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Make this promise, O women of Jerusalem—
    If you find my lover,
    tell him I am weak with love.

Young Women of Jerusalem

Why is your lover better than all others,
    O woman of rare beauty?
What makes your lover so special
    that we must promise this?

Young Woman

10 My lover is dark and dazzling,
    better than ten thousand others!
11 His head is finest gold,
    his wavy hair is black as a raven.
12 His eyes sparkle like doves
    beside springs of water;
they are set like jewels
    washed in milk.
13 His cheeks are like gardens of spices
    giving off fragrance.
His lips are like lilies,
    perfumed with myrrh.
14 His arms are like rounded bars of gold,
    set with beryl.
His body is like bright ivory,
    glowing with lapis lazuli.
15 His legs are like marble pillars
    set in sockets of finest gold.
His posture is stately,
    like the noble cedars of Lebanon.
16 His mouth is sweetness itself;
    he is desirable in every way.
Such, O women of Jerusalem,
    is my lover, my friend.

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I (A)call you to solemnly swear, O daughters of Jerusalem,
If you find my beloved,
What will you tell him?
Tell him that (B)I am sick with love.”

[a]What is your beloved that he is more than any other beloved,
O (C)most beautiful among women?
What is your beloved that he is more than any other beloved,
That thus you call us to solemnly swear?”

The Bride Extols Her Beloved

10 [b]My beloved is dazzling and (D)ruddy,
(E)Lifted up as a banner among ten thousand.
11 His head is like gold, fine gold;
His (F)locks are like clusters of dates
And black as a raven.
12 His (G)eyes are like doves
Beside streams of water,
Washed in milk,
And sitting in their (H)setting.
13 His cheeks are like a (I)bed of spices,
Towers of sweet-scented herbs;
His lips are (J)lilies
(K)Dripping with liquid myrrh.
14 His hands are rods of gold
Set with (L)beryl;
His abdomen is a plate of ivory
Inlaid with [c](M)sapphires.
15 His legs are pillars of marble
Set on bases of fine gold;
His appearance is like (N)Lebanon
Choice as the (O)cedars.
16 His [d](P)mouth is full of sweetness.
And he is wholly (Q)desirable.
This is my beloved and this is my friend,
O daughters of Jerusalem.”

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Footnotes

  1. Song of Songs 5:9 CHORUS
  2. Song of Songs 5:10 BRIDE
  3. Song of Songs 5:14 Lit lapis lazuli
  4. Song of Songs 5:16 Lit palate