How beautiful art thou, my love, how beautiful art thou! thy eyes are doves’ eyes, besides what is hid within. Thy hair is as flocks of goats, which come up from mount Galaad.

²Thy teeth as flocks of sheep, that are shorn, which come up from the washing, all with twins, and there is none barren among them.

³Thy lips are as a scarlet lace: and thy speech sweet. Thy cheeks are as a piece of a pomegranate, besides that which lieth hid within.

⁴Thy neck, is as the tower of David, which is built with bulwarks: a thousand bucklers hang upon it, all the armour of valiant men.

⁵Thy two breasts like two young roes that are twins, which feed among the lilies.

⁶Till the day break, and the shadows retire, I will go to the mountain of myrrh, and to the hill of frankincense.

⁷Thou art all fair, O my love, and there is not a spot in thee.

⁸Come from Libanus, my spouse, come from Libanus, come: thou shalt be crowned from the top of Amana, from the top of Sanir and Hermon, from the dens of the lions, from the mountains of the leopards.

⁹Thou hast wounded my heart, my sister, my spouse, thou hast wounded my heart with one of thy eyes, and with one hair of thy neck.

¹⁰How beautiful are thy breasts, my sister, my spouse! thy breasts are more beautiful than wine, and the sweet smell of thy ointments above all aromatical spices.

¹¹Thy lips, my spouse, are as a dropping honeycomb, honey and milk are under thy tongue; and the smell of thy garments, as the smell of frankincense.

¹²My sister, my spouse, is a garden enclosed, a garden enclosed, a fountain sealed up.

¹³Thy plants are a paradise of pomegranates with the fruits of the orchard. Cypress with spikenard.

¹⁴Spikenard and saffron, sweet cane and cinnamon, with all the trees of Libanus, myrrh and aloes with all the chief perfumes.

¹⁵The fountain of gardens: the well of living waters, which run with a strong stream from Libanus.

¹⁶Arise, O north wind, and come, O south wind, blow through my garden, and let the aromatical spices thereof flow.

Chapter 5

Let my beloved come into his garden, and eat the fruit of his apple trees. I am come into my garden, O my sister, my spouse, I have gathered my myrrh, with my aromatical spices: I have eaten the honeycomb with my honey, I have drunk my wine with my milk: eat, O friends, and drink, and be inebriated, my dearly beloved.

²I sleep, and my heart watcheth: the voice of my beloved knocking: Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my undefiled: for my head is full of dew, and my locks of the drops of the nights.

³I have put off my garment, how shall I put it on? I have washed my feet, how shall I defile them?

⁴My beloved put his hand through the key hole, and my bowels were moved at his touch.

⁵I arose up to open to my beloved: my hands dropped with myrrh, and my fingers were full of the choicest myrrh.

⁶I opened the bolt of my door to my beloved: but he had turned aside, and was gone. My soul melted when he spoke: I sought him, and found him not: I called, and he did not answer me.

⁷The keepers that go about the city found me: they struck me: and wounded me: the keepers of the walls took away my veil from me.

⁸I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, if you find my beloved, that you tell him that I languish with love.

⁹What manner of one is thy beloved of the beloved, O thou most beautiful among women? what manner of one is thy beloved of the beloved, that thou hast so adjured us?

¹⁰My beloved is white and ruddy, chosen out of thousands.

¹¹His head is as the finest gold: his locks as branches of palm trees, black as a raven.

¹²His eyes as doves upon brooks of waters, which are washed with milk, and sit beside the plentiful streams.

¹³His cheeks are as beds of aromatical spices set by the perfumers. His lips are as lilies dropping choice myrrh.

¹⁴His hands are turned and as of gold, full of hyacinths. His belly as of ivory, set with sapphires.

¹⁵His legs as pillars of marble, that are set upon bases of gold. His form as of Libanus, excellent as the cedars.

¹⁶His throat most sweet, and he is all lovely: such is my beloved, and he is my friend, O ye daughters of Jerusalem.

¹⁷Whither is thy beloved gone, O thou most beautiful among women? whither is thy beloved turned aside, and we will seek him with thee?

Chapter 6

My beloved is gone down into his garden, to the bed of aromatical spices, to feed in the gardens, and to gather lilies.

²I to my beloved, and my beloved to me, who feedeth among the lilies.

³Thou art beautiful, O my love, sweet and comely as Jerusalem terrible as an army set in array.

⁴Turn away thy eyes from me, for they have made me flee away. Thy hair is as a flock of goats, that appear from Galaad.

⁵Thy teeth as a flock of sheep, which come up from the washing, all with twins, and there is none barren among them.

⁶Thy cheeks are as the bark of a pomegranate, beside what is hidden within thee.

⁷There are threescore queens, and fourscore concubines, and young maidens without number.

⁸One is my dove, my perfect one is but one, she is the only one of her mother, the chosen of her that bore her. The daughters saw her, and declared her most blessed: the queens and concubines, and they praised her.

⁹Who is she that cometh forth as the morning rising, fair as the moon, bright as the sun, terrible as an army set in array?

¹⁰I went down into the garden of nuts, to see the fruits of the valleys, and to look if the vineyard had flourished, and the pomegranates budded.

¹¹I knew not: my soul troubled me for the chariots of Aminadab.

¹²Return, return, O Sulamitess: return, return that we may behold thee.

Chapter 7

What shalt thou see in the Sulamitess but the companies of camps? How beautiful are thy steps in shoes, O prince’s daughter! The joints of thy thighs are like jewels, that are made by the hand of a skilful workman.

²Thy navel is like a round bowl never wanting cups. Thy belly is like a heap of wheat, set about with lilies.

³Thy two breasts are like two young roes that are twins.

⁴Thy neck as a tower of ivory. Thy eyes like the fishpools in Hesebon, which are in the gate of the daughter of the multitude. Thy nose is as the tower of Libanus, that looketh toward Damascus.

⁵Thy head is like Carmel: and the hairs of thy head as the purple of the king bound in the channels.

⁶How beautiful art thou, and how comely, my dearest, in delights!

⁷Thy stature is like to a palm tree, and thy breasts to clusters of grapes.

⁸I said: I will go up into the palm tree, and will take hold of the fruit thereof: and thy breasts shall be as the clusters of the vine: and the odour of thy mouth like apples.

⁹Thy throat like the best wine, worthy for my beloved to drink, and for his lips and his teeth to ruminate.

¹⁰I to my beloved, and his turning is towards me.

¹¹Come, my beloved, let us go forth into the field, let us abide in the villages.

¹²Let us get up early to the vineyards, let us see if the vineyard flourish, if the flowers be ready to bring forth fruits, if the pomegranates flourish: there will I give thee my breasts.

¹³The mandrakes give a smell. In our gates are all fruits: the new and the old, my beloved, I have kept for thee.

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