Old/New Testament
6 Thou fairest of women, whither went [away] thy darling? whither bowed [down] thy darling? and we shall seek him with thee. (O most beautiful of women, where did thy darling go? where did thy darling lie down? yea, we shall seek him with thee.)
2 My darling went down into his orchard, to the garden of sweet smelling spices, that he be fed there in [the] orchards, and gather lilies.
3 I to my darling; and my darling, that is fed among the lilies, be to me. (I am for my darling; and my darling, he who is fed among the lilies, is for me.)
4 My love, thou art fair, sweet and shapely as Jerusalem, thou art fearedful as the battle array of hosts set in good order. (My love, thou art as beautiful as Tirzah, and as lovely as Jerusalem, and thou art as awesome as the battle array of armies set in good order.)
5 Turn away thine eyes from me, for they made me to flee away; thine hairs be as the flocks of goats, that appeared from Gilead (thy hair is like the flocks of goats, that appeared from Gilead).
6 Thy teeth be as a flock of sheep, that went up from [the] washing; all be with double lambs, either twins, and no barren there is among them. (Thy teeth be like a flock of sheep, that went up from the washing; all of them be with double lambs, or with twins, and there is no barren among them.)
7 As the rind of a pomegranate, so be thy cheeks, without thy privates. (Like the rind of a pomegranate, so be thy cheeks, behind thy veil.)
8 Sixty be queens, and eighty be secondary wives; and of young damsels is none number. (There be sixty queens, and eighty concubines, and of young women, or of maidens, there is no number.)
9 One is my culver, my perfect spousess, one is to her mother, and is the chosen of her mother; the daughters of Zion saw her, and preached her most blessed; queens, and secondary wives, praised her. (But only one is my dove, my perfect spousess, the only daughter of her mother, yea, the chosen of her mother; the daughters of Zion saw her, and proclaimed her most blessed; queens, and concubines, praised her.)
10 Who is this, that goeth forth, as the morrowtide rising, fair as the moon, chosen as the sun, fearedful as the battle array of hosts set in good order? (Who is this, who goeth forth, like daybreak, beautiful as the moon, chosen as the sun, as awesome as the battle array of armies set in good order?)
11 I came down into mine orchard, to see the apples of (the) great valleys, and to behold, if vineries had flowered (and to see, if the vines had flowered), and if the pomegranate trees had burgeoned.
12 I knew not; my soul troubled me, for the chariots of Amminadib. (But I knew not anything for sure; and my soul troubled me, like the chariots of Amminadib.)
13 Turn again, turn again, thou Shulamite; turn again, turn again, that we behold thee. What shalt thou see in the Shulamite, but companies of hosts? (Return, yea, return, O Shulamite; return, yea, return, so that we can see thee. How all of thee love to behold the Shulamite, as she danceth before thee!)
7 Daughter of the prince, thy goings be full fair in shoes; the jointures of thy hips be as brooches, that be made by the hand of a craftsman. (Daughter of the prince, thy feet be so beautiful in thy shoes; the curves of thy hips be like brooches, that be made by the hand of a craftsman.)
2 Thy navel is as a round cup, and well-formed, that hath never need to drinks; thy womb is as an heap of wheat, beset about with lilies. (Thy navel is like a round cup, that is well-formed, and never lacketh for drinks; thy belly is like a heap of wheat, surrounded by lilies.)
3 Thy two teats be as two kids, twins of a capret. (Thy two breasts be like two kids, or two fawns, yea, the twins of a gazelle.)
4 Thy neck is as a tower of ivory; thine eyes be as [the] cisterns in Heshbon, that be in the gate of the daughter of [the] multitude; thy nose is as the tower of Lebanon, that beholdeth against Damascus. (Thy neck is like an ivory tower; thine eyes be like the pools in Heshbon, that be at the gate of Bathrabbim; thy nose is like the tower of Lebanon, that looketh toward Damascus.)
5 Thine head is as Carmel; and the hairs of thine head be as the king’s purple, joined to troughs. (Thy head is held high like Mount Carmel; and the hair on thy head is like the king’s purple, braided with ribbons.)
6 Most dear spousess, thou art full fair, and full shapely in delights. (My dear spousess, thou art so beautiful, and so shapely, and so delightfully formed.)
