Song of Songs 6–8
For my sister-heart and hidden garden,
whose devotion is as unyielding as death,
and whose tenderness is the only seal I willingly bear.
(Unnumbered, with speaker divisions)
Daughters of Jerusalem
Where has your dear one gone,
O most beautiful of women?
Which way did your dear one turn?
Let us seek him with you.
Shulammite
My dear one has gone down to his garden,
To the beds of spice plants,
To shepherd among the gardens
And to pick lilies.
I am my dear one’s,
And my dear one is mine.
He is shepherding among the lilies.
Lover
You are as beautiful as Tirzah, my beloved,
As lovely as Jerusalem,
As breathtaking as armies around their banners.
Turn your eyes away from me,
For they overwhelm me.
Your hair is like a flock of goats
Streaming down the slopes of Gilead.
Your teeth are like a flock of sheep
That have come up from being washed,
All of them bearing twins,
And not one has lost her young.
Like a segment of pomegranate
Are your cheeks behind your veil.
There may be sixty queens
And eighty concubines
And young women without number,
But only one is my dove, my flawless one,
The only one of her mother,
The favorite of the one who bore her.
The daughters see her and call her happy;
Queens and concubines praise her:
“Who is she who shines like the dawn,
As beautiful as the full moon,
As pure as the sunlight,
As breathtaking as armies around their banners?”
Shulammite
I went down to the garden of nut trees
To see the new growth in the valley,
To see whether the vine had sprouted,
Whether the pomegranate trees had blossomed.
Before I knew it,
My desire had set me
Among the chariots of my noble people.
People of the Village
Return, return, O Shulammite!
Return, return,
That we may look upon you!
Lover (replying)
Why do you gaze upon the Shulammite?
She is like the dance of two companies!
Chapter 7
Lover
How beautiful your feet are in your sandals,
O noble daughter!
The curves of your thighs are like ornaments,
The work of an artisan’s hands.
Your navel is a round bowl.
May it never lack mixed wine.
Your belly is a heap of wheat,
Encircled by lilies.
Your two breasts are like two fawns,
Twins of a gazelle.
Your neck is like an ivory tower.
Your eyes are like the pools in Heshbon,
By the gate of Bath-rabbim.
Your nose is like the tower of Lebanon,
Looking toward Damascus.
Your head crowns you like Carmel,
And the locks of your hair are like purple wool.
The king is captivated by your flowing tresses.
How beautiful you are, and how pleasant you are,
O beloved girl, above all exquisite delights!
Your stature is like a palm tree,
And your breasts are like clusters of dates.
I said, “I will climb the palm tree
To take hold of its fruit stalks.”
May your breasts be like clusters of grapes,
Your breath as fragrant as apples,
And your mouth like the best wine.
Shulammite
May it go down smoothly for my dear one,
Softly flowing over lips that drift to sleep.
I am my dear one’s,
And his desire is for me.
Come, O my dear one,
Let us go out to the fields;
Let us lodge among the henna plants.
Let us rise early and go to the vineyards
To see if the vine has sprouted,
If the blossoms have opened,
If the pomegranates are in bloom.
There I will express my affection for you.
The mandrakes give off their fragrance;
At our doors are all sorts of choice fruits—
The new as well as the old—
O my dear one,
I have kept in store for you.
Chapter 8
Shulammite
If only you were like my brother,
Who 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;
I would bring you into the house of my mother,
She who taught me.
I would give you spiced wine to drink,
The fresh juice of pomegranates.
His left hand would be under my head,
And his right hand would embrace me.
I put you under oath, O daughters of Jerusalem:
Do not try to awaken or arouse love
Until it feels inclined.
Chorus
Who is this coming up from the wilderness,
Leaning upon her dear one?
Lover
Under the apple tree I awakened you.
There your mother was in labor with you;
There she who gave birth to you was in labor.
Place me as a seal upon your heart,
As a seal upon your arm,
For love is as strong as death,
And exclusive devotion as unyielding as the grave.
Its flames are a blazing fire,
The very flame of Jah.
Surging waters cannot extinguish love,
Nor can rivers wash it away.
If a man were to offer all the wealth of his house for love,
He would be utterly despised.
Brothers
We have a little sister,
And she has no breasts.
What will we do for our sister
On the day she is spoken for?
If she is a wall,
We will build upon her a battlement of silver.
But if she is a door,
We will board her up with a cedar plank.
Shulammite
I am a wall,
And my breasts are like towers.
So in his eyes I have become
As one who finds peace.
Solomon had a vineyard in Baal-hamon;
He entrusted the vineyard to caretakers.
Each one would bring in a thousand pieces of silver for its fruit.
I have my own vineyard at my disposal.
The thousand pieces of silver belong to you, O Solomon,
And two hundred to those who care for its fruit.
Lover
O you who are dwelling in the gardens,
The companions listen for your voice.
Let me hear it.
Shulammite
Hurry, my dear one,
And be swift like a gazelle
Or a young stag
Upon the mountains of spices.
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