558 lines
25 KiB
Plaintext
558 lines
25 KiB
Plaintext
Newsgroups: alt.sex.stories,alt.sex,alt.romance,alt.personals
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From: noring@netcom.com (Jon Noring)
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Subject: The Song of Solomon - Erotic poetry at its finest
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Message-ID: <1993Jan15.210909.15432@netcom.com>
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Organization: Netcom Online Communications Services (408-241-9760 login: guest)
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Date: Fri, 15 Jan 1993 21:09:09 GMT
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Lines: 555
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Short Introduction
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Just because this is from the Old Testament of the Bible, don't let it fool
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you. It is one of the finest erotic/romantic poems ever penned. Unless you
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knew it came from the Bible, you'd never know it since there is no mention
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of God, nor is there any religious theology given except the beauty and
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grandeur of human sexuality and erotic love.
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As an example of it's contents, here's the Man speaking in 7:6-9:
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"How beautiful you are and how pleasing, O love, with your delights! Your
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stature is like that of the palm, and your breasts like clusters of fruit.
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I said, 'I will climb the palm tree; I will take hold of its fruit.' May
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your breasts be like the clusters of the vine, the fragrance of your breath
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like apples, and your mouth like the best wine."
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Enjoy!
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Jon Noring
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PLEASE, PLEASE don't post saying that this has figurative
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religious significance - I know the views of The Church (tm) on this.
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And if you decide to do so anyway, I'll guarantee that you'll see another
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long post from me commenting on this very thing - it's already written and
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ready to go. I just don't want to include it here since it may have the
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undesirable effect of dulling the erotic power of this poem. But, it is
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ready, just in case. I suggest to those who hold that viewpoint to just
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sit on your hands this time around.
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Just ENJOY this poem for what it IS and keep Christian/Judaic theology
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out of any discussion except for contextual/historical aspects.
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"The Song of Solomon" also known as "The Song of Songs"
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-------------------------------------------------------
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(Note: There are apparently three voices in the following Biblical erotic
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poem, based on the gender of the Hebrew pronouns used in the original text.
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They are the woman (the beloved), the man (the lover) and the woman's friends.
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It is unclear if the 'king' referred to in the text is the same person as
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the man. Wherever there are difficulties in translation, or notes need to
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be given, they are numbered in [..] and explained at the end of the text.)
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Intro [1:1] - Solomon's Song of Songs.
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Woman [1:2-4] - Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth -
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for your love is more delightful than wine.
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Pleasing is the fragrance of your perfumes;
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your name is like perfume poured out.
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No wonder the maidens love you!
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Take me away with you - let us hurry!
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The king has brought me into his chambers.
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Friends [1:4] - We rejoice and delight in you; [1]
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we will praise your love more than wine.
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Woman [1:4-7] - How right they are to adore you!
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Dark am I, yet lovely,
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O daughters of Jerusalem,
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dark like the tents of Kedar,
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like the tent curtains of Solomon. [2]
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Do not stare at me because I am dark,
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because I am darkened by the sun.
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My mother's sons were angry with me
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and made me take care of the vineyards;
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my own vineyard I have neglected.
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Tell me, you whom I love, where you graze your flock
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and where you rest your sheep at midday.
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Why should I be like a veiled woman
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beside the flocks of your friends?
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Man [1:8-11] - If you do not know, most beautiful of women,
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follow the tracks of the sheep
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and graze your young goats
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by the tents of the shepherds.
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I liken you, my darling, to a mare
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harnessed to one of the chariots of Pharaoh.
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Your cheeks are beautiful with earrings,
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your neck with strings of jewels.
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We will make you earrings of gold, studded with silver.
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Woman [1:12-14] - While the king was at his table,
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my perfume spread its fragrance.
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My lover is to me a sachet of myrrh
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resting between my breasts.
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My lover is to me a cluster of henna blossoms
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from the vineyards of En Gedi.
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Man [1:15] - How beautiful you are, my darling!
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Oh, how beautiful!
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Your eyes are doves.
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Woman [1:16] - How handsome you are, my lover!
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Oh, how charming!
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And our bed is verdant.
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Man [1:17] - The beams of our house are cedars;
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our rafters are firs.
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Woman [2:1] - I am a rose of Sharon, [3]
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a lily of the valleys.
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Man [2:2] - Like a lily among thorns
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is my darling among the maidens.
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Woman [2:3-13] - Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest
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is my lover among the young men.
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I delight to sit in his shade,
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and his fruit is sweet to my taste.
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He has taken me to the banquet hall,
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and his banner over me is love,
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Strengthen me with raisins,
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refresh me with apples,
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for I am faint with love.
