for she is more profitable than silver,
and her revenue is better than gold.

She is more precious than rubies: and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her.

She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and happy is every one that retaineth her.

Forsake her not, and she shall preserve thee: love her, and she shall keep thee.

Exalt her, and she shall promote thee: she shall bring thee to honour, when thou dost embrace her.

She shall give to thine head an ornament of grace: a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee.

Take fast hold of instruction; let her not go: keep her; for she is thy life.

But in the end she is bitter as wormwood, Sharp as a two-edged sword.

So that she findeth not the level path of life: Her ways are unstable, and'she knoweth it not.

[She is] a deer of love and a doe of grace; may her breasts satisfy you {always}; by her love may you be intoxicated continually.

She hath no guide, no teacher, no leader:

She doth prepare in summer her bread, She hath gathered in harvest her food.

A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,

{When you walk}, she will lead you, {When you lie down}, she will watch over you, and [when] you awake, she will converse [with] you.

Do not desire her beauty in your heart; may she not capture you with her eyelashes.

She will keep you from a forbidden woman,
a stranger with her flattering talk.

Suddenly a woman came out to meet him! She was dressed like a prostitute and with secret intent.

(She is loud and stubborn; her feet abide not in her house:

Now is she without, now in the streets, and lieth in wait at every corner.)

So she caught him, and kissed him, and with an impudent face said unto him,

With her much fair speech she caused him to yield, with the flattering of her lips she forced him.

so long till she hath wounded his liver with her dart: like as if a bird hasted to the snare, not knowing that the peril of his life lieth thereupon.

For she hath cast down many wounded: yea, many strong men have been slain by her.

She standeth in the top of high places, by the way in the places of the paths.

She crieth at the gates, at the entry of the city, at the coming in at the doors.

"It is you, O ye men," sayeth she, "whom I call! Unto you, O ye children of men, lift I up my voice.

Wisdom hath builded her house, she hath hewn out her seven pillars:

She hath killed her beasts; she hath mingled her wine; she hath also furnished her table.

She hath sent forth her maidens: she crieth upon the highest places of the city,

Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither: as for him that wanteth understanding, she saith to him,

A foolish woman is clamorous: she is simple, and knoweth nothing.

For she sitteth at the door of her house, on a seat in the high places of the city,

Crying out to those who go by, going straight on their way, she says:

Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither: and as for him that wanteth understanding, she saith to him,

A ring of gold in the nose of a swine, a fair woman and she departed from discernment

A virtuous woman is a crown to her husband: but she that maketh ashamed is as rottenness in his bones.

The words of the wicked lie in wait to shed innocent blood, but the words of the upright will deliver them.

Wisdom resides in the heart of the discerning;
she is known even among fools.

[May] a man meet a she-bear robbed of offspring and not a fool in his folly.

He withholding his words will shew knowledge: I man of understanding is a cool spirit

A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.

Shew not thyself friendly with an angry man, And with a man of fury go not in,

Hearken unto thy father that begat thee, and despise not thy mother when she is old.

Thy father and thy mother shall be glad, and she that bare thee shall rejoice.

She also lieth in wait as for a prey, and increaseth the transgressors among men.

Whoever attempts to restrain her [criticism] might as well try to stop the wind,
And grasps oil with his right hand.

The eye which makes sport of a father, and sees no value in a mother when she is old will be rooted out by the ravens of the valley, and be food for the young eagles.

Such is the way of an adulterous woman; she eateth, and wipeth her mouth, and saith, I have done no wickedness.

Under three things, a land is stirred, yea, under four, she cannot bear up:

For an odious woman when she is married; and an handmaid that is heir to her mistress.

The lizard taketh hold with her hands, Yet is she in kings palaces.

An excellent woman [one who is spiritual, capable, intelligent, and virtuous], who is he who can find her?
Her value is more precious than jewels and her worth is far above rubies or pearls.

She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life.

She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands.

She is like the merchants' ships; she bringeth her food from afar.

She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens.

She considereth a field, and buyeth it: with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard.

She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms.

She perceiveth that her merchandise is good: her candle goeth not out by night.

She layeth her hands to the spindle, and her hands hold the distaff.

She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy.

She is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her household are clothed with scarlet.

She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; her clothing is silk and purple.

She maketh fine linen, and selleth it; and delivereth girdles unto the merchant.

Strength and honour are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come.

She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness.

She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness.

Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised.

Give her credit for what she has accomplished, and let her works praise her in the city gates.

For wisdom is a defense, money is a defence, And the advantage of the knowledge of wisdom is, She reviveth her possessors.

