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Young Women of Jerusalem

Where has your lover gone,
    O woman of rare beauty?
Which way did he turn
    so we can help you find him?

Young Woman

My lover has gone down to his garden,
    to his spice beds,
to browse in the gardens
    and gather the lilies.
I am my lover’s, and my lover is mine.
    He browses among the lilies.

Young Man

You are beautiful, my darling,
    like the lovely city of Tirzah.
Yes, as beautiful as Jerusalem,
    as majestic as an army with billowing banners.
Turn your eyes away,
    for they overpower me.
Your hair falls in waves,
    like a flock of goats winding down the slopes of Gilead.
Your teeth are as white as sheep
    that are freshly washed.
Your smile is flawless,
    each tooth matched with its twin.[a]
Your cheeks are like rosy pomegranates
    behind your veil.

Even among sixty queens
    and eighty concubines
    and countless young women,
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

  1. 6:6 Hebrew Not one is missing; each has a twin.
  2. 6:12 Or to the royal chariots of my people, or to the chariots of Amminadab. The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
  3. 6:13a Verse 6:13 is numbered 7:1 in Hebrew text.
  4. 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.

Mutual Delight in Each Other

(The Chorus)

“Where has your beloved gone,
O most beautiful among women?
Where is your beloved hiding himself,
That we may seek him with you?”

(The Shulammite Bride)


“My beloved has gone down to his garden,
To the beds of balsam,
To feed his flock in the gardens
And gather lilies.

“I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine,
He who feeds his flock among the lilies.”

(The Bridegroom)


“You are as beautiful as [a]Tirzah, my darling,
As lovely as Jerusalem,
As majestic as an army with banners!

“Turn your [flashing] eyes away from me,
For they have confused and overcome me;
Your hair is like [the shimmering black fleece of] a flock of [Arabian] goats
That have descended from Mount Gilead.

“Your teeth are like a flock of ewes
Which have come up from their washing,
All of which bear twins,
And not one among them has lost her young.

“Your temples are like a slice of the pomegranate
Behind your veil.

“There are sixty queens and eighty [b]concubines,
And maidens without number;

But my dove, my perfect one, stands alone [above them all];
She is her mother’s only daughter;
She is the pure child of the one who bore her.
The maidens saw her and called her blessed and happy,
The queens and the concubines also, and they praised her, saying,(A)

10 
‘Who is this that looks down like the dawn,
Fair and beautiful as the full moon,
Clear and pure as the sun,
As majestic as an army with banners?’
11 
“I went down to the orchard of nut trees
To see the flowers of the valley,
To see whether the grapevine had budded
And the pomegranates were in flower.
12 
“Before I was aware [of what was happening], my desire had brought me
Into the area of the princes of my people [the king’s retinue].”

(The Chorus)

13 
“Return, return, O Shulammite;
Return, return, that we may gaze at you.”

Footnotes

  1. Song of Solomon 6:4 A city in northern Israel known for its gardens and natural beauty.
  2. Song of Solomon 6:8 See note Gen 22:24.

Y Where has your love gone,
most beautiful of women?
Which way has he[a] turned?
We will seek him with you.

W My love has gone down to his garden,(A)
to beds of spice,(B)
to feed in the gardens(C)
and gather lilies.(D)
I am my love’s and my love is mine;(E)
he feeds among the lilies.

M You are as beautiful as Tirzah,[b] my darling,
lovely as Jerusalem,
awe-inspiring as an army with banners.(F)
Turn your eyes away from me,
for they captivate me.(G)
Your hair is like a flock of goats
streaming down from Gilead.(H)
Your teeth are like a flock of ewes
coming up from washing,
each one having a twin,
and not one missing.[c](I)
Behind your veil,(J)
your brow[d] is like a slice of pomegranate.
There are 60 queens
and 80 concubines(K)
and young women[e] without number.
But my dove,(L) my virtuous one, is unique;(M)
she is the favorite of her mother,
perfect to the one who gave her birth.
Women see her and declare her fortunate;(N)
queens and concubines also, and they sing her praises:

10 Y[f] Who is this[g](O) who shines like the dawn—
as beautiful as the moon,
bright as the sun,
awe-inspiring as an army with banners?(P)

11 W I came down to the walnut grove
to see the blossoms of the valley,
to see if the vines were budding(Q)
and the pomegranates blooming.
12 Before I knew it,
my desire put me
among the chariots of my noble people.[h]

13 [i]Y Come back, come back, Shulammite![j][k]
Come back, come back, that we may look at you!

M Why are you looking at the Shulammite,
as you look at the dance(R) of the two camps?[l](S)

Footnotes

  1. Song of Solomon 6:1 Lit your love
  2. Song of Solomon 6:4 = a mountain city in Manasseh
  3. Song of Solomon 6:6 Lit and no one bereaved among them
  4. Song of Solomon 6:7 Or temple, or cheek, or lips
  5. Song of Solomon 6:8 Or and virgins; Sg 1:3
  6. Song of Solomon 6:10 Some see v. 10 as spoken by M.
  7. Song of Solomon 6:10 In Hb, the word for “this” is feminine.
  8. Song of Solomon 6:12 Or of Amminadib, or of my people of a prince; Hb obscure
  9. Song of Solomon 6:13 Sg 7:1 in Hb
  10. Song of Solomon 6:13 Or the peaceable one
  11. Song of Solomon 6:13 Perhaps an inhabitant of the town of Shunem, or a feminine form of Solomon’s name
  12. Song of Solomon 6:13 Or dance of Mahanaim

I Am My Beloved’s

The Daughters of Jerusalem

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

The Shulamite

My beloved has gone to his (B)garden,
To the beds of spices,
To feed his flock in the gardens,
And to gather lilies.
(C)I am my beloved’s,
And my beloved is mine.
He feeds his flock among the lilies.

Praise of the Shulamite’s Beauty

The Beloved

O my love, you are as beautiful as Tirzah,
Lovely as Jerusalem,
Awesome as an army with banners!
Turn your eyes away from me,
For they have [a]overcome me.
Your hair is (D)like a flock of goats
Going down from Gilead.
(E)Your teeth are like a flock of sheep
Which have come up from the washing;
Every one bears twins,
And none is [b]barren among them.
(F)Like a piece of pomegranate
Are your temples behind your veil.

There are sixty queens
And eighty concubines,
And (G)virgins without number.
My dove, my (H)perfect one,
Is the only one,
The only one of her mother,
The favorite of the one who bore her.
The daughters saw her
And called her blessed,
The queens and the concubines,
And they praised her.

10 Who is she who looks forth as the morning,
Fair as the moon,
Clear as the sun,
(I)Awesome as an army with banners?

The Shulamite

11 I went down to the garden of nuts
To see the verdure of the valley,
(J)To see whether the vine had budded
And the pomegranates had bloomed.
12 Before I was even aware,
My soul had made me
As the chariots of [c]my noble people.

The Beloved and His Friends

13 Return, return, O Shulamite;
Return, return, that we may look upon you!

The Shulamite

What would you see in the Shulamite—
As it were, the dance of [d]the two camps?

Footnotes

  1. Song of Solomon 6:5 overwhelmed
  2. Song of Solomon 6:6 bereaved
  3. Song of Solomon 6:12 Heb. Ammi Nadib
  4. Song of Solomon 6:13 Heb. Mahanaim