b-b Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
c Or “sea,” taking Heb. yom as equivalent of yam; compare the combination of sea with Leviathan in Ps. 74.13, 14 and with Dragon in Job 7.12; cf. also Isa. 27.1.
a-a Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
a-a Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
b Lit. “home.”
a Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
b-b Meaning of Heb. uncertain; others “deny the words of the Holy One.”
c Following kethib, with Targum; meaning of Heb. uncertain.
a-a Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
b-b Or “when the thread runs out.”
c See note at 3.8.
a-a Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
b A primeval monster.
c-c With Targum and Peshitta; or “with a storm.”
d Lit. “face.”
a-a Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
b-b Or “make sport of”; cf. Pal. Aram. ’afli.
a-a Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
b-b Heb. muṣaq; other Heb. editions muṣṣaq, “you will be firm.”
a-a Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
b A sign of madness.
c Cf. Ugaritic ytnm, a class of temple servants; others “the mighty.”
a-a Lit. “secret.”
b Lit. “ashen.”
c Lit. “clayey.”
d-d So with kethib; others with qere “Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him.”
e-e Lit. “inherit.”
f-f Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
a-a Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
a-a Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
b Lit. “with neck.”
a Lit. “my mouth.”
b-b Lit. “made my horn enter into.”
c-c Or “Though I did no injustice, / And my prayer was pure.”
a That consumed children; cf. Jer. 7.31.
a-a Lit. “the earth be abandoned.”
b Lit. “rib” (cf. Gen. 2.22); or “stumbling.”
c Viz., of the netherworld.
a-a Lit. “Ten times.”
b-b Lit. “You are not satisfied with my flesh.”
c Lit. “kidneys.”
d With many mss. and versions; printed editions, “me.”
a For this meaning of beten and hamud, cf. Hos. 9.16.
a Referring to v. 16.
a-a Lit. “My hand is heavy.”
a Lit. “days.”
b This verse belongs to the description of the wicked in vv. 2–4a.
c-c Cf. Mishnaic Heb. ‘or, Aramaic ‘orta, “evening”; others “with the light.”
d From here to the end of the chapter the translation is largely conjectural.
a Used for heaven; cf. Isa. 14.13; Ps. 48.3.
b-b Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
c-c Cf. Isa. 27.1.
a-a Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
a-a Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
a Lit. “nest.”
b-b Others “multiply days like sand.”
c Taking yappilun as from pll; cf. Gen. 48.11.
a Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
b Lit. “He.”
c Lit. “loosened my [bow] string.”
d Heb. yeshu‘athi taken as related to shoa’, “noble.”
a Lit. “the eyes of a.”
b Viz., the widow’s.
c-c Lit. “from its shaft,” i.e., the humerus.
d Lit. “palate.”
a-a Lit. “once … twice.”
b Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
c I.e., the contrite man.
d-d Or with kethib, “me … I.”
a-a Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
a-a Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
a-a Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
a As Aramaic ’urya.
b Evidently a constellation.
c Or “rooster”; meaning of Heb. uncertain.
a Lit. “They …”
b Or “digs up.”
a-a Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
b Lit. “Jordan.”
a-a Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
a A unit of unknown value.
The Song of Songs
1 The Song of Songs, bya Solomon.
2b-Oh, give me of the kisses of your mouth,-b
For your love is more delightful than wine.
3Your ointments yield a sweet fragrance,
Your name is like finestc oil—
Therefore do maidens love you.
4Draw me after you, let us run!
d-The king has brought me to his chambers.-d
Let us delight and rejoice in your love,
Savoring it more than wine—
e-Like new wine-e they love you!
5I am dark, but comely,
O daughters of Jerusalem—
Like the tents of Kedar,
Like the pavilions of Solomon.
6Don’t stare at me because I am swarthy,
Because the sun has gazed upon me.
My mother’s sons quarreled with me,
They made me guard the vineyards;
My own vineyard I did not guard.
7Tell me, you whom I love so well;
Where do you pasture your sheep?
Where do you rest them at noon?
Let me not be c-as one who strays-c
Beside the flocks of your fellows.
8If you do not know, O fairest of women,
Go follow the tracks of the sheep,
And graze your kidsf
By the tents of the shepherds.
9I have likened you, my darling,
To a mare in Pharaoh’s chariots:
10Your cheeks are comely with plaited wreaths,
Your neck with strings of jewels.
11We will add wreaths of gold
To your spangles of silver.
12While the king was on his couch,
My nard gave forth its fragrance.
13My beloved to me is a bag of myrrh
Lodged between my breasts.
14My beloved to me is a spray of henna blooms
From the vineyards of En-gedi.
15Ah, you are fair, my darling,
Ah, you are fair,
With your dove-like eyes!
16And you, my beloved, are handsome,
Beautiful indeed!
Our couch is in a bower;
17Cedars are the beams of our house,
Cypresses the rafters.
2
I am a rosea of Sharon,
A lily of the valleys.
2Like a lily among thorns,
So is my darling among the maidens.
3Like an apple tree among trees of the forest,
So is my beloved among the youths.
I delight to sit in his shade,
And his fruit is sweet to my mouth.
4He brought me to the banquet room
b-And his banner of love was over me.-b
5“Sustain me with raisin cakes,
Refresh me with apples,
For I am faint with love.”
6His left hand was under my head,
His right arm embraced me.
7I adjure you, O maidens of Jerusalem,
By gazelles or by hinds of the field:
Do not wake or rouse
Love until it please!
