"May he kiss me with the kisses of his mouth!
For your love is better than wine.
"Your oils have a pleasing fragrance,
Your name is like purified oil;
Therefore the maidens love you.
"Draw me after you and let us run together!
The king has brought me into his chambers."

"We will rejoice in you and be glad;
We will extol your love more than wine.
Rightly do they love you."

"I am black but lovely,
O daughters of Jerusalem,
Like the tents of Kedar,
Like the curtains of Solomon.
"Do not stare at me because I am swarthy,
For the sun has burned me.
My mother’s sons were angry with me;
They made me caretaker of the vineyards,
But I have not taken care of my own vineyard.
"Tell me, O you whom my soul loves,
Where do you pasture your flock,
Where do you make it lie down at noon?
For why should I be like one who veils herself
Beside the flocks of your companions?"

"If you yourself do not know,
Most beautiful among women,
Go forth on the trail of the flock
And pasture your young goats
By the tents of the shepherds.

"To me, my darling, you are like
My mare among the chariots of Pharaoh.
"Your cheeks are lovely with ornaments,
Your neck with strings of beads."

"We will make for you ornaments of gold
With beads of silver."

"While the king was at his table,
My perfume gave forth its fragrance.
"My beloved is to me a pouch of myrrh
Which lies all night between my breasts.
"My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blossoms
In the vineyards of Engedi."

"How beautiful you are, my darling,
How beautiful you are!
Your eyes are like doves."

"How handsome you are, my beloved,
And so pleasant!
Indeed, our couch is luxuriant!
"The beams of our houses are cedars,
Our rafters, cypresses.

"I am the rose of Sharon,
The lily of the valleys."

"Like a lily among the thorns,
So is my darling among the maidens."

"Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest,
So is my beloved among the young men.
In his shade I took great delight and sat down,
And his fruit was sweet to my taste.
"He has brought me to his banquet hall,
And his banner over me is love.
"Sustain me with raisin cakes,
Refresh me with apples,
Because I am lovesick.
"Let his left hand be under my head
And his right hand embrace me."

"I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
By the gazelles or by the hinds of the field,
That you do not arouse or awaken my love
Until she pleases."

"Listen! My beloved!
Behold, he is coming,
Climbing on the mountains,
Leaping on the hills!
"My beloved is like a gazelle or a young stag.
Behold, he is standing behind our wall,
He is looking through the windows,
He is peering through the lattice.

"My beloved responded and said to me,
‘Arise, my darling, my beautiful one,
And come along.
‘For behold, the winter is past,
The rain is over and gone.
‘The flowers have already appeared in the land;
The time has arrived for pruning the vines,
And the voice of the turtledove has been heard in our land.
‘The fig tree has ripened its figs,
And the vines in blossom have given forth their fragrance.
Arise, my darling, my beautiful one,
And come along!’"

"O my dove, in the clefts of the rock,
In the secret place of the steep pathway,
Let me see your form,
Let me hear your voice;
For your voice is sweet,
And your form is lovely."

"Catch the foxes for us,
The little foxes that are ruining the vineyards,
While our vineyards are in blossom."

"My beloved is mine, and I am his;
He pastures his flock among the lilies.
"Until the cool of the day when the shadows flee away,
Turn, my beloved, and be like a gazelle
Or a young stag on the mountains of Bether."

"On my bed night after night I sought him
Whom my soul loves;
I sought him but did not find him.
‘I must arise now and go about the city;
In the streets and in the squares
I must seek him whom my soul loves.’
I sought him but did not find him.
"The watchmen who make the rounds in the city found me,
And I said, ‘Have you seen him whom my soul loves?’
"Scarcely had I left them
When I found him whom my soul loves;
I held on to him and would not let him go
Until I had brought him to my mother’s house,
And into the room of her who conceived me."

"I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
By the gazelles or by the hinds of the field,
That you will not arouse or awaken my love
Until she pleases."

"What is this coming up from the wilderness
Like columns of smoke,
Perfumed with myrrh and frankincense,
With all scented powders of the merchant?
"Behold, it is the traveling couch of Solomon;
Sixty mighty men around it,
Of the mighty men of Israel.
"All of them are wielders of the sword,
Expert in war;
Each man has his sword at his side,
Guarding against the terrors of the night.
"King Solomon has made for himself a sedan chair
From the timber of Lebanon.
"He made its posts of silver,
Its back of gold
And its seat of purple fabric,
With its interior lovingly fitted out
By the daughters of Jerusalem.
"Go forth, O daughters of Zion,
And gaze on King Solomon with the crown
With which his mother has crowned him
On the day of his wedding,
And on the day of his gladness of heart."

Give the king Your judgments, O God,
And Your righteousness to the king’s son.
May he judge Your people with righteousness
And Your afflicted with justice.
Let the mountains bring peace to the people,
And the hills, in righteousness.
May he vindicate the afflicted of the people,
Save the children of the needy
And crush the oppressor.

Let them fear You while the sun endures,
And as long as the moon, throughout all generations.
May he come down like rain upon the mown grass,
Like showers that water the earth.
In his days may the righteous flourish,
And abundance of peace till the moon is no more.

May he also rule from sea to sea
And from the River to the ends of the earth.
Let the nomads of the desert bow before him,
And his enemies lick the dust.
Let the kings of Tarshish and of the islands bring presents;
The kings of Sheba and Seba offer gifts.
And let all kings bow down before him,
All nations serve him.

For he will deliver the needy when he cries for help,
The afflicted also, and him who has no helper.
He will have compassion on the poor and needy,
And the lives of the needy he will save.
He will rescue their life from oppression and violence,
And their blood will be precious in his sight;
So may he live, and may the gold of Sheba be given to him;
And let them pray for him continually;
Let them bless him all day long.

May there be abundance of grain in the earth on top of the mountains;
Its fruit will wave like the cedars of Lebanon;
And may those from the city flourish like vegetation of the earth.
May his name endure forever;
May his name increase as long as the sun shines;
And let men bless themselves by him;
Let all nations call him blessed.

Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel,
Who alone works wonders.
And blessed be His glorious name forever;
And may the whole earth be filled with His glory.
Amen, and Amen.

The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended.