6 Where has your beloved gone,
O most beautiful among women?
Where has your beloved turned
that we may seek him with you?
2 My beloved has gone down to his garden,
to the garden bed of the spice,
to pasture his flock and to gather lilies in the garden.
3 ⌊I belong to my beloved and my beloved belongs to me⌋;a
he pastures his flock among the lilies.
Solomon’s Praise of His Beloved
4 You are beautiful, my beloved, as Tirzah,
lovely as Jerusalem,
⌊overwhelming as an army with banners⌋.b
5 Turn away your eyes from before me,
for they overwhelm me.
Your hair is like a flock of the goats
that moves down from Gilead.
6 Your teeth are like a flock of the ewes
that have come up from the washing,
all of them bearing twins,
and there is none bereaved among them.
7 Your cheeks ⌊behind⌋c your veil
are like halves of a pomegranate.
The Maiden’s Beauty Is Without Peer
8 Sixty queens there are, eighty concubines,
and maidens beyond number.
9 My dove, ⌊she is the one⌋;d e
my perfect, ⌊she is the only one⌋;f g
she is ⌊the favorite of⌋h i her mother who bore her.
Maidens see her and consider her fortunate;j
queens and concubines praise her:
10 “Who is this that looks down like the dawn,
beautiful as the moon,
⌊overwhelming as an army with banners⌋?”m
11 I went down to the orchard of the walnut trees
to look at the blossoms of the valley,
to see whether the vines have sprouted,
whether the pomegranates have blossomed.
12 I did not know my ⌊heart⌋n set me
in a chariot of my princely people.o
13p Turn, turn,q O Shulammite!r
Turn, turns so that we may look upon you!
Why do you look upon the Shulammite
as at a dance of the two armies?
About The Lexham English BibleThe Lexham English Bible contains a translation of the original languages into smooth, readable English. It also contains copious footnotes which address translation issues, instances of Old Testament quotations in the New Testament, and various textual-critical issues. This translation also indicates the use of idioms in the Greek and Hebrew text. In cases where a literal rendering of Greek or Hebrew would prevent a smooth English translation, footnotes indicate the literal English translation, accompanied by explanatory notes as necessary. |
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