Song of Solomon 6
New American Standard Bible
Mutual Delight in Each Other
The Chorus
6 “(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
2 “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.
3 (G)I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine,
He who (H)pastures his flock among the lilies.”
The Groom
4 “(I)You are as beautiful as (J)Tirzah, my darling,
As (K)lovely as (L)Jerusalem,
As (M)awesome as an army with banners.
5 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.
6 (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.
7 (P)Your temples are like a slice of a pomegranate
Behind your veil.
8 There are sixty (Q)queens and eighty concubines,
And [a](R)young women without number;
9 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
Footnotes
- Song of Solomon 6:8 Or virgins
- Song of Solomon 6:9 Lit one
- Song of Solomon 6:9 Lit one
- Song of Solomon 6:9 Lit daughters
- Song of Solomon 6:9 Or happy
- Song of Solomon 6:12 Lit I was not aware, my soul
- Song of Solomon 6:12 Or Ammi-nadib
- Song of Solomon 6:13 Ch 7:1 in Heb
- Song of Solomon 6:13 Or Mahanaim
Song of Solomon 6
Easy-to-Read Version
The Women of Jerusalem Speak to Her
6 Beautiful woman,
where has your lover gone?
Which way did your lover go?
Tell us so that we can help you look for him.
She Answers the Women of Jerusalem
2 My lover has gone down to his garden,
where sweet-smelling spices grow.
There, like a sheep, he will eat the grass,
and he will enjoy the lilies.
3 I belong to my lover, and my lover belongs to me.
He is the one feeding among the lilies.
He Speaks to Her
4 My darling, you are as beautiful as Tirzah,[a]
as pleasant as Jerusalem,
as awesome as the stars in the sky.[b]
5 Don’t look at me!
Your eyes excite me too much!
And your hair is long and flowing,
like little goats dancing down the slopes of Mount Gilead.
6 Your teeth are white like ewes[c]
just coming from their bath.
They all give birth to twins.
Not one of them has lost a baby.
7 Your cheeks under your veil
are like slices of pomegranate.
8 There might be 60 queens
and 80 slave women,
and young women too many to count,
9 but there is only one woman for me,
my dove, my perfect one.
She is the favorite of her mother,
her mother’s favorite child.
The young women see her and praise her.
Even the queens and slave women praise her.
The Women Praise Her
10 Who is that young woman?
She shines out like the dawn.
She is as pretty as the moon.
She is as bright as the sun.
She is as awesome
as the stars in the sky.
He Speaks to Her
11 I went down to the grove of walnut trees,
to see the fruit of the valley,
to see if the vines were in bloom,
to see if the pomegranates had budded.
12 I was so excited
when she put me in the royal chariot.[d]
The Women of Jerusalem Call to Her
13 Come back, come back, Shulamith[e]!
Come back, come back, so we may look at you.
Why are you staring at Shulamith,
as she dances the Mahanaim dance[f]?
Footnotes
- Song of Solomon 6:4 Tirzah One of the capital cities of northern Israel.
- Song of Solomon 6:4 the stars in the sky Or “an army ready for war.” The meaning of the Hebrew word here and in verse 10 is uncertain.
- Song of Solomon 6:6 ewes Female goats.
- Song of Solomon 6:12 the royal chariot Or “the chariots of my noble people.” See “chariot” in the Word List.
- Song of Solomon 6:13 Shulamith Or “Shulamite.” The word might be the feminine form of the name “Solomon.” This could mean she was or would become the bride of Solomon. This name might also mean “perfect,” “at peace,” or “woman from Shunem.”
- Song of Solomon 6:13 Mahanaim dance Or “the victory dance” or “the dance of the two camps.”
Song of Solomon 6
Living Bible
6 The Young Women of Jerusalem: “O rarest of beautiful women, where has your loved one gone? We will help you find him.”
The Girl: 2 “He has gone down to his garden, to his spice beds, to pasture his flock and to gather the lilies. 3 I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine. He pastures his flock among the lilies!”
King Solomon: 4 “O my beloved, you are as beautiful as the lovely land of Tirzah, yes, beautiful as Jerusalem, and how you capture my heart.[a] 5 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. 6 Your teeth are white as freshly washed ewes, perfectly matched and not one missing. 7 Your cheeks are matched loveliness[b] behind your hair. 8 I have sixty other wives, all queens, and eighty concubines, and unnumbered virgins available to me; 9 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
- Song of Solomon 6:4 how you capture my heart, literally, “terrible as an army with banners.”
- Song of Solomon 6:7 matched loveliness, literally, “like the halves of a pomegranate.”
- Song of Solomon 6:10 so utterly captivating, literally, “terrible as an army with banners.”
- 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.”
- Song of Solomon 6:13 you dance so beautifully, literally, “you move as upon a dance before two armies.”
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