Song of Solomon 6–8

6YWhere has your love gone,

most beautiful of women?

Which way has he ⁱturned?

We will seek him with you.

W²My love has gone down to his garden, ^j

to beds of spice, ^k

to feed in the gardens ^l

and gather lilies. ^m

³I am my love’s and my love is mine; ⁿ

he feeds among the lilies.

M⁴You are as beautiful as Tirzah, ^omy darling,

lovely as Jerusalem,

awe-inspiring as an army with banners. ^p

⁵Turn your eyes away from me,

for they captivate me. ^q

Your hair is like a flock of goats

streaming down from Gilead. ^r

⁶Your teeth are like a flock of ewes

coming up from washing,

each one having a twin,

and not one missing. ^st

⁷Behind your veil, ^u

your brow ^vis like a slice of pomegranate.

⁸There are 60 queens

and 80 concubines ^w

and young women ^xwithout number.

⁹But my dove, ^ymy virtuous one, is unique; ^z

she is the favorite of her mother,

perfect to the one who gave her birth.

Women see her and declare her fortunate; ^a

queens and concubines also, and they sing her praises:

Y^b10Who is this ^cdwho shines like the dawn—

as beautiful as the moon,

bright as the sun,

awe-inspiring as an army with banners? ^e

W¹¹I came down to the walnut grove

to see the blossoms of the valley,

to see if the vines were budding ^f

and the pomegranates blooming.

¹²Before I knew it,

my desire put me

among the chariots of my noble people. ^g

Y^13hCome back, come back, Shulammite! ^ij

Come back, come back, that we may look at you!

MWhy are you looking at the Shulammite,

as you look at the dance ^kof the two camps? ^lm

7How beautiful are your sandaled feet, princess! ^no

The curves of your thighs are like jewelry,

the handiwork of a master.

²Your navel is a rounded bowl;

it never lacks mixed wine.

Your waist ^pis a mound of wheat

surrounded by lilies.

³Your breasts are like two fawns,

twins of a gazelle. ^q

⁴Your neck is like a tower of ivory, ^r

your eyes like pools in Heshbon

by the gate of Bath-rabbim.

Your nose is like the tower of Lebanon

looking toward Damascus.

⁵Your head crowns you ^slike Mount Carmel,

the hair of your head like purple cloth—

a king could be held captive ^tin your tresses.

⁶How beautiful you are and how pleasant, ^u

my love, with such delights!

⁷Your stature is like a palm tree;

your breasts are clusters of fruit.

⁸I said, “I will climb the palm tree

and take hold of its fruit.” ^v

May your breasts be like clusters of grapes,

and the fragrance of your breath like apricots. ^w

⁹Your mouth ^xis like fine wine ^y—

Wflowing smoothly for my love,

gliding past my lips and teeth! ^z

¹⁰I belong to my love,

and his desire ^ais for me. ^b

¹¹Come, my love,

let’s go to the field;

let’s spend the night among the henna blossoms. ^c

¹²Let’s go early to the vineyards;

let’s see if the vine has budded,

if the blossom has opened,

if the pomegranates are in bloom. ^d

There I will give you my love.

¹³The mandrakes ^egive off a fragrance,

and at our doors is every delicacy—

new as well as old.

I have treasured them up for you, my love.

8If only I could treat you like my brother, ^f

one who nursed at my mother’s breasts,

I would find you in public and kiss you,

and no one would scorn me.

²I would lead you, I would take you,

to the house of my mother ^gwho taught me. ^h

I would give you spiced wine to drink

from my pomegranate juice.

³His left hand is under my head,

and his right arm embraces me. ⁱ

⁴Young women of Jerusalem, I charge you:

do not stir up or awaken love

until the appropriate time. ^j

Y⁵Who is this ^kcoming up from the wilderness,

leaning on the one she loves?

WI awakened you under the apricot tree. ^l

There your mother conceived you;

there she conceived and gave you birth.

⁶Set me as a seal on your heart,

as a seal on your arm. ^m

For love is as strong as death; ⁿ

ardent love is as unrelenting as Sheol.

Love’s flames are fiery flames ^o—

the fiercest of all. ^p

⁷Mighty waters cannot extinguish love;

rivers cannot sweep it away.

If a man were to give all his wealth ^qfor love, ^r

it would be utterly scorned.

B⁸Our sister is young;

she has no breasts. ^s

What will we do for our sister

on the day she is spoken for?

⁹If she is a wall,

we will build a silver parapet on it.

If she is a door,

we will enclose it with cedar planks. ^tu

W¹⁰I am ^va wall

and my breasts like towers.

So in his eyes I have become

like one who finds peace. ^w

¹¹Solomon owned a vineyard in Baal-hamon. ^x

He leased the vineyard to tenants. ^y

Each was to bring for his fruit

1,000 pieces of silver. ^z

¹²I have my own vineyard. ^ab

The 1,000 are for you, Solomon,

but 200 for those who guard its fruits.

M¹³You ^cwho dwell in the gardens—

companions ^dare listening for your voice—

let me hear you! ^e

W¹⁴Hurry to me, my love,

and be like a gazelle

or a young stag

on the mountains of spices. ^f