Mutual Delight in Each Other

The Chorus

(A)Where has your beloved gone,
O (B)most beautiful among women?
Where has your beloved turned,
That we may seek him with you?”

The Bride

“My beloved has gone down to his (C)garden,
To the (D)beds of balsam,
To (E)pasture his flock in the gardens
And gather (F)lilies.
(G)I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine,
He who (H)pastures his flock among the lilies.”

The Groom

(I)You are as beautiful as (J)Tirzah, my darling,
As (K)lovely as (L)Jerusalem,
As (M)awesome as an army with banners.
Turn your eyes away from me,
For they have confused me;
(N)Your hair is like a flock of goats
That have descended from Gilead.
(O)Your teeth are like a flock of ewes
That have come up from their watering place,
All of which bear twins,
And not one among them has lost her young.
(P)Your temples are like a slice of a pomegranate
Behind your veil.
There are sixty (Q)queens and eighty concubines,
And [a](R)young women without number;
But (S)my dove, my perfect one, is [b]unique:
She is her mother’s [c]only daughter;
She is the pure child of the one who gave birth to her.
The [d](T)young women saw her and called her [e]blessed,
The (U)queens and the concubines also, and they praised her, saying,

10 ‘Who is this who looks down like the dawn,
As beautiful as the full (V)moon,
As pure (W)as the sun,
As (X)awesome as an army with banners?’
11 I went down to the orchard of nut trees
To see the plants of the valley,
To see whether (Y)the vine had grown
Or the (Z)pomegranates had bloomed.
12 [f]Before I was aware, my soul set me
Over the chariots of [g]my noble people.”

The Chorus

13 [h]Come back, come back, O Shulammite;
Come back, come back, so that we may look at you!”

The Groom

“Why should you look at the Shulammite,
As at the (AA)dance of [i](AB)the two armies?

Footnotes

  1. Song of Solomon 6:8 Or virgins
  2. Song of Solomon 6:9 Lit one
  3. Song of Solomon 6:9 Lit one
  4. Song of Solomon 6:9 Lit daughters
  5. Song of Solomon 6:9 Or happy
  6. Song of Solomon 6:12 Lit I was not aware, my soul
  7. Song of Solomon 6:12 Or Ammi-nadib
  8. Song of Solomon 6:13 Ch 7:1 in Heb
  9. Song of Solomon 6:13 Or Mahanaim

Their Friends Speak:

Most beautiful of women,
tell us where he has gone.
    Let us help you find him.

She Speaks:

My darling has gone down
    to his garden of spices,
where he will feed his sheep
    and gather lilies.
I am his, and he is mine,
as he feeds his sheep
    among the lilies.

He Speaks:

My dearest, the cities of Tirzah
and Jerusalem
    are not as lovely as you.
Your charms are more powerful
than all of the stars
    in the heavens.[a]
Turn away your eyes—
    they make me melt.
Your hair tosses about
as gracefully as goats
    coming down from Gilead.
Your teeth are whiter
    than sheep freshly washed;
they match perfectly,
    not one is missing.
Behind your veil are hidden
    beautiful rosy cheeks.[b]

What if I could have
sixty queens, eighty wives,
    and thousands of others!
You would be my only choice,
    my flawless dove,
the favorite child
    of your mother.
The young women, the queens,
    and all the others
tell how excited you are
    as they sing your praises:
10 “You are as majestic
    as the morning sky—
glorious as the moon—
    blinding as the sun!
Your charms are more powerful
    than all the stars above.”[c]

She Speaks:

11 I went down to see if blossoms
were on the walnut trees,
    grapevines, and fruit trees.
12 But in my imagination
I was suddenly riding
    on a glorious chariot.[d]

Their Friends Speak:

13 Dance! Dance!
Beautiful woman from Shulam,
    let us see you dance!

She Speaks:

Why do you want to see
this woman from Shulam
    dancing with the others?[e]

Footnotes

  1. 6.4 all … heavens: Or “a mighty army ready for war.”
  2. 6.7 cheeks: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 7.
  3. 6.10 all … above: Or “a mighty army ready for war.”
  4. 6.12 chariot: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 12.
  5. 6.13 dancing … others: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.

The Young Women of Jerusalem: “O rarest of beautiful women, where has your loved one gone? We will help you find him.”

The Girl: “He has gone down to his garden, to his spice beds, to pasture his flock and to gather the lilies. I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine. He pastures his flock among the lilies!”

King Solomon: “O my beloved, you are as beautiful as the lovely land of Tirzah, yes, beautiful as Jerusalem, and how you capture my heart.[a] Look the other way, for your eyes have overcome me! Your hair, as it falls across your face, is like a flock of goats frisking down the slopes of Gilead. Your teeth are white as freshly washed ewes, perfectly matched and not one missing. Your cheeks are matched loveliness[b] behind your hair. I have sixty other wives, all queens, and eighty concubines, and unnumbered virgins available to me; but you, my dove, my perfect one, are the only one among them all, without an equal! The women of Jerusalem were delighted when they saw you, and even the queens and concubines praise you. 10 ‘Who is this,’ they ask, ‘arising as the dawn, fair as the moon, pure as the sun, so utterly captivating?’”[c]

The Girl: 11 “I went down into the orchard of nuts and out to the valley to see the springtime there, to see whether the grapevines were budding or the pomegranates were blossoming yet. 12 Before I realized it, I was stricken with terrible homesickness and wanted to be back among my own people.”[d]

The Young Women of Jerusalem: 13 “Return, return to us, O maid of Shulam. Come back, come back, that we may see you once again.”

The Girl: “Why should you seek a mere Shulammite?”

King Solomon: “Because you dance so beautifully.”[e]

Footnotes

  1. Song of Solomon 6:4 how you capture my heart, literally, “terrible as an army with banners.”
  2. Song of Solomon 6:7 matched loveliness, literally, “like the halves of a pomegranate.”
  3. Song of Solomon 6:10 so utterly captivating, literally, “terrible as an army with banners.”
  4. Song of Solomon 6:12 among my own people, literally, “among the chariots of my princely people.” Another possible reading is, “beside my beloved in his chariot.”
  5. Song of Solomon 6:13 you dance so beautifully, literally, “you move as upon a dance before two armies.”

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.