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His left arm is under my head,
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and his right arm embraces me.
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Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you
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by the gazelles and by the does of the field:
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Do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires.
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Listen! My lover!
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Look! Here he comes,
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leaping across the mountains,
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bounding over the hills.
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My lover is like a gazelle or a young stag.
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Look! There he stands behind our wall,
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gazing through the windows,
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peering through the lattice.
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My lover spoke and said to me,
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"Arise, my darling,
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my beautiful one, and come with me.
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See! The winter is past;
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the rains are over and gone.
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Flowers appear on the earth;
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the season of singing has come,
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the cooing of doves
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is heard in our land.
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The fig tree forms its early fruit;
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the blossoming vines spread their fragrance.
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Arise, come, my darling;
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my beautiful one, come with me."
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Man [2:14-15] - My dove in the clefts of the rock,
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in the hiding places on the mountainside,
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show me your face,
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let me hear your voice;
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for your voice is sweet,
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and your face is lovely.
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Catch for us the foxes,
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the little foxes
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that ruin the vineyards,
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our vineyards that are in bloom.
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Woman [2:16-17,
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3:1-11] - My lover is mine and I am his;
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he browses among the lilies.
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Until the day breaks
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and the shadows flee,
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turn, my lover,
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and be like a gazelle
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or like a young stag
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on the rugged hills. [4]
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All night long on my bed
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I looked for the one my heart loves;
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I looked for him but did not find him.
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I will get up now and go about the city,
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through its streets and squares;
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I will search for the one my heart loves.
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So I looked for him but did not find him.
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The watchmen found me
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as they made their rounds in the city.
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"Have you seen the one my heart loves?"
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Scarcely had I passed them
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when I found the one my heart loves.
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I held him and would not let him go
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till I had brought him to my mother's house,
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to the room of the one who conceived me.
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Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you
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by the gazelles and by the does of the field:
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Do not arouse or awaken love
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until it so desires.
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Who is this coming up from the desert
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like a column of smoke,
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perfumed with myrrh and incense
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made from all the spices of the merchant?
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Look! It is Solomon's carriage,
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escorted by sixty warriors,
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the noblest of Israel,
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all of them wearing the sword,
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all experienced in battle,
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each with his sword at his side,
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prepared for the terrors of the night.
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King Solomon made for himself the carriage;
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he made it of wood from Lebanon.
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Its posts he made of silver,
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its base of gold.
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Its seat was upholstered with purple,
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its interior lovingly inlaid
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by the daughters of Jerusalem. [5]
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Come out, you daughters of Zion,
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and look at King Solomon wearing the crown,
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the crown with which his mother crowned him
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on the day of his wedding,
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the day his heart rejoiced.
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Man [4:1-15] - How beautiful you are, my darling!
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Oh, how beautiful!
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Your eyes behind your veil are doves.
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Your hair is like a flock of goats
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descending from Mount Gilead.
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Your teeth are like a flock of sheep just shorn,
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coming up from the washing.
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Each has its twin;
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not one of them is alone.
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Your lips are like a scarlet ribbon;
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your mouth is lovely.
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Your temples behind your veil
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are like the halves of a pomegranate.
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Your neck is like the tower of David,
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built with elegance; [6]
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on it hang a thousand shields,
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all of them shields of warriors.
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Your two breasts are like two fawns,
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like twin fawns of a gazelle
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that browse among the lilies.
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Until the day breaks
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and the shadows flee,
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I will go to the mountain of myrrh
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and to the hill of incense.
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All beautiful you are, my darling;
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there is no flaw in you.
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Come with me from Lebanon, my bride,
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come with me from Lebanon.
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Descend from the crest of Amana,
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from the top of Senir, the summit of Hermon,
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from the lions' dens
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and the mountain haunts of the leopards.
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You have stolen my heart, my sister, my bride;
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you have stolen my heart
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with one glance of your eyes,
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with one jewel of your necklace.
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How delightful is your love, my sister, my bride!
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How much more pleasing is your love than wine,
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and the fragrance of your perfume than any spice!
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Your lips drop sweetness as the honeycomb, my bride;
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milk and honey are under your tongue.
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The fragrance of your garments is like that of Lebanon.
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You are a garden locked up, my sister, my bride;
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you are a spring enclosed, a sealed fountain.
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Your plants are an orchard of pomegranates
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with choice fruits,
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with henna and nard,
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nard and saffron,
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calamus and cinnamon,
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with every kind of incense tree,
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with myrrh and aloes
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and all the finest spices.
