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Most beautiful of women,
    where has your lover gone?
Tell us which way your lover went,
    so that we can help you find him.

The Woman

My lover has gone to his garden,
    where the balsam trees grow.
He is feeding his flock in the garden
    and gathering lilies.
My lover is mine, and I am his;
    he feeds his flock among the lilies.

The Fifth Song

The Man

My love, you are as beautiful as Jerusalem,
    as lovely as the city of Tirzah,
    as breathtaking as these great cities.[a]
Turn your eyes away from me;
    they are holding me captive.
Your hair dances like a flock of goats
    bounding down the hills of Gilead.
Your teeth are as white as a flock of sheep
    that have just been washed.
Not one of them is missing;
    they are all perfectly matched.
Your cheeks glow behind your veil.
Let the king have sixty queens, eighty concubines,
    young women without number!
But I love only one,
    and she is as lovely as a dove.
She is her mother's only daughter,
    her mother's favorite child.
All women look at her and praise her;
    queens and concubines sing her praises.

10 Who is this whose glance is like the dawn?
She is beautiful and bright,
    as dazzling as the sun or the moon.[b]
11 I have come down among the almond trees
    to see the young plants in the valley,
    to see the new leaves on the vines
    and the blossoms on the pomegranate trees.
12 I am trembling; you have made me as eager for love
    as a chariot driver is for battle.[c]

The Women

13 Dance, dance,[d] girl of Shulam.
Let us watch you as you dance.

The Woman

Why do you want to watch me
    as I dance between the rows of onlookers?

Footnotes

  1. Song of Solomon 6:4 as breathtaking as … cities; Hebrew unclear.
  2. Song of Solomon 6:10 as dazzling as … moon; Hebrew unclear.
  3. Song of Solomon 6:12 Verse 12 in Hebrew is unclear.
  4. Song of Solomon 6:13 Dance, dance; or Come back, come back.

Where has your beloved gone,
    O fairest among women?
Which way has your beloved turned
    that we may seek him with you?(A)

My beloved has gone down to his garden,
    to the beds of spices,
to pasture his flock in the gardens
    and to gather lilies.(B)
I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine;
    he pastures his flock among the lilies.(C)

The Young Woman’s Matchless Beauty

You are beautiful as Tirzah, my love,
    comely as Jerusalem,
    terrible as an army with banners.(D)
Turn away your eyes from me,
    for they overwhelm me!
Your hair is like a flock of goats,
    moving down the slopes of Gilead.(E)
Your teeth are like a flock of ewes
    that have come up from the washing;
all of them bear twins,
    and not one among them is bereaved.(F)
Your cheeks are like halves of a pomegranate
    behind your veil.(G)
There are sixty queens and eighty concubines
    and maidens without number.(H)
My dove, my perfect one, is the only one,
    the darling of her mother,
    flawless to her who bore her.
The maidens saw her and called her happy;
    the queens and concubines praised her.(I)
10 “Who is this that looks forth like the dawn,
    fair as the moon, bright as the sun,
    terrible as an army with banners?”(J)

11 I went down to the nut orchard
    to look at the blossoms of the valley,
to see whether the vines had budded,
    whether the pomegranates were in bloom.(K)
12 Before I was aware, my desire set me
    in a chariot beside my prince.[a]

13 [b]Return, return, O Shulammite!
    Return, return, that we may look upon you.

Why should you look upon the Shulammite,
    as upon a dance before two armies?[c](L)

Footnotes

  1. 6.12 Cn: Meaning of Heb uncertain
  2. 6.13 7.1 in Heb
  3. 6.13 Or dance of Mahanaim

[Chorus]

Where has your darling gone,
you most beautiful of women?
Which way did your darling turn,
so that we can help you find him?

[She]

My darling went down to his garden,
to the beds of spices,
to pasture his flock in the gardens
and to gather lilies.
I belong to the man I love, and he belongs to me;
he pastures his flock among the lilies.

[He]

You are as beautiful as Tirtzah, my love,
as lovely as Yerushalayim,
but formidable as an army
marching under banners.
Turn your eyes away from me,
because they overwhelm me!

Your hair is like a flock of goats
streaming down Gil‘ad.
Your teeth are like a flock of sheep
that have just come up from being washed;
each of them is matched,
and none of them is missing.
Your cheeks are like a pomegranate
split open behind your veil.

