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He Speaks:

My bride, my very own,
I come to my garden
    and enjoy its spices.
I eat my honeycomb and honey;
    I drink my wine and milk.

Their Friends Speak:

Eat and drink until
    you are drunk with love.

Another Dream

She Speaks:

I was asleep, but dreaming:
The one I love was at the door,
    knocking and saying,
“My darling, my very own,
my flawless dove,
    open the door for me!
My head is drenched
    with evening dew.”

But I had already undressed
    and bathed my feet.
Should I dress again
    and get my feet dirty?
Then my darling's hand
reached to open the latch,
    and my heart stood still.
When I rose to open the door,
my hands and my fingers
    dripped with perfume.

And I yearned for him
    while he spoke to me,
but when I opened the door,
    my darling had disappeared.
I searched and shouted,
but I could not find him—
    there was no answer.
Then I was found by the guards
patrolling the town
    and guarding the wall.
They beat me up
    and stripped off my robe.

Young women of Jerusalem,
    if you find the one I love,
please say to him,
    “She is weak with desire.”

Their Friends Speak:

Most beautiful of women,
why is the one you love
    more special than others?
Why do you ask us
    to tell him how you feel?

She Speaks:

10 He is handsome and healthy,
the most outstanding
    among ten thousand.
11 His head is purest gold;
his hair is wavy,
    black as a raven.
12 His eyes are a pair of doves
bathing in a stream
    flowing with milk.[a]
13 His face is a garden
    of sweet-smelling spices;
his lips are lilies
    dripping with perfume.

14 His arms are branches of gold
    covered with jewels;
his body is ivory[b]
    decorated with sapphires.
15 His legs are columns of marble
    on feet of gold.
He stands there majestic
like Mount Lebanon
    and its choice cedar trees.
16 His kisses are sweet.
    I desire him so much!
Young women of Jerusalem,
    he is my lover and friend.

Footnotes

  1. 5.12 milk: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 12.
  2. 5.14 his … ivory: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.

He

I have come into my garden,(A) my sister, my bride;(B)
    I have gathered my myrrh with my spice.
I have eaten my honeycomb and my honey;
    I have drunk my wine and my milk.(C)

Friends

Eat, friends, and drink;
    drink your fill of love.

She

I slept but my heart was awake.
    Listen! My beloved is knocking:
“Open to me, my sister, my darling,
    my dove,(D) my flawless(E) one.(F)
My head is drenched with dew,
    my hair with the dampness of the night.”
I have taken off my robe—
    must I put it on again?
I have washed my feet—
    must I soil them again?
My beloved thrust his hand through the latch-opening;
    my heart began to pound for him.
I arose to open for my beloved,
    and my hands dripped with myrrh,(G)
my fingers with flowing myrrh,
    on the handles of the bolt.
I opened for my beloved,(H)
    but my beloved had left; he was gone.(I)
    My heart sank at his departure.[a]
I looked(J) for him but did not find him.
    I called him but he did not answer.
The watchmen found me
    as they made their rounds in the city.(K)
They beat me, they bruised me;
    they took away my cloak,
    those watchmen of the walls!
Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you(L)
    if you find my beloved,(M)
what will you tell him?
    Tell him I am faint with love.(N)

Friends

How is your beloved better than others,
    most beautiful of women?(O)
How is your beloved better than others,
    that you so charge us?

She

10 My beloved is radiant and ruddy,
    outstanding among ten thousand.(P)
11 His head is purest gold;
    his hair is wavy
    and black as a raven.
12 His eyes are like doves(Q)
    by the water streams,
washed in milk,(R)
    mounted like jewels.
13 His cheeks(S) are like beds of spice(T)
    yielding perfume.
His lips are like lilies(U)
    dripping with myrrh.(V)
14 His arms are rods of gold
    set with topaz.
His body is like polished ivory
    decorated with lapis lazuli.(W)
15 His legs are pillars of marble
    set on bases of pure gold.
His appearance is like Lebanon,(X)
    choice as its cedars.
16 His mouth(Y) is sweetness itself;
    he is altogether lovely.
This is my beloved,(Z) this is my friend,
    daughters of Jerusalem.(AA)

Footnotes

  1. Song of Songs 5:6 Or heart had gone out to him when he spoke

The Bride Praises the Bridegroom

The Beloved

I (A)have come to my garden, my (B)sister, my spouse;
I have gathered my myrrh with my spice;
(C)I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey;
I have drunk my wine with my milk.

(To His Friends)

Eat, O (D)friends!
Drink, yes, drink deeply,
O beloved ones!

The Shulamite’s Troubled Evening

The Shulamite

I sleep, but my heart is awake;
It is the voice of my beloved!
(E)He knocks, saying,
“Open for me, my sister, [a]my love,
My dove, my perfect one;
For my head is covered with dew,
My [b]locks with the drops of the night.”

I have taken off my robe;
How can I put it on again?
I have washed my feet;
How can I [c]defile them?
My beloved put his hand
By the [d]latch of the door,
And my heart yearned for him.
I arose to open for my beloved,
And my hands dripped with myrrh,
My fingers with liquid myrrh,
On the handles of the lock.

I opened for my beloved,
But my beloved had turned away and was gone.
My [e]heart leaped up when he spoke.
(F)I sought him, but I could not find him;
I called him, but he gave me no answer.
(G)The watchmen who went about the city found me.
They struck me, they wounded me;
The keepers of the walls
Took my veil away from me.
I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
If you find my beloved,
That you tell him I am lovesick!

The Daughters of Jerusalem

What is your beloved
More than another beloved,
(H)O fairest among women?
What is your beloved
More than another beloved,
That you so [f]charge us?

The Shulamite

10 My beloved is white and ruddy,
[g]Chief among ten thousand.
11 His head is like the finest gold;
His locks are wavy,
And black as a raven.
12 (I)His eyes are like doves
By the rivers of waters,
Washed with milk,
And [h]fitly set.
13 His cheeks are like a bed of spices,
Banks of scented herbs.
His lips are lilies,
Dripping liquid myrrh.

14 His hands are rods of gold
Set with beryl.
His body is carved ivory
Inlaid with sapphires.
15 His legs are pillars of marble
Set on bases of fine gold.
His countenance is like Lebanon,
Excellent as the cedars.
16 His mouth is most sweet,
Yes, he is altogether lovely.
This is my beloved,
And this is my friend,
O daughters of Jerusalem!

Footnotes

  1. Song of Solomon 5:2 my companion, friend
  2. Song of Solomon 5:2 curls or hair
  3. Song of Solomon 5:3 dirty
  4. Song of Solomon 5:4 opening
  5. Song of Solomon 5:6 Lit. soul
  6. Song of Solomon 5:9 adjure
  7. Song of Solomon 5:10 Distinguished
  8. Song of Solomon 5:12 sitting in a setting