Song of Solomon 6–8

6The other women say,

“You are the most beautiful woman of all.

Where has the one who loves you gone?

Which way did he turn?

We’ll help you look for him.”

The woman says,

²“My love has gone down to his garden.

He’s gone to the beds of spices.

He’s eating in the gardens.

He’s gathering lilies.

³I belong to my love, and he belongs to me.

He’s eating among the lilies.”

The king says,

⁴“My love, you are as beautiful as the city of Tirzah.

You are as lovely as Jerusalem.

You are as majestic as troops carrying their banners.

⁵Turn your eyes away from me.

They overpower me.

Your hair flows like a flock of black goats

coming down from Mount Gilead.

⁶Your teeth are as clean as a flock of sheep

coming up from being washed.

Each of your teeth has its twin.

Not one of them is alone.

⁷Your cheeks behind your veil

are like the halves of a pomegranate.

⁸There might be 60 queens and 80 concubines.

There might be more virgins than anyone can count.

⁹But you are my perfect dove.

There isn’t anyone like you.

You are your mother’s favorite daughter.

The young women see you and call you blessed.

The queens and concubines praise you.”

The other women say,

¹⁰“Who is this woman?

She is like the sunrise in all of its glory.

She is as beautiful as the moon.

She is as bright as the sun.

She is as majestic as troops carrying their banners.”

The king says,

¹¹“I went down to a grove of nut trees.

I wanted to look at the new plants growing in the valley.

I wanted to find out whether the vines had budded.

I wanted to see if the pomegranate trees had bloomed.

¹²Before I realized it,

I was among the royal chariots of my people.”

The other women say,

¹³“Come back to us.

Come back, Shulammite woman.

Come back to us.

Come back. Then we can look at you.”

The woman says,

“Why do you want to look at me

as you would watch a dancer at Mahanaim?”

7The king says to the Shulammite woman,

“You are like a prince’s daughter.

Your feet in sandals are so beautiful.

Your graceful legs are like jewels.

The hands of a skilled worker must have shaped them.

²Your navel is like a round bowl

that always has mixed wine in it.

Your waist is like a mound of wheat

that is surrounded by lilies.

³Your two breasts are lovely.

They are like two young antelopes.

⁴Your neck is smooth and beautiful like an ivory tower.

Your eyes are like the pools of Heshbon

by the gate of Bath Rabbim.

Your nose is like the towering mountains of Lebanon

that face the city of Damascus.

⁵Your head is like a crown on you.

It is as beautiful as Mount Carmel.

Your hair is as smooth as purple silk.

I am captured by your flowing curls.

⁶You are so beautiful! You please me so much!

You are so delightful, my love!

⁷You are as graceful as a palm tree.

Your breasts are as sweet as the freshest fruit.

⁸I said, ‘I will climb the palm tree.

I’ll take hold of its fruit.’

May your breasts be as sweet as the fruit on the vine.

May your breath smell like the tastiest apples.

⁹May your lips be like the finest wine.”

The woman says,

“May my wine go straight to you, my love.

May it flow gently over our lips as we sleep.

¹⁰“I belong to you, my love.

And you long for me.

¹¹Come, my love. Let’s go to the country.

Let’s spend the night in the villages.

¹²Let’s go out to the vineyards early.

Let’s go and see if the vines have budded.

Let’s find out whether their flowers have opened.

Let’s see if the pomegranate trees are blooming.

I’ll make love to you in the vineyards.

¹³The mandrake flowers give off their strong smell.

All of the best things are waiting for us,

new and old alike.

I’ve stored them up for you, my love.

8“I wish you were like a brother to me.

I wish my mother’s breasts had nursed you.

Then if I found you outside,

I could kiss you.

No one would look down on me.

²I’d bring you to my mother’s house.

She taught me everything I know.

I’d give you spiced wine to drink.

It’s the juice of my pomegranates.

³Your left arm is under my head.

Your right arm is around me.

⁴Women of Jerusalem, take an oath and make me a promise.

Don’t stir up love.

Don’t wake it up until it’s ready.”

The other women say,

⁵“Who is this woman coming up from the desert?

She’s leaning on the one who loves her.”

The woman says to the king,

“Under the apple tree I woke you up.

That’s where your mother became pregnant with you.

She went into labor, and you were born there.

⁶Hold me close to your heart like the seal around your neck.

Keep me close to yourself like the ring on your finger.

My love for you is so strong it won’t let you go.

Love is as powerful as death.

Love’s jealousy is as strong as the grave.

Love is like a blazing fire.

It burns like a mighty flame.

⁷No amount of water can put it out.

Rivers can’t drown it.

Suppose someone offers

all of his wealth to buy love.

That won’t even come close to being enough.”

The woman’s brothers say,

⁸“We have a little sister.

Her breasts are still small.

What should we do for our sister

when she gets engaged?

⁹If she were a wall,

we’d build silver towers on her.

If she were a door,

we’d cover her with cedar boards.”

The woman says to the king,

¹⁰“I am a wall.

My breasts are like well-built towers.

So in your eyes I’ve become

like someone who makes you happy.

¹¹Solomon, you had a vineyard in Baal Hamon.

You rented your vineyard to others.

They had to pay 25 pounds

of silver for its fruit.

¹²But I can give my own vineyard to anyone I want to.

So I give my 25 pounds of silver to you, Solomon.

Give 5 pounds to those who take care of its fruit.”

The king says,

¹³“My love, you live in the gardens.

My friends listen for your voice.

But let me hear it now.”

The woman says,

¹⁴“Come away with me, my love.

Be like an antelope

or like a young deer

on mountains that are full of spices.”