Song of Solomon 6–8

1Where has your beloved gone, O most beautiful among women? Which way has he turned? We will seek him with you.

2My beloved has gone down to his garden, to the beds of spices, to pasture his flock in the gardens and to gather lilies.

3I belong to my beloved and he belongs to me; he pastures his flock among the lilies.

4You are as beautiful, my darling, as Tirzah, as lovely as Jerusalem, as majestic as troops with banners.

5Turn your eyes away from me, for they have overcome me. Your hair is like a flock of goats streaming down from Gilead.

6Your teeth are like a flock of sheep coming up from the washing; each has its twin, and not one of them is lost.

7Your brow behind your veil is like a slice of pomegranate.

8There are sixty queens and eighty concubines, and maidens without number,

9but my dove, my perfect one, is unique, the favorite of the mother who bore her. The maidens see her and call her blessed; the queens and concubines sing her praises.

10Who is this who shines like the dawn, as fair as the moon, as bright as the sun, as majestic as the stars in procession?

11I went down to the walnut grove to see the blossoms of the valley, to see if the vines were budding or the pomegranates were in bloom.

12Before I realized it, my desire had set me among the royal chariots of my people.

13Come back, come back, O Shulammite! Come back, come back, that we may gaze upon you. The Bridegroom Why do you look at the Shulammite, as on the dance of Mahanaim?

1How beautiful are your sandaled feet, O daughter of the prince! The curves of your thighs are like jewels, the handiwork of a master.

2Your navel is a rounded goblet; it never lacks blended wine. Your waist is a mound of wheat encircled by the lilies.

3Your breasts are like two fawns, twins of a gazelle.

4Your neck is like a tower made of ivory; your eyes are like the pools of Heshbon by the gate of Bath-rabbim; your nose is like the tower of Lebanon, facing toward Damascus.

5Your head crowns you like Mount Carmel, the hair of your head like purple threads; the king is captured in your tresses.

6How fair and pleasant you are, O love, with your delights!

7Your stature is like a palm tree; your breasts are 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 the vine, the fragrance of your breath like apples,

9and your mouth like the finest wine. The Bride May it flow smoothly to my beloved, gliding gently over lips and teeth.

10I belong to my beloved, and his desire is for me.

11Come, my beloved, let us go to the countryside; let us spend the night among the wildflowers.

12Let us go early to the vineyards to see if the vine has budded, if the blossom has opened, if the pomegranates are in bloom— there I will give you my love.

13The mandrakes send forth a fragrance, and at our door is every delicacy, new as well as old, that I have treasured up for you, my beloved.

1O that you were to me like a brother who nursed at my mother’s breasts! If I found you outdoors, I would kiss you, and no one would despise me.

2I would lead you and bring you to the house of my mother who taught me. I would give you spiced wine to drink, the nectar of my pomegranates.

3His left hand is under my head, and his right arm embraces me.

4O daughters of Jerusalem, I adjure you: Do not arouse or awaken love until the time is right.

5Who is this coming up from the wilderness, leaning on her beloved? The Bride I roused you under the apple tree; there your mother conceived you; there she travailed and brought you forth.

6Set me as a seal over your heart, as a seal upon your arm. For love is as strong as death, its jealousy as unrelenting as Sheol. Its sparks are fiery flames, the fiercest blaze of all.

7Mighty waters cannot quench love; rivers cannot sweep it away. If a man were to give all the wealth of his house for love, his offer would be utterly scorned.

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 a tower of silver upon her. If she is a door, we will enclose her with panels of cedar.

10I am a wall, and my breasts are like towers. So I have become in his eyes like one who brings peace.

11Solomon had a vineyard in Baal-hamon. He leased it to the tenants. For its fruit, each was to bring a thousand shekels of silver.

12But my own vineyard is mine to give; the thousand shekels are for you, O Solomon, and two hundred are for those who tend its fruit.

13You who dwell in the gardens, my companions are listening for your voice. Let me hear it!

14Come away, my beloved, and be like a gazelle or a young stag on the mountains of spices.