5 I have entered my garden, my sister [4:9], my bride.
    I have gathered my myrrh with my spice.
I have eaten my honeycomb and my honey.
    I have drunk my wine and my milk [^Che enjoys physical intimacy with her].

Eat, friends, and drink;
yes, ·drink deeply [be intoxicated], lovers.

² I sleep, but my ·heart [mind] ·is awake [was alert].
    ·I hear [^LThe sound of] my lover knocking.
“Open to me, my sister [4:9; ^Che desires physical intimacy], my darling,
    my dove, my ·perfect [flawless] one.
My head is ·wet with [^Lfull of] dew,
    and my hair with the ·dampness [drizzle] of the night.”
³ I have taken off my ·garment [clothes]
    ·and don’t want to put it on [^Lshould I get dressed…?] again.
I have washed my feet
    ·and don’t want to get [^Lshould I get…?] them dirty again.
⁴ My lover put his hand through the ·opening [^Lhole],
    and I felt ·excited inside [aroused; warmed].
⁵ I got up to open the door for my lover.
    Myrrh was dripping from my hands
and liquid myrrh [4:14] was flowing from my fingers,
    onto the handles of the lock.
⁶ I opened the door for my lover,
    but my lover had left and was gone.
    When he spoke, ·he took my breath away [^Lmy spirit went out].
I ·looked for [sought] him, but I could not find him;
    I called for him, but he did not answer.
⁷ The ·watchmen [guards; ^Can ancient equivalent to police; 3:3] found me
    ·as they patrolled [those who make their rounds in] the city.
They hit me and ·hurt [bruised] me;
    the guards ·on the wall took away my veil [^Llifted my garments from me].
⁸ ·Promise me [I adjure you], ·women [^Ldaughters] of Jerusalem [1:5],
    if you find my lover,
·tell him [^Lwhat should you say to him? That] I am weak with love.

⁹ How is your lover better than other lovers,
    most beautiful of women?
How is your lover better than other lovers?
    Why do you want us to promise this?

¹⁰ My lover is ·healthy [radiant] and ·tan [ruddy],
    ·the best of [distinguished among] ten thousand men.
¹¹ His head is like ·the finest [pure] gold;
    his hair is wavy and black like a raven.
¹² His eyes are like doves [1:15]
    by ·springs [streams] of water.
They seem to be bathed in ·cream [milk; ^Creferring to the white of the eye]
    ·and are set like jewels [or sitting by pools].
¹³ His cheeks are like beds of spices [^Chis beard is perfumed];
    ·they smell like mounds of perfume [^Lgrowing aromatics].
His lips are like lilies
    flowing with myrrh [4:14].
¹⁴ His ·hands [or arms] are like gold ·hinges [or bars],
    ·filled with jewels [^Lset with Tarshish stones; ^Ca location in Spain; perhaps a black jet stone or golden topaz].
His ·body [or member] is like ·shiny ivory [or an ivory tusk]
    ·covered with sapphires [ornamented with lapis].
¹⁵ His legs are like large marble ·posts [pillars],
    standing on ·bases [pedestals] of fine gold.
·He is like a cedar of [^LHis appearance is like] Lebanon,
    ·like the finest of the trees [^Lchoice like the cedars].
¹⁶ His mouth is sweet [^Cto kiss],
    and ·I desire him very much [he is totally desirable].
Yes, ·daughters [women] of Jerusalem [1:5],
    this is my lover
and my ·friend [darling].

6 Where has your lover gone,
    most beautiful of women?
Which way did your lover turn?
    We will ·look [search] for him with you.

² My lover has gone down to his garden,
    to the beds of spices,
to ·feed [graze] in the gardens
    and to ·gather [pluck] lilies.
³ I belong to my lover,
    and my lover belongs to me [2:16; 7:11].
He ·feeds [grazes] among the lilies.

⁴ My darling, you are as beautiful as the city of Tirzah [^Conetime capital of the northern kingdom of Israel; the name means “pleasant”; 1 Kin. 14:17; 15:21],
    as lovely as the city of Jerusalem [^Cthe capital of the southern kingdom of Judah; Ps. 122],
    ·like an army flying flags [^Lawesome like an army under banners].
⁵ Turn your eyes from me,
    because they ·excite me too much [unsettle me].
Your hair is like a flock of goats
    streaming down Mount Gilead [4:1].
⁶ Your teeth are like a flock of sheep
    just coming from ·their bath [a washing; ^Cwhite];
each one has a twin,
    and none of them is missing [4:2].
⁷ Your ·cheeks [or temple] behind your veil
    are like slices of a pomegranate [reddish orange; 4:3].
⁸ There may be sixty queens and eighty ·slave women [concubines; ^Csecondary wives]
    and so many girls you cannot count them,
⁹ but there is only one like my dove, my ·perfect [flawless] one.
    She is her mother’s only daughter,
    the ·brightest [favored] of the one who gave her birth.
The ·young women [^Ldaughters] saw her and called her ·happy [blessed];
    the queens and the ·slave women [concubines, v. 8] also praised her.

¹⁰ Who is that young woman
    that ·shines out [^Llooks down] like the dawn?
She is as ·pretty [beautiful] as the moon,
    as bright as the sun,
·as wonderful as an army flying flags [awesome like an army under banners; v. 4].

