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

¶ Where has thy beloved gone, O thou fairest among women? where didst thy beloved separate himself? that we may seek him with thee.

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

My beloved is gone down into his garden, to the beds of spices, to feed in the gardens, and to gather the lilies.

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

I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine; he feeds among the lilies.

4 “ You are as beautiful as Tirzah, my darling, As lovely as Jerusalem, As awesome as an army with banners.

¶ Thou art beautiful, O my love, as Tirzah, as desirable as Jerusalem, imposing as the standard-bearer of the army.

5 “ Turn your eyes away from me, For they have confused me; Your hair is like a flock of goats That have descended from Gilead.

Turn away thine eyes from me, for they have overcome me; thy hair is as a flock of goats that appear from Gilead.

6 “ 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.

Thy teeth are as a flock of sheep which go up from the washing, of which every one bears twins, and there is not one barren among them.

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

As slices of pomegranate are thy temples within thy locks.

8 “ There are sixty queens and eighty concubines, And maidens without number;

There are sixty queens, and eighty concubines, and virgins without number.

9 B ut my dove, my perfect one, is unique: 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, The queens and the concubines also, and they praised her, saying,

My dove is but one, my perfect one; she is the only one of her mother, she is the choice one of her that brought her into the light. The virgins saw her and called her blessed; yea, the queens and the concubines and they praised her.

10 ‘ Who is this that grows like the dawn, As beautiful as the full moon, As pure as the sun, As awesome as an army with banners?’

Who is she that shows herself forth as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and imposing as the standard-bearer of the army?

11 “ I went down to the orchard of nut trees To see the blossoms of the valley, To see whether the vine had budded Or the pomegranates had bloomed.

¶ I went down into the garden of nuts to see the fruits of the valley, and to see whether the vines flourished, and the pomegranates budded.

12 “ Before I was aware, my soul set me Over the chariots of my noble people.”

Or ever I was aware, my soul made me return like the chariots of Amminadib.

13 “ Come back, come back, O Shulammite; Come back, come back, that we may gaze at you!” “ Why should you gaze at the Shulammite, As at the dance of the two companies?

Return, return, O Shulamite; return, return, that we may look upon thee. What will ye see in the Shulamite? She shall be as a multitude of tabernacles.