There are sixty queens and eighty concubines,
as well as young women beyond number;
but my dove, my perfect one, is unique,
her mother’s only child,
the darling of the one who bore her.
The daughters see her and call her happy;
the queens and concubines praise her.
10 “Who is this, shining forth like the dawn,
fair as the moon, bright as the sun” —
but formidable as an army
marching under banners?

[She]

11 I had gone down to the nut orchard
to see the fresh green plants in the valley,
to see if the vine had budded,
or if the pomegranate trees were in bloom.
12 Before I knew it, I found myself
in a chariot, and with me was a prince.

The Chorus

So where has this love of yours gone,
    fair one?
Where on earth can he be?
    Can we help you look for him?

The Woman

2-3 Never mind. My lover is already on his way to his garden,
    to browse among the flowers, touching the colors and forms.
I am my lover’s and my lover is mine.
    He caresses the sweet-smelling flowers.

The Man

4-7 Dear, dear friend and lover,
    you’re as beautiful as Tirzah, city of delights,
Lovely as Jerusalem, city of dreams,
    the ravishing visions of my ecstasy.
Your beauty is too much for me—I’m in over my head.
    I’m not used to this! I can’t take it in.
Your hair flows and shimmers
    like a flock of goats in the distance
    streaming down a hillside in the sunshine.
Your smile is generous and full—
    expressive and strong and clean.
Your veiled cheeks
    are soft and radiant.

8-9 There’s no one like her on earth,
    never has been, never will be.
She’s a woman beyond compare.
    My dove is perfection,
Pure and innocent as the day she was born,
    and cradled in joy by her mother.
Everyone who came by to see her
    exclaimed and admired her—
All the fathers and mothers, the neighbors and friends,
    blessed and praised her:

10 “Has anyone ever seen anything like this—
    dawn-fresh, moon-lovely, sun-radiant,
    ravishing as the night sky with its galaxies of stars?”

11-12 One day I went strolling through the orchard,
    looking for signs of spring,
Looking for buds about to burst into flower,
    anticipating readiness, ripeness.
Before I knew it my heart was raptured,
    carried away by lofty thoughts!

13 Dance, dance, dear Shulammite, Angel-Princess!
    Dance, and we’ll feast our eyes on your grace!
Everyone wants to see the Shulammite dance
    her victory dances of love and peace.

Friends

Where has your beloved(A) gone,
    most beautiful of women?(B)
Which way did your beloved turn,
    that we may look for him with you?

She

My beloved has gone(C) down to his garden,(D)
    to the beds of spices,(E)
to browse in the gardens
    and to gather lilies.
I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine;(F)
    he browses among the lilies.(G)

He

You are as beautiful as Tirzah,(H) my darling,
    as lovely as Jerusalem,(I)
    as majestic as troops with banners.(J)
Turn your eyes from me;
    they overwhelm me.
Your hair is like a flock of goats
    descending from Gilead.(K)
Your teeth are like a flock of sheep
    coming up from the washing.
Each has its twin,
    not one of them is missing.(L)
Your temples behind your veil(M)
    are like the halves of a pomegranate.(N)
Sixty queens(O) there may be,
    and eighty concubines,(P)
    and virgins beyond number;
but my dove,(Q) my perfect one,(R) is unique,
    the only daughter of her mother,
    the favorite of the one who bore her.(S)
The young women saw her and called her blessed;
    the queens and concubines praised her.

Friends

10 Who is this that appears like the dawn,
    fair as the moon, bright as the sun,
    majestic as the stars in procession?

He

11 I went down to the grove of nut trees
    to look at the new growth in the valley,
to see if the vines had budded
    or the pomegranates were in bloom.(T)
12 Before I realized it,
    my desire set me among the royal chariots of my people.[a]

Friends

13 Come back, come back, O Shulammite;
    come back, come back, that we may gaze on you!

He

Why would you gaze on the Shulammite
    as on the dance(U) of Mahanaim?[b]

Footnotes

  1. Song of Songs 6:12 Or among the chariots of Amminadab; or among the chariots of the people of the prince
  2. Song of Songs 6:13 In Hebrew texts this verse (6:13) is numbered 7:1.