The Triumph of Love: The Beloved Praises Her Lover

The Beloved to the Maidens:

5:8 O maidens of Jerusalem, I command you—

If you find my beloved, what will you tell him?

Tell him that I am lovesick!19

The Maidens to The Beloved:

5:9 Why is your beloved better than others,20

O most beautiful of women?

Why is your beloved better than others,

that you would command us in this manner?

The Beloved to the Maidens:

5:10 My beloved21 is dazzling22 and ruddy;23

he stands out24 in comparison to25 all other men.26

5:11 His head is like the most pure gold.27

His hair is curly28—black like a raven.

5:12 His eyes are like doves by streams of water,

washed in milk, mounted like jewels.

5:13 His cheeks are like garden beds full of balsam trees29 yielding30 perfume.

His lips are like lilies dripping with drops of myrrh.

5:14 His arms are like rods of gold set with chrysolite.

His abdomen31 is like polished ivory inlaid with sapphires.

5:15 His legs are like pillars of marble set on bases of pure gold.

His appearance is like Lebanon, choice as its cedars.

5:16 His mouth is very sweet;32

he is totally desirable.33

This is my beloved!

This is my companion, O maidens of Jerusalem!