The Bride’s Troubled Dream

1“On my bed night after night I sought him

Whom my soul loves;

I sought him but did not find him.

2‘I must arise now and go about the city;

In the streets and in the squares

I must seek him whom my soul loves.’

I sought him but did not find him.

3The watchmen who make the rounds in the city found me,

And I said, ‘Have you seen him whom my soul loves?’

4Scarcely had I left them

When I found him whom my soul loves;

I held on to him and would not let him go

Until I had brought him to my mother’s house,

And into the room of her who conceived me.”

5“I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,

By the gazelles or by the hinds of the field,

That you will not arouse or awaken my love

Until she pleases.”

Solomon’s Wedding Day

6“What is this coming up from the wilderness

Like columns of smoke,

Perfumed with myrrh and frankincense,

With all scented powders of the merchant?

7Behold, it is the traveling couch of Solomon;

Sixty mighty men around it,

Of the mighty men of Israel.

8All of them are wielders of the sword,

Expert in war;

Each man has his sword at his side,

Guarding against the terrors of the night.

9King Solomon has made for himself a sedan chair

From the timber of Lebanon.

10He made its posts of silver,

Its back of gold

And its seat of purple fabric,

With its interior lovingly fitted out

By the daughters of Jerusalem.

11Go forth, O daughters of Zion,

And gaze on King Solomon with the crown

With which his mother has crowned him

On the day of his wedding,

And on the day of his gladness of heart.”

Solomon’s Love Expressed

1“How beautiful you are, my darling,

How beautiful you are!

Your eyes are like doves behind your veil;

Your hair is like a flock of goats

That have descended from Mount Gilead.

2Your teeth are like a flock of newly shorn ewes

Which have come up from their washing,

All of which bear twins,

And not one among them has lost her young.

3Your lips are like a scarlet thread,

And your mouth is lovely.

Your temples are like a slice of a pomegranate

Behind your veil.

4Your neck is like the tower of David,

Built with rows of stones

On which are hung a thousand shields,

All the round shields of the mighty men.

5Your two breasts are like two fawns,

Twins of a gazelle

Which feed among the lilies.

6Until the cool of the day

When the shadows flee away,

I will go my way to the mountain of myrrh

And to the hill of frankincense.

7“You are altogether beautiful, my darling,

And there is no blemish in you.

8Come with me from Lebanon, my bride,

May you come with me from Lebanon.

Journey down from the summit of Amana,

From the summit of Senir and Hermon,

From the dens of lions,

From the mountains of leopards.

9You have made my heart beat faster, my sister, my bride;

You have made my heart beat faster with a single glance of your eyes,

With a single strand of your necklace.

10How beautiful is your love, my sister, my bride!

How much better is your love than wine,

And the fragrance of your oils

Than all kinds of spices!

11Your lips, my bride, drip honey;

Honey and milk are under your tongue,

And the fragrance of your garments is like the fragrance of Lebanon.

12A garden locked is my sister, my bride,

A rock garden locked, a spring sealed up.

13Your shoots are an orchard of pomegranates

With choice fruits, henna with nard plants,

14Nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon,

With all the trees of frankincense,

Myrrh and aloes, along with all the finest spices.

15You are a garden spring,

A well of fresh water,

And streams flowing from Lebanon.”

16“Awake, O north wind,

And come, wind of the south;

Make my garden breathe out fragrance,

Let its spices be wafted abroad.

May my beloved come into his garden

And eat its choice fruits!”

The Torment of Separation

1“I have come into my garden, my sister, my bride;

I have gathered my myrrh along with my balsam.

I have eaten my honeycomb and my honey;

I have drunk my wine and my milk.

Eat, friends;

Drink and imbibe deeply, O lovers.”

2“I was asleep but my heart was awake.

A voice! My beloved was knocking:

‘Open to me, my sister, my darling,

My dove, my perfect one!

For my head is drenched with dew,

My locks with the damp of the night.’

3I have taken off my dress,

How can I put it on again?

I have washed my feet,

How can I dirty them again?

4My beloved extended his hand through the opening,

And my feelings were aroused for him.

5I arose to open to my beloved;

And my hands dripped with myrrh,

And my fingers with liquid myrrh,

On the handles of the bolt.

6I opened to my beloved,

But my beloved had turned away and had gone!

My heart went out to him as he spoke.

I searched for him but I did not find him;

I called him but he did not answer me.

7The watchmen who make the rounds in the city found me,

They struck me and wounded me;

The guardsmen of the walls took away my shawl from me.

8I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,

If you find my beloved,

As to what you will tell him:

For I am lovesick.”

9“What kind of beloved is your beloved,

O most beautiful among women?

What kind of beloved is your beloved,

That thus you adjure us?”

Admiration by the Bride

10“My beloved is dazzling and ruddy,

Outstanding among ten thousand.

11His head is like gold, pure gold;

His locks are like clusters of dates

And black as a raven.

12His eyes are like doves

Beside streams of water,

Bathed in milk,

And reposed in their setting.

13His cheeks are like a bed of balsam,

Banks of sweet-scented herbs;

His lips are lilies

Dripping with liquid myrrh.

