1:1 Osculetur me osculo oris sui ; quia meliora sunt ubera tua vino,

1:1 Let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth: for thy breasts are better than wine,

1:2 fragrantia unguentis optimis. Oleum effusum nomen tuum ; ideo adolescentulæ dilexerunt te.

1:2 Smelling sweet of the best ointments. Thy name is as oil poured out: therefore young maidens have loved thee.

1:3 Trahe me, post te curremus in odorem unguentorum tuorum. Introduxit me rex in cellaria sua ; exsultabimus et lætabimur in te, memores uberum tuorum super vinum. Recti diligunt te.

1:3 Draw me: we will run after thee to the odour of thy ointments. The king hath brought me into his storerooms: we will be glad and rejoice in thee, remembering thy breasts more than wine: the rightous love thee.

1:4 Nigra sum, sed formosa, filiæ Jerusalem, sicut tabernacula Cedar, sicut pelles Salomonis.

1:4 I am black but beautiful, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents of Cedar, as the curtains of Solomon.

1:5 Nolite me considerare quod fusca sim, quia decoloravit me sol. Filii matris meæ pugnaverunt contra me ; posuerunt me custodem in vineis : vineam meam non custodivi.

1:5 Do not consider me that I am brown, because the sun hath altered my colour: the sons of my mother have fought against me, they have made me the keeper in the vineyards: my vineyard I have not kept.

1:6 Indica mihi, quem diligit anima mea, ubi pascas, ubi cubes in meridie, ne vagari incipiam post greges sodalium tuorum.

1:6 Shew me, O thou whom my soul loveth, where thou feedest, where thou liest in the midday, lest I begin to wander after the flocks of thy companions.

1:7 Si ignoras te, o pulcherrima inter mulieres, egredere, et abi post vestigia gregum, et pasce hædos tuos juxta tabernacula pastorum.

1:7 If thou know not thyself, O fairest among women, go forth, and follow after the steps of the flocks, and feed thy kids beside the tents of the shepherds.

1:8 Equitatui meo in curribus Pharaonis assimilavi te, amica mea.

1:8 To my company of horsemen, in Pharao's chariots, have I likened thee, O my love.

1:9 Pulchræ sunt genæ tuæ sicut turturis ; collum tuum sicut monilia.

1:9 Thy cheeks are beautiful as the turtledove's, thy neck as jewels.

1:10 Murenulas aureas faciemus tibi, vermiculatas argento.

1:10 We will make thee chains of gold, inlaid with silver.

1:11 Dum esset rex in accubitu suo, nardus mea dedit odorem suum.

1:11 While the king was at his repose, my spikenard sent forth the odour thereof.

1:12 Fasciculus myrrhæ dilectus meus mihi ; inter ubera mea commorabitur.

1:12 A bundle of myrrh is my beloved to me, he shall abide between my breasts.

1:13 Botrus cypri dilectus meus mihi in vineis Engaddi.

1:13 A cluster of cypress my love is to me, in the vineyards of Engaddi.

1:14 Ecce tu pulchra es, amica mea ! ecce tu pulchra es ! Oculi tui columbarum.

1:14 Behold thou are fair, O my love, behold thou are fair, thy eyes are as those of doves.

1:15 Ecce tu pulcher es, dilecte mi, et decorus ! Lectulus noster floridus.

1:15 Behold thou art fair, my beloved, and comely. Our bed is flourishing.

1:16 Tigna domorum nostrarum cedrina, laquearia nostra cypressina.

1:16 The beams of our houses are of cedar, our rafters of cypress trees.