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Whither is thy beloved gone,
O thou fairest among women?
Whither hath thy beloved turned him,
That we may seek him with thee?

My beloved is gone down to his garden,
To the beds of [a]spices,
To feed in the gardens, and to gather lilies.
I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine:
He feedeth his flock among the lilies.

Thou art fair, O my love, as Tirzah,
Comely as Jerusalem,
Terrible as [b]an army with banners.
Turn away thine eyes from me,
For they [c]have overcome me.
Thy hair is as a flock of goats,
That lie along the side of Gilead.
Thy teeth are like a flock of ewes,
Which are come up from the washing;
Whereof every one hath twins,
And none is bereaved among them.
Thy temples are like a piece of a pomegranate
Behind thy veil.
There are threescore queens, and fourscore concubines,
And [d]virgins without number.
My dove, my [e]undefiled, is but one;
She is the only one of her mother;
She is the [f]choice one of her that bare her.
The daughters saw her, and called her blessed;
Yea, the queens and the concubines, and they praised her.

10 Who is she that looketh forth as the morning,
Fair as the moon,
[g]Clear as the sun,
Terrible as an army with banners?

11 I went down into the garden of nuts,
To see the green plants of the valley,
To see whether the vine budded,
And the pomegranates were in flower.
12 Before I was aware, my [h]soul [i]set me
Among the chariots of my [j]princely people.

13 Return, return, O Shulammite;
Return, return, that we may look upon thee.
Why will ye look upon the Shulammite,
As upon the dance [k]of Mahanaim?

How beautiful are thy [l]feet in sandals, O prince’s daughter!
Thy rounded thighs are like jewels,
The work of the hands of a skilful workman.
Thy body is like a round goblet,
Wherein no mingled wine is wanting:
Thy waist is like a heap of wheat
Set about with lilies.
Thy two breasts are like two fawns
That are twins of a roe.
Thy neck is like the tower of ivory;
Thine eyes as the pools in Heshbon,
By the gate of Bath-rabbim;
Thy nose is like the tower of Lebanon
Which looketh toward Damascus.
Thy head upon thee is like Carmel,
And the hair of thy head like purple;
The king is held captive in the tresses thereof.
How fair and how pleasant art thou,
O love, for delights!
This thy stature is like to a palm-tree,
And thy breasts to its clusters.
I said, I will climb up into the palm-tree,
I will take hold of the branches thereof:
Let thy breasts be as clusters of the vine,
And the smell of thy [m]breath like apples,
And thy [n]mouth like the best wine,
That goeth down [o]smoothly for my beloved,
[p]Gliding through the lips of those that are asleep.

10 I am my beloved’s;
And his desire is toward me.
11 Come, my beloved, let us go forth into the field;
Let us lodge in the villages.
12 Let us get up early to the vineyards;
Let us see whether the vine hath budded,
And [q]its blossom is open,
And the pomegranates are in flower:
There will I give thee my love.
13 The mandrakes give forth fragrance;
And [r]at our doors are all manner of precious fruits, new and old,
Which I have laid up for thee, O my beloved.
Oh that thou wert as my brother,
That sucked the breasts of my mother!
When I should find thee without, I would kiss thee;
Yea, and none would despise me.
I would lead thee, and bring thee into my mother’s house,
[s]Who would instruct me;
I would cause thee to drink of spiced wine,
Of the [t]juice of my pomegranate.
His left hand should be under my head,
And his right hand should embrace me.

I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
[u]That ye stir not up, nor awake my love,
Until [v]he please.

Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness,
Leaning upon her beloved?

Under the apple-tree I awakened thee:
There thy mother was in travail with thee,
There was she in travail [w]that brought thee forth.

Set me as a seal upon thy heart,
As a seal upon thine arm:
For love is strong as death;
Jealousy is [x]cruel as Sheol;
The flashes thereof are flashes of fire,
[y]A very flame of [z]Jehovah.
Many waters cannot quench love,
Neither can floods drown it:
If a man would give all the substance of his house for love,
[aa]He would utterly be contemned.

