Song of Solomon 6–8

Friends

6Where has your beloved^j gone,

most beautiful of women?^k

Which way did your beloved turn,

that we may look for him with you?

She

²My beloved has gone^l down to his garden,^m

to the beds of spices,ⁿ

to browse in the gardens

and to gather lilies.

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

he browses among the lilies.^p

He

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

as lovely as Jerusalem,^r

as majestic as troops with banners.^s

⁵Turn your eyes from me;

they overwhelm me.

Your hair is like a flock of goats

descending from Gilead.^t

⁶Your teeth are like a flock of sheep

coming up from the washing.

Each has its twin,

not one of them is missing.^u

⁷Your temples behind your veil^v

are like the halves of a pomegranate.^w

⁸Sixty queens^x there may be,

and eighty concubines,^y

and virgins beyond number;

⁹but 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

¹⁰Who is this that appears like the dawn,

fair as the moon, bright as the sun,

majestic as the stars in procession?

He

¹¹I 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

¹²Before I realized it,

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

Friends

¹³Come 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 dance^d of Mahanaim?^b

7^aHow beautiful your sandaled feet,

O prince’s^e daughter!

Your graceful legs are like jewels,

the work of an artist’s hands.

²Your navel is a rounded goblet

that never lacks blended wine.

Your waist is a mound of wheat

encircled by lilies.

³Your breasts^f are like two fawns,

like twin fawns of a gazelle.

⁴Your neck is like an ivory tower.^g

Your eyes are the pools of Heshbon^h

by the gate of Bath Rabbim.

Your nose is like the tower of Lebanonⁱ

looking toward Damascus.

⁵Your head crowns you like Mount Carmel.^j

Your hair is like royal tapestry;

the king is held captive by its tresses.

⁶How beautiful^k you are and how pleasing,

my love, with your delights!^l

⁷Your stature is like that of the palm,

and your breasts^m like clusters of fruit.

⁸I 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

⁹and your mouth like the best wine.

She

May the wine go straight to my beloved,^o

flowing gently over lips and teeth.^b

¹⁰I belong to my beloved,

and his desire^p is for me.^q

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

let us spend the night in the villages.^c

¹²Let us go early to the vineyards^r

to see if the vines have budded,^s

if their blossoms^t have opened,

and if the pomegranates^u are in bloom^v—

there I will give you my love.

¹³The mandrakes^w 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

8If 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.

²I would lead you

and bring you to my mother’s house^y—

she who has taught me.

I would give you spiced wine to drink,

the nectar of my pomegranates.

³His left arm is under my head

and his right arm embraces me.^z

⁴Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you:

Do not arouse or awaken love

until it so desires.^a

Friends

⁵Who is this coming up from the wilderness^b

leaning on her beloved?

She

Under the apple tree I roused you;

there your mother conceived^c you,

there she who was in labor gave you birth.

⁶Place me like a seal over your heart,

like a seal on your arm;

for love^d is as strong as death,

its jealousy^ae unyielding as the grave.

It burns like blazing fire,

like a mighty flame.^b

⁷Many waters cannot quench love;

rivers cannot sweep it away.

If one were to give

all the wealth of one’s house for love,

it^c would be utterly scorned.^f

Friends

⁸We 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?

⁹If 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

¹⁰I am a wall,

and my breasts are like towers.

Thus I have become in his eyes

like one bringing contentment.

¹¹Solomon had a vineyard^g in Baal Hamon;

he let out his vineyard to tenants.

Each was to bring for its fruit

a thousand shekels^dh of silver.

¹²But my own vineyardⁱ is mine to give;

the thousand shekels are for you, Solomon,

and two hundred^e are for those who tend its fruit.

He

¹³You who dwell in the gardens

with friends in attendance,

let me hear your voice!

She

¹⁴Come away, my beloved,

and be like a gazelle^j

or like a young stag^k

on the spice-laden mountains.^l