The Beloved about Her Lover:
5:2 I was asleep, but my mind
Listen!
The Lover to His Beloved:
“Open
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
and my feelings
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
I fell into despair
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 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
he stands out
5:11 His head is like the most pure gold.
His hair is curly
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
His lips are like lilies dripping with drops of myrrh.
5:14 His arms are like rods of gold set with chrysolite.
His abdomen
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 Maidens to the Beloved:
6:1 Where has your beloved gone,
O most beautiful among women?
Where has your beloved turned?
Tell us,
The Beloved to the Maidens:
6:2 My beloved has gone down to his garden,
to the flowerbeds of balsam spices,
to graze
and to gather lilies.
The Beloved about Her Lover:
6:3 I am my lover’s
he grazes among the lilies.
The Lover to His Beloved:
6:4 My darling, you are as beautiful as Tirzah,
as lovely as Jerusalem,
as awe-inspiring
6:5 Turn your eyes away from me –
they overwhelm
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
6:8 There may be sixty
and eighty concubines,
and young women
6:9 But she is unique!
My dove, my perfect one!
She is the special daughter
she is the favorite
The maidens
the queens and concubines praised her:
6:10 “Who
Beautiful as the moon,
awe-inspiring
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
There please give me your myrrh,
O daughter of my princely people.
The Lover to His Beloved:
6:13 (7:1)
Turn, turn, that I
The Beloved to Her Lover:
Why
like the dance of the Mahanaim?
The Lover to His Beloved:
7:1 (7:2) How beautiful are your sandaled
O nobleman’s daughter!
The curves
the work of the hands of a master craftsman.
7:2 Your navel
may it never lack
Your belly
encircled
7:3 Your two breasts are like two fawns,
twins of a gazelle.
7:4 Your neck is like a tower made of ivory.
Your eyes are the pools in Heshbon
by the gate of Bath-Rabbim.
Your nose is like the tower of Lebanon
overlooking Damascus.
7:5 Your head crowns
The locks of your hair
the king is held captive
7:6 How beautiful you are! How lovely,
O love,
The Lover to His Beloved:
7:7 Your stature
and your breasts are like clusters of grapes.
7:8 I want
and take hold of its fruit stalks.
May your breasts be like the clusters of grapes,
and may the fragrance of your breath be like apricots!
7:9 May your mouth
flowing smoothly for my beloved,
gliding gently over our lips as we sleep together.
The Beloved about Her Lover:
7:10 I am my beloved’s,
and he desires me!
The Beloved to Her Lover:
7:11 Come, my beloved, let us go to the countryside;
let us spend the night in the villages.
7:12 Let us rise early to go to the vineyards,
to see if the vines have budded,
to see if their blossoms have opened,
if the pomegranates are in bloom –
there I will give you my love.
7:13 The mandrakes
over our door is every delicacy,
both new and old, which I have stored up for you, my lover.
The Beloved to Her Lover:
8:1 Oh, how I wish you were
nursing at my mother’s breasts;
if I saw
surely
8:2 I would lead you and bring you to my mother’s house,
the one who taught me.
I would give you
the nectar of my pomegranates.
The Beloved about Her Lover:
8:3 His left hand caresses my head,
and his right hand stimulates me.
The Beloved to the Maidens:
8:4 I admonish you, O maidens
“Do not