7 Thy stature is likened to a palm tree, and thy teats to clusters of grapes. (Thy stature is like a palm tree/Thou art stately like a palm tree, and thy breasts be like clusters of grapes.)
8 I said, I shall go up into a palm tree, and I shall take the fruits thereof. And thy teats shall be as the clusters of grapes of a vinery; and the odour of thy mouth as the odour of pomegranates; (I said, I shall go up into the palm tree, and I shall take of its fruits. And thy breasts be like clusters of grapes in a vineyard; and the aroma of thy breath is like the aroma of pomegranates;)
9 thy throat shall be as best wine. Worthy to my darling for to drink, and to his lips and teeth to chew. (yea, thy breath is like the best wine. Worthy for thy darling to drink, and flowing over my lips and teeth.)
10 I shall cleave by love to my darling, and his turning shall be to me.
11 Come thou, my darling, go we out into the field; dwell we together in towns. (Come thou, my darling, let us go out into the fields, or into the countryside; and then stay we together in the towns.)
12 Rise we early to the vinery; see we, if the vine hath flowered, if the flowers bring forth fruit, if [the] pomegranates have flowered; there I shall give to thee my loves. (Rise we up early, and let us go to the vineyard; and we shall see, if the vine hath flowered, and if the flowers have brought forth fruit, and if the pomegranate trees have flowered; and there I shall give my love to thee.)
13 [The] Mandrakes have given their odour in our gates; my darling, I have kept to thee all apples, new and eld. (The mandrakes have given their aroma at our gates; my darling, I have kept all the fruits for thee, new and old.)
8 Who may grant to me thee, my brother, sucking the teats of my mother, that I find thee alone withoutforth, and that I kiss thee, and no man despise me then? (Who shall grant me, that thou be my brother, yea, he who hath sucked at my mother’s breasts, so that if I find thee alone outside, and I kiss thee, no man shall despise me?)
2 I shall take thee, and I shall lead thee into the house of my mother, and into the (bed-)closet of my mother; there thou shalt teach me, and I shall give to thee drink of wine made sweet, and of the must of my pomegranates (yea, my pomegranate wine).
3 His left hand shall be under mine head, and his right hand shall embrace me.
4 Ye daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you greatly, that ye raise not, neither make the dearworthy spousess to awake, till she will. (Ye daughters of Jerusalem, I strongly command you, that ye raise not up, nor awaken the dearworthy spousess, until she desireth it.)
5 Who is this spousess, that goeth up from desert, and floweth in delights, and resteth on her darling? I raised thee (up) under a pomegranate tree; there thy mother was corrupted, there thy mother was defouled. (Who is this spousess, who cometh in from the desert, and who floweth in delights, and then resteth on her darling? I raised thee up under a pomegranate tree; there thy mother gave birth to thee, yea, there thy mother was in labour.)
6 Set thou me as a signet on thine heart, as a signet on thine arm; for love is strong as death, envy is hard as hell; the lamps thereof be [the] lamps of fire, and of flames. (Put thou me like a seal, or a lock, upon thy heart, yea, like a seal, or a lock, upon thy arm; for love is as strong as death, and envy is as hard as the grave; its lamps be lamps of fire, and lamps of flames.)
7 Many waters be not able to quench charity, neither floods shall oppress it. Though a man give all the chattel of his house for love, he shall despise, or reckon it, as nought. (A great many waters be not able to drown love, nor can the floods sweep it away. And even though a man might give all the possessions of his house for love, he shall reckon it as but nothing, or of no consequence.)
8 Our sister is little, and hath no teats; what shall we do to our sister, in the day when she shall be spoken to? (Our sister is little, or young, and she hath no breasts; what shall we do for our sister, on the day when she shall be spoken for?)
9 If it is a wall, build we thereon silveren towers; if it is a door, join we together with boards of cedar. (If she is a wall, then we shall build silver towers upon her; if she is a door, then we shall altogether enclose her with cedar boards.)
10 I am a wall, and my teats be as a tower; since I am made as finding peace before him. (I am a wall, and my breasts be like towers; and so I am able to find peace with him/and so I am able to bring him peace.)
11 A vinery was to the peaceable; in that city, that hath peoples, he betook it to keepers; a man bringeth a thousand pieces of silver for the fruit thereof. (Solomon had a vineyard in Baalhamon; he rented it out to guardians, or to farmers; and each of them bringeth a thousand pieces of silver to him as payment for its fruit.)
