rsv Songs:1-8 SEEK
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The Song of Songs ,
which is Solomon '
s .
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O that you would kiss me with the kisses of your mouth !
For your love is better than wine ,
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your anointing oils are fragrant ,
your name is oil poured out ;
therefore the maidens love you .
*
Draw me after you ,
let us make haste .
The king has brought me into his chambers .
We will exult and rejoice in you ;
we will extol your love more than wine ;
rightly do they love you .
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I am very dark ,
but comely ,
O daughters of Jerusalem ,
like the tents of Kedar ,
like the curtains of Solomon .
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Do not gaze at me because I am swarthy ,
because the sun has scorched me .
My mother '
s sons were angry with me ,
they made me keeper of the vineyards ;
but ,
my own vineyard I have not kept !
*
Tell me ,
you whom my soul loves ,
where you pasture your flock ,
where you make it lie down at noon ;
for why should I be like one who wanders beside the flocks of your companions ?
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If you do not know ,
O fairest among women ,
follow in the tracks of the flock ,
and pasture your kids beside the shepherds '
tents .
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I compare you ,
my love ,
to a mare of Pharaoh '
s chariots .
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Your cheeks are comely with ornaments ,
your neck with strings of jewels .
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We will make you ornaments of gold ,
studded with silver .
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While the king was on his couch ,
my nard gave forth its fragrance .
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My beloved is to me a bag of myrrh ,
that lies between my breasts .
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My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blossoms in the vineyards of Enge '
di .
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Behold ,
you are beautiful ,
my love ;
behold ,
you are beautiful ;
your eyes are doves .
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Behold ,
you are beautiful ,
my beloved ,
truly lovely .
Our couch is green ;
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the beams of our house are cedar ,
our rafters are pine .
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I am a rose of Sharon ,
a lily of the valleys .
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As a lily among brambles ,
so is my love among maidens .
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As an apple tree among the trees of the wood ,
so is my beloved among young men .
With great delight I sat in his shadow ,
and his fruit was sweet to my taste .
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He brought me to the banqueting house ,
and his banner over me was love .
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Sustain me with raisins ,
refresh me with apples ;
for I am sick with love .
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O that his left hand were under my head ,
and that his right hand embraced me !
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I adjure you ,
O daughters of Jerusalem ,
by the gazelles or the hinds of the field ,
that you stir not up nor awaken love until it please .
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The voice of my beloved !
Behold ,
he comes ,
leaping upon the mountains ,
bounding over the hills .
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My beloved is like a gazelle ,
or a young stag .
Behold ,
there he stands behind our wall ,
gazing in at the windows ,
looking through the lattice .
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My beloved speaks and says to me : "
Arise ,
my love ,
my fair one ,
and come away ;
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for lo ,
the winter is past ,
the rain is over and gone .
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The flowers appear on the earth ,
the time of singing has come ,
and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land .
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The fig tree puts forth its figs ,
and the vines are in blossom ;
they give forth fragrance .
Arise ,
my love ,
my fair one ,
and come away .
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O my dove ,
in the clefts of the rock ,
in the covert of the cliff ,
let me see your face ,
let me hear your voice ,
for your voice is sweet ,
and your face is comely .
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Catch us the foxes ,
the little foxes ,
that spoil the vineyards ,
for our vineyards are in blossom ."
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My beloved is mine and I am his ,
he pastures his flock among the lilies .
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Until the day breathes and the shadows flee ,
turn ,
my beloved ,
be like a gazelle ,
or a young stag upon rugged mountains .
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Upon my bed by night I sought him whom my soul loves ;
I sought him ,
but found him not ;
I called him ,
but he gave no answer .
* "
I will rise now and go about the city ,
in the streets and in the squares ;
I will seek him whom my soul loves ."
I sought him ,
but found him not .
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The watchmen found me ,
as they went about in the city . "
Have you seen him whom my soul loves ?"
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Scarcely had I passed them ,
when I found him whom my soul loves .
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 .
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I adjure you ,
O daughters of Jerusalem ,
by the gazelles or the hinds of the field ,
that you stir not up nor awaken love until it please .
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What is that coming up from the wilderness ,
like a column of smoke ,
perfumed with myrrh and frankincense ,
with all the fragrant powders of the merchant ?
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Behold ,
it is the litter of Solomon !
About it are sixty mighty men of the mighty men of Israel ,
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all girt with swords and expert in war ,
each with his sword at his thigh ,
against alarms by night .
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King Solomon made himself a palanquin from the wood of Lebanon .
