Song of Solomon 6
New Living Translation
Young Women of Jerusalem
6 Where has your lover gone,
O woman of rare beauty?
Which way did he turn
so we can help you find him?
Young Woman
2 My lover has gone down to his garden,
to his spice beds,
to browse in the gardens
and gather the lilies.
3 I am my lover’s, and my lover is mine.
He browses among the lilies.
Young Man
4 You are beautiful, my darling,
like the lovely city of Tirzah.
Yes, as beautiful as Jerusalem,
as majestic as an army with billowing banners.
5 Turn your eyes away,
for they overpower me.
Your hair falls in waves,
like a flock of goats winding down the slopes of Gilead.
6 Your teeth are as white as sheep
that are freshly washed.
Your smile is flawless,
each tooth matched with its twin.[a]
7 Your cheeks are like rosy pomegranates
behind your veil.
8 Even among sixty queens
and eighty concubines
and countless young women,
9 I would still choose my dove, my perfect one—
the favorite of her mother,
dearly loved by the one who bore her.
The young women see her and praise her;
even queens and royal concubines sing her praises:
10 “Who is this, arising like the dawn,
as fair as the moon,
as bright as the sun,
as majestic as an army with billowing banners?”
Young Woman
11 I went down to the grove of walnut trees
and out to the valley to see the new spring growth,
to see whether the grapevines had budded
or the pomegranates were in bloom.
12 Before I realized it,
my strong desires had taken me to the chariot of a noble man.[b]
Young Women of Jerusalem
13 [c]Return, return to us, O maid of Shulam.
Come back, come back, that we may see you again.
Young Man
Why do you stare at this young woman of Shulam,
as she moves so gracefully between two lines of dancers?[d]
Footnotes
- 6:6 Hebrew Not one is missing; each has a twin.
- 6:12 Or to the royal chariots of my people, or to the chariots of Amminadab. The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
- 6:13a Verse 6:13 is numbered 7:1 in Hebrew text.
- 6:13b Or as you would at the movements of two armies? or as you would at the dance of Mahanaim? The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
Song of Solomon 6
International Standard Version
The Young Women
6 Where did your beloved go,
most beautiful of women?
Where did your beloved turn,
so we may look for him with you?
The Loved One
2 My beloved has gone down to his garden,
to the beds of spices,
to graze his flock[a] in the gardens
and gather lilies.
3 I belong to my beloved, and my beloved belongs to me.
He is the one who grazes his flock[b] among the lilies.
The Lover
4 You are beautiful, my darling, like Tirzah,[c]
lovely like Jerusalem,
as awesome as an army with banners.
5 Turn your eyes from me,
for they excite me.[d]
Your hair is like a flock of goats
coming down from Mt. Gilead.
6 Your teeth are like a flock of ewes
coming up from being washed.[e]
All of them are twins,
not one has lost[f] her young.
7 Your temple[g] behind your veil
is like a slice of pomegranate.
8 There are sixty queens and eighty mistresses,[h]
and too many young women to count,
9 but my dove, my perfect one, is unique.
She’s unique to her mother,
she’s pure to the one who gave birth to her.
Young women see her and call her blessed,
queens and mistresses praise her.
The Young Women
10 Who is this who appears like the dawn,
beautiful as the moon,
bright as the sun,
awesome as an army with banners?
The Loved One
11 I went down to the walnut orchard,
to look at the green sprouts in the valley,
to see whether the vine had budded,
whether the pomegranates had blossomed.
12 Before I knew it,[i] I imagined myself
among the chariots of my noble people.[j]
The Young Women
13 [k]Return, return, Shulammite,
return, return, so we may look at you!
The Lover
Footnotes
- Song of Solomon 6:2 The Heb. lacks his flock
- Song of Solomon 6:3 The Heb. lacks his flock
- Song of Solomon 6:4 I.e. a prominent city in the northern kingdom of Israel
- Song of Solomon 6:5 Or overwhelm me
- Song of Solomon 6:6 Lit. from washing
- Song of Solomon 6:6 Lit. been bereaved of; i.e. her teeth match
- Song of Solomon 6:7 Or brow
- Song of Solomon 6:8 Or concubines; i.e. secondary wives
- Song of Solomon 6:12 Lit. I did not know; i.e. was daydreaming
- Song of Solomon 6:12 Or of Amminadib
- Song of Solomon 6:13 This v. is 7:1 in MT
- Song of Solomon 6:13 Or look at Shulamit
- Song of Solomon 6:13 The Heb. lacks you watch
- Song of Solomon 6:13 Or the dance of Mahanaim
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 1995-2014 by ISV Foundation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. Used by permission of Davidson Press, LLC.
