Love is better than wine

1This is Solomon's1.1: 1 K 4.32.

most beautiful song.

She speaks:

2Kiss me tenderly!

Your love is better than wine,

3and you smell so sweet.

All the young women adore you;

the very mention of your name

is like spreading perfume.

4-5Hurry, my king! Let's hurry.

Take me to your home.

The young women speak:

We are happy for you!

And we praise your love

even more than wine.

She speaks:

Young women of Jerusalem,

it is only right

that you should adore him.

My skin is dark and beautiful,

like a tent in the desert

or like Solomon's curtains.

6Don't stare at me

just because the sun

has darkened my skin.

My brothers were angry with me;

they made me work in the vineyard,

and so I neglected

my complexion.

Don't let the other shepherds

think badly of me.1.6 Don't…me: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.

7I'm not one of those women

who shamelessly follow

after shepherds.1.7 I'm…shepherds: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.

My darling, I love you!

Where do you feed your sheep

and let them rest at midday?

He speaks:

8My dearest, if you don't know,

just follow the path

of the sheep.

Then feed your young goats

near the shepherds' tents.

9You move as gracefully

as the pony that leads

the chariot of the king.

10Earrings add to your beauty,

and you wear a necklace

of precious stones.

11Let's make you some jewellery

of gold, woven with silver.

She speaks:

12My king, while you

were on your couch,

my love was a magic charm.1.12 magic charm: The Hebrew text has “spikenard” (or “nard”), a sweet-smelling ointment made from a plant that comes from India. The ointment was sometimes used as a love charm.

13My darling, you are perfume

between my breasts;

14you are flower blossoms

from the gardens of En-Gedi.1.14 En-Gedi: An oasis west of the Dead Sea.

He speaks:

15My darling, you are lovely,

so very lovely—

your eyes are those of a dove.

She speaks:

16My love, you are handsome,

truly handsome—

the fresh green grass

will be our wedding bed

17in the shade of cedar

and cypress trees.