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You are a garden fountain, [7]
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a well of flowing water
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streaming down from Lebanon.
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Woman [4:16] - Awake, north wind,
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and come, south wind!
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Blow on my garden,
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that its fragrance may spread abroad.
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Let my lover come into his garden
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and taste its choice fruits.
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Man [5:1] - I have come into my garden, my sister, my bride;
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I have gathered my myrrh with my spice.
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I have eaten my honeycomb and my honey;
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I have drunk my wine and my milk.
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Friends [5:1] - Eat, O friends, and drink;
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drink your fill, O lovers.
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Woman [5:2-8] - I slept but my heart was awake.
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Listen! My lover is knocking:
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"Open to me, my sister, my darling,
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my dove, my flawless one.
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My head is drenched with dew,
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my hair with the dampness of the night."
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I have taken off my robe -
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must I put it on again?
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I have washed my feet -
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must I soil them again?
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My lover thrust his hand through the latch-opening;
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my heart began to pound for him.
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I arose to open for my lover,
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and my hands dripped with myrrh,
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on the handles of the lock.
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I opened for my lover,
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but my lover had left; he was gone.
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My heart had gone out to him when he spoke.
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I looked for him but did not find him.
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I called him but he did not answer.
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The watchmen found me
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as they made their rounds in the city.
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They beat me, they bruised me;
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they took away my cloak,
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those watchmen of the walls!
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O daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you -
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if you find my lover,
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what will you tell him?
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Tell him I am faint with love.
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Friends [5:9] - How is your beloved better than others,
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most beautiful of women?
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How is your beloved better than others,
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that you charge us so?
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Woman [5:10-16] - My lover is radiant and ruddy,
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outstanding among ten thousand.
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His head is purest gold;
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his hair is wavy
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and black as a raven.
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His eyes are like doves
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by the water streams,
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washed in milk,
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mounted like jewels.
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His cheeks are like beds of spice
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yielding perfume.
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His lips are like lilies
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dripping with myrrh.
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His arms are rods of gold
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set with chrysolite.
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His body is like polished ivory
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decorated with sapphires. [8]
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His legs are pillars of marble
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set on bases of pure gold.
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His appearance is like Lebanon,
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choice as its cedars.
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His mouth is sweetness itself;
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he is altogether lovely.
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This is my lover, this my friend,
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O daughters of Jerusalem.
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Friends [6:1] - Where has your lover gone,
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most beautiful of women?
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Which way did your lover turn,
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that we may look for him with you?
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Woman [6:2-3] - My lover has gone down to his garden,
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to the beds of spices,
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to browse in the gardens
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and to gather lilies.
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I am my lover's and my lover is mine;
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he browses among the lilies.
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Man [6:4-12] - You are beautiful, my darling, as Tirzah,
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lovely as Jerusalem,
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majestic as troops with banners.
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Turn your eyes from me;
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they overwhelm me.
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Your hair is like a flock of goats
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descending from Gilead.
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Your teeth are like a flock of sheep
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coming up from the washing.
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Each has its twin,
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not one of them is alone.
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Your temples behind your veil
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are like the halves of a pomegranate.
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Sixty queens there may be,
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and eighty concubines,
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and virgins beyond number;
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but my dove, my perfect one, is unique,
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the only daughter of her mother,
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the favorite of the one who bore her.
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The maidens saw her and called her blessed;
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the queens and concubines praised her.
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Who is this that appears like the dawn,
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fair as the moon, bright as the sun,
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majestic as the stars in procession?
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I went down to the grove of nut trees
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to look at the new growth in the valley,
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to see if the vines had budded
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or the pomegranates were in bloom.
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Before I realized it,
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my desire set me among the royal chariots of my people. [9]
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Friends [6:13] - Come back, come back, O Shulammite;
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come back, come back, that we may gaze on you!
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Man [6:13-7:9] - Why would you gaze on the Shulammite
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as on the dance of Mahanaim?
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How beautiful your sandaled feet,
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O prince's daughter!
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Your graceful legs are like jewels,
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the work of a craftsman's hands.
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Your navel is a rounded goblet
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that never lacks blended wine.
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Your waist is a mound of wheat encircled by lilies.
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Your breasts are like two fawns,
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twins of a gazelle.
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Your neck is like an ivory tower.
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Your eyes are the pools of Heshbon
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by the gate of Bath Rabbim.
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Your nose is like the tower of Lebanon
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looking toward Damascus.
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Your head crowns you like Mount Carmel.
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Your hair is like royal tapestry;
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the king is held captive by its tresses.
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How beautiful you are and how pleasing,
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O love, with your delights!
