1 W here has your beloved gone, O fairest among women? Where has your beloved turned aside, That we may seek him with you? The Shulamite

“Where has your loved one gone, O most beautiful among women? Where has your loved one turned, that we may look for him with you?” The Woman

2 M y beloved has gone to his garden, To the beds of spices, To feed his flock in the gardens, And to gather lilies.

“My love has gone down to his garden, to the beds of spices. He has gone to feed his flock in the gardens and to gather lilies.

3 I am my beloved’s, And my beloved is mine. He feeds his flock among the lilies. Praise of the Shulamite’s Beauty The Beloved

I am my love’s, and my love is mine, he who feeds his flock among the lilies.” The Fifth Song King Solomon

4 O my love, you are as beautiful as Tirzah, Lovely as Jerusalem, Awesome as an army with banners!

“You are as beautiful as Tirzah, my love, as beautiful as Jerusalem. You are to be feared as an army with flags.

5 T urn your eyes away from me, For they have overcome me. Your hair is like a flock of goats Going down from Gilead.

Turn your eyes away from me, for they trouble me. Your hair is like a flock of goats that has come down from Gilead.

6 Y our teeth are like a flock of sheep Which have come up from the washing; Every one bears twins, And none is barren among them.

Your teeth are like a flock of sheep which has come up from the washing. All of them give birth to two lambs at a time, and not one of them has lost her young.

7 L ike a piece of pomegranate Are your temples behind your veil.

The sides of your forehead are like a piece of a pomegranate behind your face-covering.

8 T here are sixty queens And eighty concubines, And virgins without number.

There are sixty queens, and eighty women kept who act like wives, and there are too many young women to number who have never had a man.

9 M y dove, my perfect one, Is the only one, The only one of her mother, The favorite of the one who bore her. The daughters saw her And called her blessed, The queens and the concubines, And they praised her.

But my dove, my perfect one, is special. She is her mother’s only daughter. She is the pure child of the one who gave birth to her. The young women saw her and knew she was honored. The queens and the women who act as wives praised her, saying,

10 W ho is she who looks forth as the morning, Fair as the moon, Clear as the sun, Awesome as an army with banners? The Shulamite

‘Who is this that looks out like the first light of day? She is as beautiful as the full moon, as pure as the sun. She is to be feared as an army with flags.’” The Woman

11 I went down to the garden of nuts To see the verdure of the valley, To see whether the vine had budded And the pomegranates had bloomed.

“I went down to the field of nut trees to see the flowers of the valley, to see if the vines or the pomegranates had flowers.

12 B efore I was even aware, My soul had made me As the chariots of my noble people. The Beloved and His Friends

Before I knew it, I wanted to be over the war-wagons of the princes of my people.” Women of Jerusalem

13 R eturn, return, O Shulamite; Return, return, that we may look upon you! The Shulamite What would you see in the Shulamite— As it were, the dance of the two camps?

“Return, return, O Shulammite! Return, return, that we may look upon you!” The Woman “Why should you look upon the Shulammite, as upon a dance in front of two armies?”