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He made its posts of silver ,
its back of gold ,
its seat of purple ;
it was lovingly wrought within by the daughters of Jerusalem .
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Go forth ,
O daughters of Zion ,
and behold King Solomon ,
with the crown with which his mother crowned him on the day of his wedding ,
on the day of the gladness of his heart .
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Behold ,
you are beautiful ,
my love ,
behold ,
you are beautiful !
Your eyes are doves behind your veil .
Your hair is like a flock of goats ,
moving down the slopes of Gilead .
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Your teeth are like a flock of shorn ewes that have come up from the washing ,
all of which bear twins ,
and not one among them is bereaved .
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Your lips are like a scarlet thread ,
and your mouth is lovely .
Your cheeks are like halves of a pomegranate behind your veil .
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Your neck is like the tower of David ,
built for an arsenal ,
whereon hang a thousand bucklers ,
all of them shields of warriors .
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Your two breasts are like two fawns ,
twins of a gazelle ,
that feed among the lilies .
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Until the day breathes and the shadows flee ,
I will hie me to the mountain of myrrh and the hill of frankincense .
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You are all fair ,
my love ;
there is no flaw in you .
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Come with me from Lebanon ,
my bride ;
come with me from Lebanon .
Depart from the peak of Ama '
na ,
from the peak of Senir and Hermon ,
from the dens of lions ,
from the mountains of leopards .
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You have ravished my heart ,
my sister ,
my bride ,
you have ravished my heart with a glance of your eyes ,
with one jewel of your necklace .
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How sweet is your love ,
my sister ,
my bride !
how much better is your love than wine ,
and the fragrance of your oils than any spice !
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Your lips distil nectar ,
my bride ;
honey and milk are under your tongue ;
the scent of your garments is like the scent of Lebanon .
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A garden locked is my sister ,
my bride ,
a garden locked ,
a fountain sealed .
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Your shoots are an orchard of pomegranates with all choicest fruits ,
henna with nard ,
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nard and saffron ,
calamus and cinnamon ,
with all trees of frankincense ,
myrrh and aloes ,
with all chief spices --
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a garden fountain ,
a well of living water ,
and flowing streams from Lebanon .
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Awake ,
O north wind ,
and come ,
O south wind !
Blow upon my garden ,
let its fragrance be wafted abroad .
Let my beloved come to his garden ,
and eat its choicest fruits .
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I come to my garden ,
my sister ,
my bride ,
I gather my myrrh with my spice ,
I eat my honeycomb with my honey ,
I drink my wine with my milk .
Eat ,
O friends ,
and drink :
drink deeply ,
O lovers !
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I slept ,
but my heart was awake .
Hark !
my beloved is knocking . "
Open to me ,
my sister ,
my love ,
my dove ,
my perfect one ;
for my head is wet with dew ,
my locks with the drops of the night ."
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I had put off my garment ,
how could I put it on ?
I had bathed my feet ,
how could I soil them ?
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My beloved put his hand to the latch ,
and my heart was thrilled within me .
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I arose to open to my beloved ,
and my hands dripped with myrrh ,
my fingers with liquid myrrh ,
upon the handles of the bolt .
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I opened to my beloved ,
but my beloved had turned and gone .
My soul failed me when he spoke .
I sought him ,
but found him not ;
I called him ,
but he gave no answer .
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The watchmen found me ,
as they went about in the city ;
they beat me ,
they wounded me ,
they took away my mantle ,
those watchmen of the walls .
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I adjure you ,
O daughters of Jerusalem ,
if you find my beloved ,
that you tell him I am sick with love .
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What is your beloved more than another beloved ,
O fairest among women ?
What is your beloved more than another beloved ,
that you thus adjure us ?
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My beloved is all radiant and ruddy ,
distinguished among ten thousand .
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His head is the finest gold ;
his locks are wavy ,
black as a raven .
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His eyes are like doves beside springs of water ,
bathed in milk ,
fitly set .
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His cheeks are like beds of spices ,
yielding fragrance .
His lips are lilies ,
distilling liquid myrrh .
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His arms are rounded gold ,
set with jewels .
His body is ivory work ,
encrusted with sapphires .
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His legs are alabaster columns ,
set upon bases of gold .
His appearance is like Lebanon ,
choice as the cedars .
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His speech is most sweet ,
and he is altogether desirable .
This is my beloved and this is my friend ,
O daughters of Jerusalem .
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Whither has your beloved gone ,
O fairest among women ?
Whither has your beloved turned ,
that we may seek him with you ?
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My beloved has gone down to his garden ,
to the beds of spices ,
to pasture his flock in the gardens ,
and to gather lilies .