14His hands are rods of gold

Set with beryl;

His abdomen is carved ivory

Inlaid with sapphires.

15His legs are pillars of alabaster

Set on pedestals of pure gold;

His appearance is like Lebanon

Choice as the cedars.

16His mouth is full of sweetness.

And he is wholly desirable.

This is my beloved and this is my friend,

O daughters of Jerusalem.”

Mutual Delight in Each Other

1“Where has your beloved gone,

O most beautiful among women?

Where has your beloved turned,

That we may seek him with you?”

2“My beloved has gone down to his garden,

To the beds of balsam,

To pasture his flock in the gardens

And gather lilies.

3I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine,

He who pastures his flock among the lilies.”

4“You are as beautiful as Tirzah, my darling,

As lovely as Jerusalem,

As awesome as an army with banners.

5Turn your eyes away from me,

For they have confused me;

Your hair is like a flock of goats

That have descended from Gilead.

6Your teeth are like a flock of ewes

Which have come up from their washing,

All of which bear twins,

And not one among them has lost her young.

7Your temples are like a slice of a pomegranate

Behind your veil.

8There are sixty queens and eighty concubines,

And maidens without number;

9But my dove, my perfect one, is unique:

She is her mother’s only daughter;

She is the pure child of the one who bore her.

The maidens saw her and called her blessed,

The queens and the concubines also, and they praised her, saying,

10‘Who is this that grows like the dawn,

As beautiful as the full moon,

As pure as the sun,

As awesome as an army with banners?’

11I went down to the orchard of nut trees

To see the blossoms of the valley,

To see whether the vine had budded

Or the pomegranates had bloomed.

12Before I was aware, my soul set me

Over the chariots of my noble people.”

13“Come back, come back, O Shulammite;

Come back, come back, that we may gaze at you!”

“Why should you gaze at the Shulammite,

As at the dance of the two companies?

Admiration by the Bridegroom

1“How beautiful are your feet in sandals,

O prince’s daughter!

The curves of your hips are like jewels,

The work of the hands of an artist.

2Your navel is like a round goblet

Which never lacks mixed wine;

Your belly is like a heap of wheat

Fenced about with lilies.

3Your two breasts are like two fawns,

Twins of a gazelle.

4Your neck is like a tower of ivory,

Your eyes like the pools in Heshbon

By the gate of Bath-rabbim;

Your nose is like the tower of Lebanon,

Which faces toward Damascus.

5Your head crowns you like Carmel,

And the flowing locks of your head are like purple threads;

The king is captivated by your tresses.

6How beautiful and how delightful you are,

My love, with all your charms!

7Your stature is like a palm tree,

And your breasts are like its clusters.

8I said, ‘I will climb the palm tree,

I will take hold of its fruit stalks.’

Oh, may your breasts be like clusters of the vine,

And the fragrance of your breath like apples,

9And your mouth like the best wine!”

“It goes down smoothly for my beloved,

Flowing gently through the lips of those who fall asleep.

The Union of Love

10“I am my beloved’s,

And his desire is for me.

11Come, my beloved, let us go out into the country,

Let us spend the night in the villages.

12Let us rise early and go to the vineyards;

Let us see whether the vine has budded

And its blossoms have opened,

And whether the pomegranates have bloomed.

There I will give you my love.

13The mandrakes have given forth fragrance;

And over our doors are all choice fruits,

Both new and old,

Which I have saved up for you, my beloved.

The Lovers Speak

1“Oh that you were like a brother to me

Who nursed at my mother’s breasts.

If I found you outdoors, I would kiss you;

No one would despise me, either.

2I would lead you and bring you

Into the house of my mother, who used to instruct me;

I would give you spiced wine to drink from the juice of my pomegranates.

3Let his left hand be under my head

And his right hand embrace me.”

4“I want you to swear, O daughters of Jerusalem,

Do not arouse or awaken my love

Until she pleases.”

5“Who is this coming up from the wilderness

Leaning on her beloved?”

“Beneath the apple tree I awakened you;

There your mother was in labor with you,

There she was in labor and gave you birth.

6Put me like a seal over your heart,

Like a seal on your arm.

For love is as strong as death,

Jealousy is as severe as Sheol;

Its flashes are flashes of fire,

The very flame of the Lord.

7Many waters cannot quench love,

Nor will rivers overflow it;

If a man were to give all the riches of his house for love,

It would be utterly despised.”

8“We have a little sister,

And she has no breasts;

What shall we do for our sister

On the day when she is spoken for?

9If she is a wall,

We will build on her a battlement of silver;

But if she is a door,

We will barricade her with planks of cedar.”

10“I was a wall, and my breasts were like towers;

Then I became in his eyes as one who finds peace.

11Solomon had a vineyard at Baal-hamon;

He entrusted the vineyard to caretakers.

Each one was to bring a thousand shekels of silver for its fruit.

12My very own vineyard is at my disposal;

The thousand shekels are for you, Solomon,

And two hundred are for those who take care of its fruit.”

13“O you who sit in the gardens,

My companions are listening for your voice—

Let me hear it!”

14“Hurry, my beloved,

And be like a gazelle or a young stag

On the mountains of spices.”