12 The vinery is before me; a thousand be of thee peaceable, and two hundred to them that keep the fruits thereof. (My own vineyard is before me; so let the thousand pieces of silver be for thee, O Solomon, and two hundred more for those who guard thy fruits.)
13 Friends harken (to) thee, that dwellest in orchards; make thou me to hear thy voice. (Friends listen to thee, thou who livest in the garden; let me also hear thy voice.)
14 My darling, fly thou; be thou made like a capret, and a calf of harts, on the hills of sweet smelling spices. (My darling, fly thou; be thou made like a gazelle, or a hart calf, on the hills of sweet smelling spices.)
4 But I say, as long time as the heir is a little child, he diverseth nothing from a servant, when he is lord of all things [when he is lord of all];
2 but he is under keepers and tutors, into the time determined of the father.[a]
3 So we, when we were little children, we served under the elements of the world. [So and we, when we were little, were serving under the elements of the world.]
4 But after that the fulfilling of the time came, God sent his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,
5 that he should again-buy them that were under the law, that we should receive the adoption of sons.
6 And for ye be God's sons, God sent his Spirit into your hearts [God sent the Spirit of his Son into your hearts], crying, Abba, Father.
7 And so there is not now a servant, but a son; and if he is a son, he is an heir by God. [Therefore now there is not servant, but son; that if son, then and heir by God.]
8 But then ye not knowing God [But then soothly ye unknowing God], served to them that in kind were not gods.
9 But now when ye have known God, and be known of God, how be ye turned again to the feeble and needy elements, to the which ye will again serve? [Now forsooth when ye have known God, yea, rather ye be known of God, how be ye turned together again to sick, or frail, and needy elements, to which ye will serve again?]
10 Ye take keep to days [Ye keep, or wait (on), days], and months, and times, and years.
11 But I dread you, lest without cause I have travailed among you [lest peradventure I have travailed in you without cause].
12 Be ye as I, for I am as ye. Brethren, I beseech you, ye have hurt me nothing [ye have nothing hurt me].
13 But ye know, that by infirmity of flesh I have preached to you [I have evangelized to you] now before;
14 and ye despised not, neither forsook your temptation in my flesh [and your temptation in my flesh ye despised not, neither forsook], but ye received me as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus.
15 Where then is your blessing [Where is therefore your blessedness, that ye had before time]? For I bear you witness, that if it might have been done, ye would have put out your eyes, and have given them to me.
16 Am I then made an enemy to you, saying to you the sooth? [Therefore am I made enemy to you, saying true thing to you?]
17 They love not you well [They love you not well], but they will exclude you, that ye follow them.
18 But follow ye the good evermore in good, and not only when I am present with you.
19 My small children, which I bear again, till that Christ be formed in you, [My little sons, whom I child, or bring forth by travail, again, till Christ be formed in you,]
20 and I would now be at you, and change my voice, for I am confounded among you [for I am confounded, or shamed, in you].
21 Say to me, ye that will be under the law, have ye not read the law?
22 For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, one of a servant, and one of a free woman [one of the handmaiden, and one of the free wife].
23 But he that was of the servant, was born after the flesh; but he that was of the free woman, by a promise.[b]
24 The which things be said by another understanding. For these be two testaments; one in the hill of Sinai, engendering into servage, which is Agar.[c]
25 For Sinai is an hill that is in Arabia, which hill is joined to it that is now Jerusalem, and serveth with her children.
26 But that Jerusalem that is above, is free, which is our mother.
27 For it is written, Be glad, thou barren, that bearest not; break out and cry, that bringest forth no children [break out and cry, thou that childest not]; for many sons be of her that is left of her husband [for many sons be of the deserted, or left woman], more than of her that hath an husband.
28 For, brethren, we be sons of promise after Isaac; [Forsooth, brethren, we be after Isaac the sons of promise;]
29 but now as this that was born after the flesh pursued him that was after the Spirit, so now.[d]
30 But what saith the scripture? Cast out the servant and her son, for the son of the servant shall not be heir with the son of the free wife.[e]
31 And so, brethren, we be not sons of the servant, but of the free wife, by which freedom Christ hath made us free.[f]
2001 by Terence P. Noble