Song of Songs 6
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
6 Where has your beloved gone,
O fairest among women?
Which way has your beloved turned
that we may seek him with you?(A)
2 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)
3 I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine;
he pastures his flock among the lilies.(C)
The Young Woman’s Matchless Beauty
4 You are beautiful as Tirzah, my love,
comely as Jerusalem,
terrible as an army with banners.(D)
5 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)
6 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)
7 Your cheeks are like halves of a pomegranate
behind your veil.(G)
8 There are sixty queens and eighty concubines
and maidens without number.(H)
9 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.
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.
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
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.
