Song of Solomon 6–8

6TH CHAPTER

^[THE CHORUS OF YOUNG WOMEN^[

¹Where did your beloved go, most beautiful of women? 

Where did your beloved turn? 

We will look for him with you. 

^[BRIDE^[

²My beloved went to his garden, 

to the beds of spices, 

to graze his flock in the gardens and gather lilies. 

³I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine. 

He is the one who grazes his flock among the lilies. 

Solomon Desires the Young Woman More Than the Rest of His Wives

^[GROOM^[

⁴You are beautiful, my true love, like Tirzah, 

lovely like Jerusalem, 

awe-inspiring like those great cities.^a

⁵Turn your eyes away from me. They enchant me! 

Your hair is like a flock of goats moving down from Gilead. 

⁶Your teeth are like a flock of sheep, 

sheep that come up from the washing. 

All of them bear twins, and not one has lost its young. 

⁷Your temples behind your veil are like slices of pomegranate. 

⁸There are 60 queens, 80 concubines,^band countless virgins, 

⁹but she is unique, my dove, my perfect one. 

Her mother thinks she is unique. 

She is pure to the one who gave birth to her. 

Her sisters saw her and blessed her. 

Queens and concubines saw her and praised her. 

The Young Woman’s Home in Shulam

^[THE CHORUS OF YOUNG WOMEN^[

¹⁰Who is this young woman? 

She looks like the dawn. 

She is beautiful like the moon, 

pure like the sun, 

awe-inspiring like those heavenly bodies. 

^[BRIDE^[

¹¹I went to the walnut grove 

to look at the blossoms in the valley, 

to see if the grapevine had budded 

and if the pomegranates were in bloom. 

¹²I did not know that I had become 

like the chariots of my noble people.^c

^[THE CHORUS OF YOUNG WOMEN^[

¹³Come back! Come back, young woman from Shulam! 

Come back! Come back so that we may look at you! 

^[BRIDE^[

Why do you look at me, the young woman from Shulam, 

as you look at the dance of Mahanaim? 

7TH CHAPTER^a

^[THE CHORUS OF YOUNG WOMEN^[

¹How beautiful are your feet in their sandals, noble daughter! 

The curves of your thighs are like ornaments, 

like the work of an artist’s hands. 

²Your navel is a round bowl. 

May it always be filled with spiced wine. 

Your waist is a bundle of wheat enclosed in lilies. 

³Your breasts are like two fawns, 

twins of a gazelle. 

⁴Your neck is like an ivory tower. 

Your eyes are like pools in Heshbon, pools by the gate of Bath Rabbim. 

Your nose is like a Lebanese tower facing Damascus. 

⁵You hold your head as high as Mount Carmel. 

Your dangling curls are royal beauty. 

Your flowing locks could hold a king captive. 

Solomon Longs for the Young Woman’s Affection

^[GROOM^[

⁶How beautiful and charming you are, my love, with your elegance. 

⁷Young woman, 

your figure is like a palm tree, 

and your breasts are like its clusters. 

⁸I thought, “I will climb the palm tree 

and take hold of its fruit.” 

May your breasts be like clusters on the vine. 

May the fragrance of your breath be like apples. 

⁹May your mouth taste like the best wine … 

^[BRIDE^[

… that goes down smoothly to my beloved 

and glides over the lips of those about to sleep.^b

¹⁰I am my beloved’s, and he longs for me. 

¹¹Come, my beloved. 

Let’s go into the field. 

Let’s spend the night among the henna flowers.^c

¹²Let’s go to the vineyards early. 

Let’s see if the vines have budded, 

if the grape blossoms have opened, 

if the pomegranates are in bloom. 

There I will give you my love. 

¹³The mandrakes^dgive off a fragrance, 

and at our door are all kinds of precious fruits. 

I have saved new and old things 

for you alone, my beloved. 

8TH CHAPTER

¹If only you were my brother, 

one who nursed at my mother’s breasts. 

If I saw you on the street, 

I would kiss you, and no one would look down on me. 

²I would lead you. 

I would bring you into my mother’s house. 

(She is the one who was my teacher.) 

I would give you some spiced wine to drink, 

some juice squeezed from my pomegranates. 

³His left hand is under my head. 

His right hand caresses me. 

⁴Young women of Jerusalem, swear to me 

that you will not awaken love 

or arouse love before its proper time! 

The Young Woman’s Love for Her Beloved

^[THE CHORUS OF YOUNG WOMEN^[

⁵Who is this young woman coming from the wilderness 

with her arm around her beloved? 

^[BRIDE^[

Under the apple tree I woke you up. 

There your mother went into labor with you. 

There she went into labor 

and gave birth to you! 

⁶Wear me as a signet ring on your heart, 

as a ring on your hand. 

Love is as overpowering as death. 

Devotion is as unyielding as the grave. 

Love’s flames are flames of fire, 

flames that come from the Lord. 

⁷Raging water cannot extinguish love, 

and rivers will never wash it away. 

If a man exchanged all his family’s wealth for love, 

people would utterly despise him. 

The Young Woman with Her Family and Her Beloved

^[THE BROTHERS^[

⁸We have a little sister, and she has no breasts. 

What will we do for our sister on the day she becomes engaged? 

⁹If she is a wall, we will build a silver barrier around her. 

If she is a door, we will barricade her with cedar boards. 

^[BRIDE^[

¹⁰I am a wall, and my breasts are like towers. 

So he considers me to be one who has found peace.^a

¹¹Solomon had a vineyard at Baal Hamon. 

He entrusted that vineyard to caretakers. 

Each one was to bring 25 pounds of silver 

in exchange for its fruit. 

¹²My own vineyard is in front of me. 

That 25 pounds is yours, Solomon, 

and 5 pounds go to those who take care of its fruit. 

^[GROOM^[

¹³Young woman living in the gardens, 

while your friends are listening to your voice, 

let me hear.… 

^[BRIDE^[

¹⁴Come away quickly, my beloved. 

Run like a gazelle or a young stag 

on the mountains of spices.