Song of Solomon 1

¹Kisse he me with the cos of his mouth.

²For thi tetis ben betere than wyn, and yyuen odour with beste oynementis. Thi name is oile sched out; therfor yonge damesels loueden thee.

³Drawe thou me after thee; we schulen renne in to the odour of thin oynementis. The kyng ledde me in to hise celeris; we myndeful of thi teetis aboue wyn, schulen make ful out ioye, and schulen be glad in thee; riytful men louen thee.

⁴Ye douytris of Jerusalem, Y am blak, but fair, as the tabernaclis of Cedar, as the skynnes of Salomon.

⁵Nyle ye biholde me, that Y am blak, for the sunne hath discolourid me; the sones of my modir fouyten ayens me, thei settiden me a kepere in vyners; Y kepte not my vyner.

⁶Thou spouse, whom my soule loueth, schewe to me, where thou lesewist, where thou restist in myddai; lest Y bigynne to wandre, aftir the flockis of thi felowis.

⁷A! thou fairest among wymmen, if thou knowist not thi silf, go thou out, and go forth aftir the steppis of thi flockis; and feede thi kidis, bisidis the tabernaclis of scheepherdis.

⁸Mi frendesse, Y licnede thee to myn oost of knyytis in the charis of Farao.

⁹Thi chekis ben feire, as of a turtle; thi necke is as brochis.

¹⁰We schulen make to thee goldun ournementis, departid and maad dyuerse with silver.

¹¹Whanne the kyng was in his restyng place, my narde yaf his odour.

¹²My derlyng is a bundel of myrre to me; he schal dwelle bitwixe my tetis.

¹³My derlyng is to me a cluster of cipre tre, among the vyneres of Engaddi.

¹⁴Lo! my frendesse, thou art fair; lo! thou art fair, thin iyen ben the iyen of culueris.

¹⁵Lo, my derling, thou art fair, and schapli; oure bed is fair as flouris.

¹⁶The trees of oure housis ben of cedre; oure couplis ben of cipresse.

Song of Solomon 1

¹The song of songs, which is Solomon’s.

²Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth: for thy love is better than wine.

³Because of the savour of thy good ointments thy name is as ointment poured forth, therefore do the virgins love thee.

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: the upright love thee.

⁵I am black, but comely, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents of Kedar, as the curtains of Solomon.

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 the keeper of the vineyards; but mine own vineyard have I not kept.

⁷Tell me, O thou whom my soul loveth, where thou feedest, where thou makest thy flock to rest at noon: for why should I be as one that turneth aside by the flocks of thy companions?

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.

⁹I have compared thee, O my love, to a company of horses in Pharaoh’s chariots.

¹⁰Thy cheeks are comely with rows of jewels, thy neck with chains of gold.

¹¹We will make thee borders of gold with studs of silver.

¹²While the king sitteth at his table, my spikenard sendeth forth the smell thereof.

¹³A bundle of myrrh is my wellbeloved unto me; he shall lie all night betwixt my breasts.

¹⁴My beloved is unto me as a cluster of camphire in the vineyards of En–gedi.

¹⁵Behold, thou art fair, my love; behold, thou art fair; thou hast doves’ eyes.

¹⁶Behold, thou art fair, my beloved, yea, pleasant: also our bed is green.

¹⁷The beams of our house are cedar, and our rafters of fir.