¹¹ I went down into the ·orchard [grove] of nut trees
    to see the ·blossoms [new growth] of the valley,
to look for buds on the vines,
    to see if the pomegranate trees had bloomed.
¹² Before I realized it, my desire ·for you made me feel
    like a prince in a chariot [or placed me in the chariots of Amminadab; ^Cperhaps a well-known lover like Romeo].

¹³ ·Come back [or Turn around], ·come back [or turn around], woman of Shulam [^Cfeminine form of Solomon, both based on the Hebrew root meaning “peace”; their union brings contentment].
    ·Come back [or Turn around], ·come back [or turn around],
so we may look at you!

Why do you want to look at the woman of Shulam
as you would at the dance of two armies [^Cas at a mesmerizing sight]?

7 Your feet are beautiful in sandals,
    you ·daughter of a prince [noble daughter].
Your round ·thighs [or hips] are like ·jewels [^Lrings]
    ·shaped by an artist [^Lthe work of the hands of a craftsman].
² Your navel is like a round drinking cup
    ·always filled with [^Lthat does not lack] wine.
Your ·stomach [belly] is like a ·pile [heap] of wheat
    ·surrounded [bordered] with lilies.
³ Your breasts are like two fawns,
    like twins of a gazelle [4:5].
⁴ Your neck is like an ivory tower [^Cgrand, strong, dignified].
Your eyes are like the pools in Heshbon [^Ca beautiful area located near the Dead Sea]
    near the gate of Bath Rabbim.
Your nose is like the mountain of Lebanon
    ·that looks down on [keeping watch toward] Damascus.
⁵ Your head is like Mount Carmel [^Ca prominent, rounded, and attractive mountain],
    and your hair is like purple cloth [^Ca royal color];
    the king is ·captured [ensnared] in its folds.
⁶ You are beautiful and pleasant;
    my love, you are full of delights.
⁷ You are like a palm tree [^Ctall and slender],
    and your breasts are like its bunches of fruit.
⁸ I said, “I will climb up the palm tree
    and ·take hold of [grasp] its fruit.”
Let your breasts be like ·bunches of grapes [^Lclusters of the vine],
    the smell of your breath like apples,
⁹ and your mouth like the best wine.

Let this wine go down sweetly for my lover;
    may it flow gently past the lips and teeth.
¹⁰ I belong to my lover,
    and he desires only me [2:16; 6:3].
¹¹ Come, my lover,
    let’s go out ·into the country [^Lto the field; ^Ca private place for intimacy]
    and spend the night in the ·fields [villages].
¹² Let’s go early to the vineyards
    and see if the buds are on the vines.
Let’s see if the blossoms have already opened
    and if the pomegranates have bloomed.
There I will give you my love.
¹³ The mandrakes [^Can aphrodisiac; Gen. 30:14–16] give their sweet smell,
    and all the best ·fruits [gifts] are at our ·gates [entrance].
I have ·saved them [treasured them up] for you, my lover,
    the old and the new [^Ceverything near and dear].

³ My lover’s left hand is under my head,
    and his right arm ·holds me tight [embraces me; 2:6].
⁴ ·Women [^LDaughters] of Jerusalem [1:5],
    ·promise [I adjure you] not to awaken
or ·excite [arouse] love
    until it ·is ready [so desires; ^Clikely a warning to the women to wait for love until the right person comes along; 2:7; 3:5].

⁵ Who is this coming out of the ·desert [wilderness; 3:6],
leaning on her lover?

I ·woke [aroused] you under the apple tree
    where ·you were born [^Lyour mother conceived you];
    there ·your mother gave birth to you [^Lthe one who gave you birth conceived you].
⁶ ·Put [Set] me like a seal [^Cleaving an impression on clay, showing ownership] on your heart [^Cinside],
    like a seal on your arm [^Coutside].
Love is as strong as death;
    ·jealousy [or passion] is as ·strong [tenacious] as the grave.
·Love bursts into flames [^LIts flame is an intense fire]
    ·and burns like a hot fire [or a godlike flame].
⁷ Even much water cannot put out the flame of love;
    floods cannot ·drown [flood] love.
If a man offered ·everything [^Lall the wealth] in his house for love,
    ·people would totally reject it [or he would be completely despised].

⁸ We have a ·little [small] sister,
    and ·her breasts are not yet grown [^Lshe has no breasts].
What should we do for our sister
    on the day she ·becomes engaged [^Lis spoken for; ^Cbrothers were in charge of marriage negotiations]?
⁹ If she is a wall [^Cchaste],
    we will put silver towers on her [^Csupport and honor her].
If she is a door [^Cpromiscuous],
    we will ·protect [enclose] her with cedar boards [^Cput a stop to her sexual activity].

¹⁰ I am a wall [^Cchaste],
    and my breasts are like towers [^Cshe is mature].
So I ·was to him [or will be in his eyes],
    as one who brings ·happiness [peace; contentment].
¹¹ Solomon had a vineyard at Baal Hamon.
    He ·rented [entrusted] the vineyards ·for others to tend [or to guards],
and everyone who rented had to pay
    ·twenty-five pounds [^La thousand pieces] of silver for the fruit.
¹² But my own vineyard is mine ·to give [alone].
    Solomon, the ·twenty-five pounds [^Lthousand pieces] of silver are for you,
and ·five pounds [^Ltwo hundred] are for those who ·tend [guard] the fruit.

¹³ You who live in the gardens,
    my friends are listening for your voice;
let me hear it.

¹⁴ ·Hurry [Sneak away], my lover,
    be like a gazelle
or a young deer
    on the mountains where spices grow.