We have a little sister,
And she hath no breasts:
What shall we do for our sister
In the day when she shall be spoken for?

If she be a wall,
We will build upon her [ab]a turret of silver:
And if she be a door,
We will inclose her with boards of cedar.

10 I [ac]am a wall, and my breasts like the towers thereof
Then was I in his eyes as one that found peace.
11 Solomon had a vineyard at Baal-hamon;
He let out the vineyard unto keepers;
Every one for the fruit thereof was to bring a thousand pieces of silver.
12 My vineyard, which is mine, is before me:
Thou, O Solomon, shalt have the thousand,
And those that keep the fruit thereof two hundred.

13 Thou that dwellest in the gardens,
The companions hearken [ad]for thy voice:
Cause me to hear it.

14 [ae]Make haste, my beloved,
And be thou like to a [af]roe or to a young hart
Upon the mountains of spices.

Footnotes

  1. Song of Solomon 6:2 Or, balsam
  2. Song of Solomon 6:4 Hebrew bannered hosts.
  3. Song of Solomon 6:5 Or, make me afraid
  4. Song of Solomon 6:8 Or, maidens
  5. Song of Solomon 6:9 Hebrew perfect.
  6. Song of Solomon 6:9 Or, pure
  7. Song of Solomon 6:10 Or, Pure
  8. Song of Solomon 6:12 Or, desire
  9. Song of Solomon 6:12 Or, made me like the chariots of Amminadib
  10. Song of Solomon 6:12 Or, willing
  11. Song of Solomon 6:13 Or, of two companies
  12. Song of Solomon 7:1 Or, steps
  13. Song of Solomon 7:8 Hebrew nose.
  14. Song of Solomon 7:9 Hebrew palate.
  15. Song of Solomon 7:9 Hebrew aright.
  16. Song of Solomon 7:9 Or, Causing the lips of those that are asleep to move (or, speak)
  17. Song of Solomon 7:12 Or, the tender grape appeareth
  18. Song of Solomon 7:13 Or, over
  19. Song of Solomon 8:2 Or, That thou mightest
  20. Song of Solomon 8:2 Or, sweet wine
  21. Song of Solomon 8:4 Hebrew Why should ye stir up? or why etc.
  22. Song of Solomon 8:4 Or, it. Or, she
  23. Song of Solomon 8:5 Or, and
  24. Song of Solomon 8:6 Hebrew hard.
  25. Song of Solomon 8:6 Or, A most vehement flame
  26. Song of Solomon 8:6 Hebrew Jah.
  27. Song of Solomon 8:7 Or, It
  28. Song of Solomon 8:9 Or, battlements
  29. Song of Solomon 8:10 Or, was
  30. Song of Solomon 8:13 Or, to
  31. Song of Solomon 8:14 Hebrew Flee.
  32. Song of Solomon 8:14 Or, gazelle

Friends

Where has your beloved(A) gone,
    most beautiful of women?(B)
Which way did your beloved turn,
    that we may look for him with you?

She

My beloved has gone(C) down to his garden,(D)
    to the beds of spices,(E)
to browse in the gardens
    and to gather lilies.
I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine;(F)
    he browses among the lilies.(G)

He

You are as beautiful as Tirzah,(H) my darling,
    as lovely as Jerusalem,(I)
    as majestic as troops with banners.(J)
Turn your eyes from me;
    they overwhelm me.
Your hair is like a flock of goats
    descending from Gilead.(K)
Your teeth are like a flock of sheep
    coming up from the washing.
Each has its twin,
    not one of them is missing.(L)
Your temples behind your veil(M)
    are like the halves of a pomegranate.(N)
Sixty queens(O) there may be,
    and eighty concubines,(P)
    and virgins beyond number;
but my dove,(Q) my perfect one,(R) is unique,
    the only daughter of her mother,
    the favorite of the one who bore her.(S)
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.(T)
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 dance(U) of Mahanaim?[b]