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Your stature is like that of the palm,
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and your breasts like clusters of fruit.
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I said, "I will climb the palm tree;
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I will take hold of its fruit."
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May your breasts be like the clusters of the vine,
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the fragrance of your breath like apples,
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and your mouth like the best wine.
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Woman [7:9-8:4] - May the wine go straight to my lover,
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flowing gently over lips and teeth. [10]
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I belong to my lover,
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and his desire is for me.
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Come, my lover, let us go to the countryside,
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let us spend the night in the villages. [11]
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Let us go early to the vineyards
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to see if the vines have budded,
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if their blossoms have opened,
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and if the pomegranates are in bloom -
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there I will give you my love.
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The mandrakes send out their fragrance,
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and at our door is every delicacy,
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both new and old,
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that I have stored up for you, my lover.
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If only you were to me like a brother,
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who was nursed at my mother's breasts!
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Then, if I found you outside,
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I would kiss you,
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and no one would despise me.
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I would lead you
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and bring you to my mother's house -
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she who has taught me.
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I would give you spiced wine to drink,
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the nectar of my pomegranates.
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His left arm is under my head
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and his right arm embraces me.
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Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you:
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Do not arouse or awaken love
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until it so desires.
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Friends [8:5] - Who is this coming up from the desert
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leaning on her lover?
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Woman [8:5-7] - Under the apple tree I roused you;
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there your mother conceived you,
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there she who was in labor gave you birth.
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Place me like a seal over your heart,
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like a seal over your arm;
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for love is as strong as death,
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its jealousy unyielding as the grave. [12,13]
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It burns like blazing fire,
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like a mighty flame. [14]
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Many waters cannot quench love;
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rivers cannot wash it away.
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If one were to give
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all the wealth of his house for love,
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it would be utterly scorned. [15]
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Friends [8:8-9] - We have a young sister,
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and her breasts are not yet grown,
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What shall we do for our sister
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for the day she is spoken for?
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If she is a wall,
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we will build towers of silver on her.
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If she is a door,
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we will enclose her with panels of cedar. [16]
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Woman [8:10-12] - I am a wall,
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and my breasts are like towers.
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Thus I have become in his eyes
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like one bringing contentment.
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Solomon had a vineyard in Baal Hamon;
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he let out his vineyard to tenants.
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Each was to bring for its fruit
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a thousand shekels of silver.
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But my own vineyard is mine to give;
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the thousand shekels are for you, [17]
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O Solomon,
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and two hundred are for those [18]
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who tend its fruit.
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Man [8:13] - You who dwell in the gardens
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with friends in attendance,
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let me hear your voice!
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Woman [8:14] - Come away, my lover,
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and be like a gazelle
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or like a young stag
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on the spice-laden mountains.
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Notes:
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=====
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[1] In the Hebrew, the pronoun 'you' is masculine singular.
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[2] Or 'Salma'.
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[3] Possibly a member of the crocus family.
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[4] Or 'the hills of Bether'.
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[5] Or 'its inlaid interior a gift of love / from'.
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[6] The meaning of the Hebrew for this word (trans. as 'elegance')
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is uncertain.
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[7] Or 'I am' (spoken by the woman).
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[8] Or 'lapis lazuli'.
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[9] Or 'among the chariots of Amminadab'; or 'among the chariots of the
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people of the prince'.
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[10] Septuagint, Aquila, Vulgate and Syriac; Hebrew 'lips of sleepers'.
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[11] Or 'henna bushes'.
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[12] Alternative translation to 'jealousy' is 'ardor'.
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[13] Hebrew 'Sheol'.
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[14] Or 'like the very flame of the Lord'.
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[15] Alternative translation to 'it' is 'he'.
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[16] The original meaning of the metaphors 'wall', 'door' is not known.
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[17] That is, about 25 pounds weight.
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[18] That is, about 5 pounds weight.
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End of the Song of Solomon
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--
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Charter Member of the INFJ Club.
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Now, if you're just dying to know what INFJ stands for, be brave, e-mail me,
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and I'll send you some information. It WILL be worth the inquiry, I think.
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=============================================================================
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| Jon Noring | noring@netcom.com | I VOTED FOR PEROT IN '92 |
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| JKN International | IP : 192.100.81.100 | Support UNITED WE STAND! |
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| 1312 Carlton Place | Phone : (510) 294-8153 | "The dogs bark, but the |
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| Livermore, CA 94550 | V-Mail: (510) 417-4101 | caravan moves on." |
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=============================================================================
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Who are you? Read alt.psychology.personality! That's where the action is.
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