Friends

6 Where has your belovedj gone,

most beautiful of women?k

Which way did your beloved turn,

that we may look for him with you?

She

2 My beloved has gonel down to his garden,m

to the beds of spices,n

to browse in the gardens

and to gather lilies.

3 I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine;o

he browses among the lilies.p

He

4 You are as beautiful as Tirzah,q my darling,

as lovely as Jerusalem,r

as majestic as troops with banners.s

5 Turn your eyes from me;

they overwhelm me.

Your hair is like a flock of goats

descending from Gilead.t

6 Your teeth are like a flock of sheep

coming up from the washing.

Each has its twin,

not one of them is missing.u

7 Your temples behind your veilv

are like the halves of a pomegranate.w

8 Sixty queensx there may be,

and eighty concubines,y

and virgins beyond number;

9 but my dove,z my perfect one,a is unique,

the only daughter of her mother,

the favorite of the one who bore her.b

The young women saw her and called her blessed;

the queens and concubines praised her.

Friends

10 Who is this that appears like the dawn,

fair as the moon, bright as the sun,

majestic as the stars in procession?

He

11 I went down to the grove of nut trees

to look at the new growth in the valley,

to see if the vines had budded

or the pomegranates were in bloom.c

12 Before I realized it,

my desire set me among the royal chariots of my people.a

Friends

13 Come back, come back, O Shulammite;

come back, come back, that we may gaze on you!

He

Why would you gaze on the Shulammite

as on the danced of Mahanaim?b

7 a How beautiful your sandaled feet,

O prince’se daughter!

Your graceful legs are like jewels,

the work of an artist’s hands.

2 Your navel is a rounded goblet

that never lacks blended wine.

Your waist is a mound of wheat

encircled by lilies.

3 Your breastsf are like two fawns,

like twin fawns of a gazelle.

4 Your neck is like an ivory tower.g

Your eyes are the pools of Heshbonh

by the gate of Bath Rabbim.

Your nose is like the tower of Lebanoni

looking toward Damascus.

5 Your head crowns you like Mount Carmel.j

Your hair is like royal tapestry;

the king is held captive by its tresses.

6 How beautifulk you are and how pleasing,

my love, with your delights!l

7 Your stature is like that of the palm,

and your breastsm like clusters of fruit.

8 I said, “I will climb the palm tree;

I will take hold of its fruit.”

May your breasts be like clusters of grapes on the vine,

the fragrance of your breath like apples,n

9 and your mouth like the best wine.

She

May the wine go straight to my beloved,o

flowing gently over lips and teeth.b

10 I belong to my beloved,

and his desirep is for me.q

11 Come, my beloved, let us go to the countryside,

let us spend the night in the villages.c

12 Let us go early to the vineyardsr

to see if the vines have budded,s

if their blossomst have opened,

and if the pomegranatesu are in bloomv—

there I will give you my love.

13 The mandrakesw send out their fragrance,

and at our door is every delicacy,

both new and old,

that I have stored up for you, my beloved.x

8 If only you were to me like a brother,

who was nursed at my mother’s breasts!

Then, if I found you outside,

I would kiss you,

and no one would despise me.

2 I would lead you

and bring you to my mother’s housey—

she who has taught me.

I would give you spiced wine to drink,

the nectar of my pomegranates.

3 His left arm is under my head

and his right arm embraces me.z

4 Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you:

Do not arouse or awaken love

until it so desires.a

Friends

5 Who is this coming up from the wildernessb

leaning on her beloved?

She

Under the apple tree I roused you;

there your mother conceivedc you,

there she who was in labor gave you birth.

6 Place me like a seal over your heart,

like a seal on your arm;

for loved is as strong as death,

its jealousya e unyielding as the grave.

It burns like blazing fire,

like a mighty flame.b

7 Many waters cannot quench love;

rivers cannot sweep it away.

If one were to give

all the wealth of one’s house for love,

itc would be utterly scorned.f

Friends

8 We have a little sister,

and her breasts are not yet grown.

What shall we do for our sister

on the day she is spoken for?

9 If she is a wall,

we will build towers of silver on her.

If she is a door,

we will enclose her with panels of cedar.

She

10 I am a wall,

and my breasts are like towers.

Thus I have become in his eyes

like one bringing contentment.

11 Solomon had a vineyardg in Baal Hamon;

he let out his vineyard to tenants.

Each was to bring for its fruit

a thousand shekelsd h of silver.

12 But my own vineyardi is mine to give;

the thousand shekels are for you, Solomon,

and two hundrede are for those who tend its fruit.

He

13 You who dwell in the gardens

with friends in attendance,

let me hear your voice!

She

14 Come away, my beloved,

and be like a gazellej

or like a young stagk

on the spice-laden mountains.l