[c]How beautiful your sandaled feet,
    O prince’s(V) daughter!
Your graceful legs are like jewels,
    the work of an artist’s hands.
Your navel is a rounded goblet
    that never lacks blended wine.
Your waist is a mound of wheat
    encircled by lilies.
Your breasts(W) are like two fawns,
    like twin fawns of a gazelle.
Your neck is like an ivory tower.(X)
Your eyes are the pools of Heshbon(Y)
    by the gate of Bath Rabbim.
Your nose is like the tower of Lebanon(Z)
    looking toward Damascus.
Your head crowns you like Mount Carmel.(AA)
    Your hair is like royal tapestry;
    the king is held captive by its tresses.
How beautiful(AB) you are and how pleasing,
    my love, with your delights!(AC)
Your stature is like that of the palm,
    and your breasts(AD) like clusters of fruit.
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,(AE)
    and your mouth like the best wine.

She

May the wine go straight to my beloved,(AF)
    flowing gently over lips and teeth.[d]
10 I belong to my beloved,
    and his desire(AG) is for me.(AH)
11 Come, my beloved, let us go to the countryside,
    let us spend the night in the villages.[e]
12 Let us go early to the vineyards(AI)
    to see if the vines have budded,(AJ)
if their blossoms(AK) have opened,
    and if the pomegranates(AL) are in bloom(AM)
    there I will give you my love.
13 The mandrakes(AN) send out their fragrance,
    and at our door is every delicacy,
both new and old,
    that I have stored up for you, my beloved.(AO)

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.
I would lead you
    and bring you to my mother’s house(AP)
    she who has taught me.
I would give you spiced wine to drink,
    the nectar of my pomegranates.
His left arm is under my head
    and his right arm embraces me.(AQ)
Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you:
    Do not arouse or awaken love
    until it so desires.(AR)

Friends

Who is this coming up from the wilderness(AS)
    leaning on her beloved?

She

Under the apple tree I roused you;
    there your mother conceived(AT) you,
    there she who was in labor gave you birth.
Place me like a seal over your heart,
    like a seal on your arm;
for love(AU) is as strong as death,
    its jealousy[f](AV) unyielding as the grave.
It burns like blazing fire,
    like a mighty flame.[g]
Many waters cannot quench love;
    rivers cannot sweep it away.
If one were to give
    all the wealth of one’s house for love,
    it[h] would be utterly scorned.(AW)

Friends

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?
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 vineyard(AX) in Baal Hamon;
    he let out his vineyard to tenants.
Each was to bring for its fruit
    a thousand shekels[i](AY) of silver.
12 But my own vineyard(AZ) is mine to give;
    the thousand shekels are for you, Solomon,
    and two hundred[j] 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 gazelle(BA)
or like a young stag(BB)
    on the spice-laden mountains.(BC)

Footnotes

  1. Song of Songs 6:12 Or among the chariots of Amminadab; or among the chariots of the people of the prince
  2. Song of Songs 6:13 In Hebrew texts this verse (6:13) is numbered 7:1.
  3. Song of Songs 7:1 In Hebrew texts 7:1-13 is numbered 7:2-14.
  4. Song of Songs 7:9 Septuagint, Aquila, Vulgate and Syriac; Hebrew lips of sleepers
  5. Song of Songs 7:11 Or the henna bushes
  6. Song of Songs 8:6 Or ardor
  7. Song of Songs 8:6 Or fire, / like the very flame of the Lord
  8. Song of Songs 8:7 Or he
  9. Song of Songs 8:11 That is, about 25 pounds or about 12 kilograms; also in verse 12
  10. Song of Songs 8:12 That is, about 5 pounds or about 2.3 kilograms