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I am my beloved '
s and my beloved is mine ;
he pastures his flock among the lilies .
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You are beautiful as Tirzah ,
my love ,
comely as Jerusalem ,
terrible as an army with banners .
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Turn away your eyes from me ,
for they disturb me --
Your hair is like a flock of goats ,
moving down the slopes of Gilead .
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Your teeth are like a flock of ewes ,
that have come up from the washing ,
all of them bear twins ,
not one among them is bereaved .
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Your cheeks are like halves of a pomegranate behind your veil .
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There are sixty queens and eighty concubines ,
and maidens without number .
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My dove ,
my perfect one ,
is only one ,
the darling of her mother ,
flawless to her that bore her .
The maidens saw her and called her happy ;
the queens and concubines also ,
and they praised her .
* "
Who is this that looks forth like the dawn ,
fair as the moon ,
bright as the sun ,
terrible as an army with banners ?"
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I went down to the nut orchard ,
to look at the blossoms of the valley ,
to see whether the vines had budded ,
whether the pomegranates were in bloom .
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Before I was aware ,
my fancy set me in a chariot beside my prince .
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Return ,
return ,
O Shu '
lammite ,
return ,
return ,
that we may look upon you .
Why should you look upon the Shu '
lammite ,
as upon a dance before two armies ?
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How graceful are your feet in sandals ,
O queenly maiden !
Your rounded thighs are like jewels ,
the work of a master hand .
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Your navel is a rounded bowl that never lacks mixed wine .
Your belly is a heap of wheat ,
encircled with lilies .
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Your two breasts are like two fawns ,
twins of a gazelle .
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Your neck is like an ivory tower .
Your eyes are pools in Heshbon ,
by the gate of Bath-rab '
bim .
Your nose is like a tower of Lebanon ,
overlooking Damascus .
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Your head crowns you like Carmel ,
and your flowing locks are like purple ;
a king is held captive in the tresses .
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How fair and pleasant you are ,
O loved one ,
delectable maiden !
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You are stately as a palm tree ,
and your breasts are like its clusters .
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I say I will climb the palm tree and lay hold of its branches .
Oh ,
may your breasts be like clusters of the vine ,
and the scent of your breath like apples ,
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and your kisses like the best wine that goes down smoothly ,
gliding over lips and teeth .
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I am my beloved '
s ,
and his desire is for me .
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Come ,
my beloved ,
let us go forth into the fields ,
and lodge in the villages ;
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let us go out early to the vineyards ,
and see whether the vines have budded ,
whether the grape blossoms have opened and the pomegranates are in bloom .
There I will give you my love .
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The mandrakes give forth fragrance ,
and over our doors are all choice fruits ,
new as well as old ,
which I have laid up for you ,
O my beloved .
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O that you were like a brother to me ,
that nursed at my mother '
s breast !
If I met you outside ,
I would kiss you ,
and none would despise me .
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I would lead you and bring you into the house of my mother ,
and into the chamber of her that conceived me .
I would give you spiced wine to drink ,
the juice of my pomegranates .
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O that his left hand were under my head ,
and that his right hand embraced me !
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I adjure you ,
O daughters of Jerusalem ,
that you stir not up nor awaken love until it please .
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Who is that coming up from the wilderness ,
leaning upon her beloved ?
Under the apple tree I awakened you .
There your mother was in travail with you ,
there she who bore you was in travail .
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Set me as a seal upon your heart ,
as a seal upon your arm ;
for love is strong as death ,
jealousy is cruel as the grave .
Its flashes are flashes of fire ,
a most vehement flame .
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Many waters cannot quench love ,
neither can floods drown it .
If a man offered for love all the wealth of his house ,
it would be utterly scorned .
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We have a little sister ,
and she has no breasts .
What shall we do for our sister ,
on the day when she is spoken for ?
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If she is a wall ,
we will build upon her a battlement of silver ;
but if she is a door ,
we will enclose her with boards of cedar .
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I was a wall ,
and my breasts were like towers ;
then I was in his eyes as one who brings peace .
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Solomon had a vineyard at Ba '
al-ha '
mon ;
he let out the vineyard to keepers ;
each one was to bring for its fruit a thousand pieces of silver .
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My vineyard ,
my very own ,
is for myself ;
you ,
O Solomon ,
may have the thousand ,
and the keepers of the fruit two hundred .
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O you who dwell in the gardens ,
my companions are listening for your voice ;
let me hear it .
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Make haste ,
my beloved ,
and be like a gazelle or a young stag upon the mountains of spices .