All these things have I proved because of wisdom: For I thought to be wise, but she went farther from me than she was before;

And I found, that a woman is bitterer than death: for she is a very angle, her heart is a net, and her hands are chains. Who so pleaseth God shall escape from her, but the sinner will be taken with her.

Wish the king no evil in thy thought, and speak no hurt of the rich in thy privy chamber; for a bird of the air shall betray thy voice, and with her feathers shall she betray thy words.

(The Shulammite Bride)
“May he kiss me with the kisses of his mouth!” [Solomon arrives, she turns to him, saying,]
“For your love is better than wine.

“The aroma of your oils is fragrant and pleasing;
Your name is perfume poured out;
Therefore the maidens love you.

“Do not gaze at me because I am deeply tanned,
[I have worked in] the sun; it has left its mark on me.
My mother’s sons were angry with me;
They made me keeper of the vineyards,
But my own vineyard (my complexion) I have not kept.”

“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 is veiled
Beside the flocks of your companions?”

(The Shulammite Bride)
“While the king was at his table,
My perfume (Solomon) sent forth [his] fragrance [surrounding me].

(The Shulammite Bride)
“Behold, how fair and handsome you are, my beloved;
And so delightful!
Our arbor is green and luxuriant.

“I am the rose [of the plain] of Sharon,
The lily of the valleys [that grows in deep places].”

I have adjured you, daughters of Jerusalem, By the roes or by the hinds of the field, Stir not up nor wake the love till she please!

(The Shulammite Bride)
“Listen! My beloved!
Behold, he comes,
Climbing on the mountains,
Leaping and running on the hills!

(The Shulammite Bride)
“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,
Return quickly, my beloved, and be like a gazelle
Or a young stag on the mountains of Bether [which separate us].” Cross references: Song of Solomon 2:6 : Deut 33:27; Matt 28:20 Song of Solomon 2:8 : John 10:27 Song of Solomon 2:16 : Matt 10:32; Acts 4:12 end of crossrefs

(The Shulammite Bride)“On my bed night after night [I dreamed that] I sought the one
Whom my soul loves;
I sought him but did not find him.

{Scarcely had I passed} by them when I found him whom my {heart} loves. I held him and I would not let him go until I brought him to the house of my mother, into the bedroom chamber of she who conceived me.

I have adjured you, daughters of Jerusalem, By the roes or by the hinds of the field, Stir not up nor wake the love till she please!

Who is this, she that cometh up from the wilderness Like pillars of smoke, Perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, With all powders of the merchant? ...

(The Shulammite Bride)
“Awake, O north wind,
And come, south wind [blow softly upon my garden];
Make my garden breathe out fragrance, [for the one in whom my soul delights],
Let its spices flow forth.
Let my beloved come into his garden
And eat its choicest fruits.” Cross references: Song of Solomon 4:7 : John 14:18; Eph 5:27 Song of Solomon 4:8 : 2 Cor 11:2, 3 Song of Solomon 4:10 : John 15:9; Rom 8:35 Song of Solomon 4:13 : John 15:5; Eph 5:9 Song of Solomon 4:15 : John 4:10; 7:37, 38 end of crossrefs

(The Bridegroom)“I have come into my garden, my sister, my [promised] bride;
I have gathered my myrrh along with my balsam and spice [from your sweet words].
I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey;
I have drunk my wine with my milk.
Eat, friends;
Drink and drink deeply, O lovers.”

SHEI, was sleeping, but, my heart, was awake, - The voice of my beloved - knocking! Open to me, my sister, my fair one, my dove, my perfect one, for, my head, is filled with dew, my locks, with the moisture of the night.

(The Shulammite Bride)
“My beloved is exquisitely handsome and ruddy,
Outstanding among ten thousand.

(The Shulammite Bride)
“My beloved has gone down to his garden,
To the beds of balsam,
To feed his flock in the gardens
And gather lilies.

My dove, my undefiled is but one; she is the only one of her mother, she is the choice one of her that bare her. The daughters saw her, and blessed her; yea, the queens and the concubines, and they praised her.

Who is she that looketh forth as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners?

Turn again, turn again, O thou Shulamite; turn again, turn again, that we may look upon thee. What pleasure have ye more in the Shulamite, than when she danceth among the men of war?

(The Shulammite Bride)“It goes down smoothly and sweetly for my beloved,
Gliding gently over his lips while he sleeps.
“I am my beloved’s,
And his desire is for me.

“Come, my beloved, let us go out into the country,
Let us spend the night in the villages.

I lead thee, I bring thee in unto my mother's house, She doth teach me, I cause thee to drink of the perfumed wine, Of the juice of my pomegranate,

“Let his left hand be under my head
And his right hand embrace me.”