The Maidens about His Beloved: Who is this coming up from the desert, leaning on her beloved? The Beloved to Her Lover: Under the apple tree I aroused you; ¹  there your mother conceived you, there she who bore you was in labor of childbirth. ² 

The Lover to His Beloved: Your stature ¹  is like a palm tree, ²  and your breasts are like clusters of grapes. ³ 

The Lover to His Beloved: O you who stay in the gardens, my companions are listening attentively ¹  for your voice; let me be the one to ²  hear it! ³ 

Scarcely ¹  had I passed them by when I found my beloved! I held onto him ²  tightly and would not let him go ³  until I brought him to my mother’s house, ⁴  to the bedroom chamber ⁵  of the one who conceived me.

The Beloved to Her Lover: I am a ¹  meadow flower ²  from Sharon, ³  a lily ⁴  from the valleys.

Your two breasts are like two fawns, twins of a gazelle.

Your lips drip sweetness like the honeycomb, my bride, honey and milk are under your tongue. The fragrance of your garments is like the fragrance of Lebanon.

Turn your eyes away from me – they overwhelm ¹  me! Your hair is like a flock of goats descending from Mount Gilead.

Your teeth are like a flock of sheep coming up from the washing; each has its twin; not one of them is missing.

The Beloved to Her Lover: Tell me, O you whom my heart ¹  loves, where do you pasture your sheep? Where do you rest your sheep during the midday heat? Tell me lest ²  I wander around ³  beside the flocks of your companions!

The Beloved to Her Lover: ¹  Oh, how I wish you ²  would kiss me passionately! ³  For your lovemaking ⁴  is more delightful ⁵  than wine. ⁶ 

The Beloved about Her Lover: All night long ¹  on my bed ²  I longed for ³  my lover. ⁴  I longed for ⁵  him but he never appeared. ⁶ 

The night watchmen found me – the ones who guard the city walls. ¹  “Have you seen my beloved?” ² 

The Lover to His Beloved: You are a locked garden, ¹  my sister, my bride; you are an enclosed spring, a sealed-up fountain.

His eyes are like doves by streams of water, washed in milk, mounted like jewels.

The Beloved: I was a wall, and my breasts were like fortress towers. ¹  Then I found favor ²  in his eyes. ³ 

The Beloved about Her Lover: I was asleep, but my mind ¹  was dreaming. ²  Listen! ³  My lover ⁴  is knocking ⁵  at the door! ⁶  The Lover to His Beloved: “Open ⁷  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.”

But she is unique! ¹  My dove, my perfect one! She is the special daughter ²  of her mother, she is the favorite ³  of the one who bore her. The maidens ⁴  saw her and complimented her; ⁵  the queens and concubines praised her:

All of them are skilled with a sword, ¹  well-trained in the art of warfare. ²  Each has his sword at his side, to guard against the terrors of the night.

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!