8Hark! My beloved!
There he comes,
Leaping over mountains,
Bounding over hills.
9My beloved is like a gazelle
Or like a young stag.
There he stands behind our wall,
Gazing through the window.
Peering through the lattice.
10My beloved spoke thus to me,
“Arise, my darling;
My fair one, come away!
11For now the winter is past,
The rains are over and gone.
12The blossoms have appeared in the land,
The time of pruningc has come;
The song of the turtledove
Is heard in our land.
13The green figs form on the fig tree,
The vines in blossom give off fragrance.
Arise, my darling;
My fair one, come away!
14“O my dove, in the cranny of the rocks,
Hidden by the cliff,
Let me see your face,
Let me hear your voice;
For your voice is sweet
And your face is comely.”
15Catch us the foxes,
The little foxes
That ruin the vineyards—
For our vineyard is in blossom.
16My beloved is mine
And I am his
Who browses among the lilies.
17When the day d-blows gently-d
And the shadows flee,e
Set out, my beloved,
Swift as a gazelle
Or a young stag,
For the hills of spices!f
3
Upon my couch at nighta
I sought the one I love—
I sought, but found him not.
2“I must rise and roam the town,
Through the streets and through the squares;
I must seek the one I love.”
I sought but found him not.
3b-I met the watchmen-b
Who patrol the town.
“Have you seen the one I love?”
4Scarcely had I passed them
When I found the one I love.
I held him fast, I would not let him go
Till I brought him to my mother’s house,
To the chamber of her who conceived me
5I adjure you, O maidens of Jerusalem,
By gazelles or by hinds of the field:
Do not wake or rouse
Love until it please!
6Who is she that comes up from the desert
Like columns of smoke,
In clouds of myrrh and frankincense,
Of all the powders of the merchant?
7There is Solomon’s couch,
Encircled by sixty warriors
Of the warriors of Israel,
8All of them trainedc in warfare,
Skilled in battle,
Each with sword on thigh
Because of terror by night.
9King Solomon made him a palanquin
Of wood from Lebanon.
10He made its posts of silver,
Its backd of gold,
Its seat of purple wool.
Within, it was decked with e-love
By the maidens of Jerusalem.-e
11O maidens of Zion, go forth
And gaze upon King Solomon
Wearing the crown that his mother
Gave him on his wedding day,
On his day of bliss.
4
Ah, you are fair, my darling,
Ah, you are fair.
Your eyes are like doves
Behind your veil.
Your hair is like a flock of goats
Streaming down Mount Gilead.
2Your teeth are like a flock of ewesa
Climbing up from the washing pool;
All of them bear twins,
And not one loses her young.
3Your lips are like a crimson thread,
Your mouth is lovely.
Your brow behind your veil
[Gleams] like a pomegranate split open.
4Your neck is like the Tower of David,
Built b-to hold weapons,-b
Hung with a thousand shields—
All the quivers of warriors.
5Your breasts are like two fawns,
Twins of a gazelle,
Browsing among the lilies.
6cWhen the day blows gently
And the shadows flee,
I will betake me to the mount of myrrh,
To the hill of frankincense.
7Every part of you is fair, my darling,
There is no blemish in you
8From Lebanon come with me;
From Lebanon, my bride, with me!
Trip down from Amana’s peak,
From the peak of Senird and Hermon,
From the dens of lions,
From the hillse of leopards.
9You have captured my heart,
My own,f my bride,
You have captured my heart
With one [glance] of your eyes,
With one coil of your necklace.
10How sweet is your love,
My own, my bride!
How much more delightful your love than wine,
Your ointments more fragrant
Than any spice!
11Sweetness drops
From your lips, O bride;
Honey and milk
Are under your tongue;
And the scent of your robes
Is like the scent of Lebanon.
12A garden locked
Is my own, my bride,
A fountain locked,
A sealed-up spring.
13Your limbs are an orchard of pomegranates
And of all luscious fruits,
Of henna and of nard—
14Nard and saffron,
Fragrant reed and cinnamon,
With all aromatic woods,
Myrrh and aloes—
All the choice perfumes.
15g-[You are] a garden spring,
A well of fresh water,-g
A rill of Lebanon.
16Awake, O north wind,
Come, O south wind!
Blow upon my garden,
That its perfume may spread.
Let my beloved come to his garden
And enjoy its luscious fruits!
5
I have come to my garden,
My own, my bride;
I have plucked my myrrh and spice,
Eaten my honey and honeycomb,
Drunk my wine and my milk.
Eat, lovers, and drink:
Drink deep of love!
2aI was asleep,
But my heart was wakeful.
Hark, my beloved knocks!
“Let me in, my own,
My darling, my faultless dove!
For my head is drenched with dew,
My locks with the damp of night.”
3I had taken off my robe—
Was I to don it again?
I had bathed my feet—
Was I to soil them again?
4My beloved b-took his hand off the latch,-b
And my heart was stirred c-for him.-c
5I rose to let in my beloved;
My hands dripped myrrh—
My fingers, flowing myrrh—
Upon the handles of the bolt.
6I opened the door for my beloved,
But my beloved had turned and gone.
I was faint d-because of what he said.-d
I sought, but found him not;
I called, but he did not answer.
7I met the watchmene
Who patrol the town;
They struck me, they bruised me.
The guards of
