I Am My Beloved’s

The Daughters of Jerusalem

Where has your beloved gone,
(A)O fairest among women?
Where has your beloved turned aside,
That we may seek him with you?

The Shulamite

My beloved has gone to his (B)garden,
To the beds of spices,
To feed his flock in the gardens,
And to gather lilies.
(C)I am my beloved’s,
And my beloved is mine.
He feeds his flock among the lilies.

Praise of the Shulamite’s Beauty

The Beloved

O my love, you are as beautiful as Tirzah,
Lovely as Jerusalem,
Awesome as an army with banners!
Turn your eyes away from me,
For they have [a]overcome me.
Your hair is (D)like a flock of goats
Going down from Gilead.
(E)Your teeth are like a flock of sheep
Which have come up from the washing;
Every one bears twins,
And none is [b]barren among them.
(F)Like a piece of pomegranate
Are your temples behind your veil.

There are sixty queens
And eighty concubines,
And (G)virgins without number.
My dove, my (H)perfect one,
Is the only one,
The only one of her mother,
The favorite of the one who bore her.
The daughters saw her
And called her blessed,
The queens and the concubines,
And they praised her.

10 Who is she who looks forth as the morning,
Fair as the moon,
Clear as the sun,
(I)Awesome as an army with banners?

The Shulamite

11 I went down to the garden of nuts
To see the verdure of the valley,
(J)To see whether the vine had budded
And the pomegranates had bloomed.
12 Before I was even aware,
My soul had made me
As the chariots of [c]my noble people.

The Beloved and His Friends

13 Return, return, O Shulamite;
Return, return, that we may look upon you!

The Shulamite

What would you see in the Shulamite—
As it were, the dance of [d]the two camps?

Expressions of Praise

The Beloved

How beautiful are your feet in sandals,
(K)O prince’s daughter!
The curves of your thighs are like jewels,
The work of the hands of a skillful workman.
Your navel is a rounded goblet;
It lacks no [e]blended beverage.
Your waist is a heap of wheat
Set about with lilies.
(L)Your two breasts are like two fawns,
Twins of a gazelle.
(M)Your neck is like an ivory tower,
Your eyes like the pools in Heshbon
By the gate of Bath Rabbim.
Your nose is like the tower of Lebanon
Which looks toward Damascus.
Your head crowns you like Mount Carmel,
And the hair of your head is like purple;
A king is held captive by your tresses.

How fair and how pleasant you are,
O love, with your delights!
This stature of yours is like a palm tree,
And your breasts like its clusters.
I said, “I will go up to the palm tree,
I will take hold of its branches.”
Let now your breasts be like clusters of the vine,
The fragrance of your [f]breath like apples,
And the roof of your mouth like the best wine.

The Shulamite

The wine goes down smoothly for my beloved,
[g]Moving gently the [h]lips of sleepers.
10 (N)I am my beloved’s,
And (O)his desire is toward me.

11 Come, my beloved,
Let us go forth to the field;
Let us lodge in the villages.
12 Let us get up early to the vineyards;
Let us (P)see if the vine has budded,
Whether the grape blossoms are open,
And the pomegranates are in bloom.
There I will give you my love.
13 The (Q)mandrakes give off a fragrance,
And at our gates (R)are pleasant fruits,
All manner, new and old,
Which I have laid up for you, my beloved.

Lovers Reunited at Their Country Home

Oh, that you were like my brother,
Who nursed at my mother’s breasts!
If I should find you outside,
I would kiss you;
I would not be despised.
I would lead you and bring you
Into the (S)house of my mother,
She who used to instruct me.
I would cause you to drink of (T)spiced wine,
Of the juice of my pomegranate.

(To the Daughters of Jerusalem)

(U)His left hand is under my head,
And his right hand embraces me.
(V)I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
Do not stir up nor awaken love
Until it pleases.

Love Renewed in Lebanon

A Relative

(W)Who is this coming up from the wilderness,
Leaning upon her beloved?

I awakened you under the apple tree.
There your mother brought you forth;
There she who bore you brought you forth.

The Shulamite to Her Beloved

(X)Set me as a seal upon your heart,
As a seal upon your arm;
For love is as strong as death,
(Y)Jealousy as [i]cruel as [j]the grave;
Its flames are flames of fire,
[k]A most vehement flame.

Many waters cannot quench love,
Nor can the floods drown it.
(Z)If a man would give for love
All the wealth of his house,
It would be utterly despised.

The Shulamite’s Brothers

(AA)We have a little sister,
And she has no breasts.
What shall we do for our sister
In the day when she is spoken for?
If she is a wall,
We will build upon her
A battlement of silver;
And if she is a door,
We will enclose her
With boards of cedar.

The Shulamite

10 I am a wall,
And my breasts like towers;
Then I became in his eyes
As one who found peace.
11 Solomon had a vineyard at Baal Hamon;
(AB)He leased the vineyard to keepers;
Everyone was to bring for its fruit
A thousand silver coins.

(To Solomon)

12 My own vineyard is before me.
You, O Solomon, may have a thousand,
And those who tend its fruit two hundred.

The Beloved

13 You who dwell in the gardens,
The companions listen for your voice—
(AC)Let me hear it!

The Shulamite

14 (AD)Make[l] haste, my beloved,
And (AE)be like a gazelle
Or a young stag
On the mountains of spices.

Footnotes

  1. Song of Solomon 6:5 overwhelmed
  2. Song of Solomon 6:6 bereaved
  3. Song of Solomon 6:12 Heb. Ammi Nadib
  4. Song of Solomon 6:13 Heb. Mahanaim
  5. Song of Solomon 7:2 Lit. mixed or spiced drink
  6. Song of Solomon 7:8 Lit. nose
  7. Song of Solomon 7:9 Gliding over
  8. Song of Solomon 7:9 LXX, Syr., Vg. lips and teeth.
  9. Song of Solomon 8:6 severe, lit. hard
  10. Song of Solomon 8:6 Or Sheol
  11. Song of Solomon 8:6 Lit. A flame of Yah, poetic form of YHWH, the Lord
  12. Song of Solomon 8:14 Hurry, lit. Flee

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