
  To a steed in Pharaoh's chariots.
1:10Thy cheeks are comely with plaits of hair,
  Thy neck with strings of jewels.
1:11We will make thee plaits of gold
  With studs of silver.

1:12While the king sat at his table,
  My spikenard sent forth its fragrance.
1:13My beloved is unto me as a bundle of myrrh,
  That lieth betwixt my breasts.
1:14My beloved is unto me as a cluster of henna-flowers
  n the vineyards of En-gedi. 1:15Behold, thou art fair, my love;

Behold thou art fair;
  Thine eyes are as doves.
1:16Behold, thou art fair, my beloved,
  yea, pleasant:
Also our couch is green.
  1:17The beams of our house are cedars,
  And our rafters are firs.


Notes:

  1. I am black, but comely. Queen of Sheba, identified as the bride in Song of Solomon 1:5 by Origen. See I Kings 10:1-13, Matt. 12:42 and Luke 11:31.
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