The Maidens to The Beloved: Why is your beloved better than others, ¹  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: My beloved ¹  is dazzling ²  and ruddy; ³  he stands out ⁴  in comparison to ⁵  all other men. ⁶ 

Solomon’s ¹  Most Excellent ²  Love Song. ³ 

The Lover to His Beloved: Like ¹  a lily among the thorns, ²  so is my darling among the maidens.

nard and saffron; calamus and cinnamon with every kind of spice, myrrh and aloes with all the finest spices. ¹ 

My lover is like a gazelle or a young stag. ¹  Look! There he stands behind our wall, gazing through the window, peering through the lattice.

The Speaker: ¹  Who is this coming up from the desert like a column of smoke, like ²  a fragrant billow ³  of myrrh and frankincense, ⁴  every kind of fragrant powder ⁵  of the traveling merchants? ⁶ 

The Beloved about Her Lover: Like ¹  an apple tree ²  among the trees of the forest, so is my beloved among the young men. I delight ³  to sit ⁴  in his shade, ⁵  and his fruit ⁶  is sweet ⁷  to my taste. ⁸