The Song of Songs 5:2--6:13

The Trials of Love: The Beloved’s Dream of Losing Her Lover

The Beloved about Her Lover:

5:2 I was asleep, but my mind was dreaming.

Listen! My lover is knocking at the door!

The Lover to His Beloved:

“Open for me, my sister, my darling,

my dove, my flawless one!

My head is drenched with dew,

my hair with the dampness of the night.”

The Beloved to Her Lover:

5:3 “I have already taken off my robe – must I put it on again?

I have already washed my feet – must I soil them again?”

5:4 My lover thrust his hand through the hole,

and my feelings were stirred for him.

5:5 I arose to open for my beloved;

my hands dripped with myrrh –

my fingers flowed with myrrh

on the handles of the lock.

5:6 I opened for my beloved,

but my lover had already turned and gone away.

I fell into despair when he departed.

I looked for him but did not find him;

I called him but he did not answer me.

5:7 The watchmen found me as they made their rounds in the city.

They beat me, they bruised me;

they took away my cloak, those watchmen on the walls!

The Triumph of Love: The Beloved Praises Her Lover

The Beloved to the Maidens:

5:8 O maidens of Jerusalem, I command you –

If you find my beloved, what will you tell him?

Tell him that I am lovesick!

The Maidens to The Beloved:

5:9 Why is your beloved better than others,

O most beautiful of women?

Why is your beloved better than others,

that you would command us in this manner?

The Beloved to the Maidens:

5:10 My beloved is dazzling and ruddy;

he stands out in comparison to all other men.

5:11 His head is like the most pure gold.

His hair is curly – black like a raven.

5:12 His eyes are like doves by streams of water,

washed in milk, mounted like jewels.

5:13 His cheeks are like garden beds full of balsam trees yielding perfume.

His lips are like lilies dripping with drops of myrrh.

5:14 His arms are like rods of gold set with chrysolite.

His abdomen is like polished ivory inlaid with sapphires.

5:15 His legs are like pillars of marble set on bases of pure gold.

His appearance is like Lebanon, choice as its cedars.

5:16 His mouth is very sweet;

he is totally desirable.

This is my beloved!

This is my companion, O maidens of Jerusalem!

The Lost Lover Found

The Maidens to the Beloved:

6:1 Where has your beloved gone,

O most beautiful among women?

Where has your beloved turned?

Tell us, that we may seek him with you.

The Beloved to the Maidens:

6:2 My beloved has gone down to his garden,

to the flowerbeds of balsam spices,

to graze in the gardens,

and to gather lilies.

Poetic Refrain: Mutual Possession

The Beloved about Her Lover:

6:3 I am my lover’s and my lover is mine;

he grazes among the lilies.

The Renewal of Love

The Lover to His Beloved:

6:4 My darling, you are as beautiful as Tirzah,

as lovely as Jerusalem,

as awe-inspiring as bannered armies!

6:5 Turn your eyes away from me –

they overwhelm me!

Your hair is like a flock of goats

descending from Mount Gilead.

6:6 Your teeth are like a flock of sheep

coming up from the washing;

each has its twin;

not one of them is missing.

6:7 Like a slice of pomegranate

is your forehead behind your veil.

6:8 There may be sixty queens,

and eighty concubines,

and young women without number.

6:9 But she is unique!

My dove, my perfect one!

She is the special daughter of her mother,

she is the favorite of the one who bore her.

The maidens saw her and complimented her;

the queens and concubines praised her:

6:10 “Who is this who appears like the dawn?

Beautiful as the moon, bright as the sun,

awe-inspiring as the stars in procession?”

The Return to the Vineyards

The Lover to His Beloved:

6:11 I went down to the orchard of walnut trees,

to look for the blossoms of the valley,

to see if the vines had budded

or if the pomegranates were in bloom.

6:12 I was beside myself with joy!

There please give me your myrrh,

O daughter of my princely people.

The Love Song and Dance

The Lover to His Beloved:

6:13 (7:1) Turn, turn, O Perfect One!

Turn, turn, that I may stare at you!

The Beloved to Her Lover:

Why do you gaze upon the Perfect One

like the dance of the Mahanaim?