1 W hither hath thy beloved gone, O fair among women? Whither hath thy beloved turned, And we seek him with thee?

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

2 M y beloved went down to his garden, To the beds of the spice, To delight himself in the gardens, and to gather lilies.

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

3 I my beloved's, and my beloved mine, Who is delighting himself among the lilies.

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

4 F air thou, my friend, as Tirzah, Comely as Jerusalem, Awe-inspiring as bannered hosts.

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

5 T urn round thine eyes from before me, Because they have made me proud. Thy hair as a row of the goats, That have shone from Gilead,

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

6 T hy teeth as a row of the lambs, That have come up from the washing, Because all of them are forming twins, And a bereaved one is not among them.

“ 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.

7 A s the work of the pomegranate thy temple behind thy veil.

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

8 S ixty are queens, and eighty concubines, And virgins without number.

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

9 O ne is my dove, my perfect one, One she of her mother, The choice one she of her that bare her, Daughters saw, and pronounce her happy, Queens and concubines, and they praise her.

But 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,

10 ` Who this that is looking forth as morning, Fair as the moon -- clear as the sun, Awe-inspiring as bannered hosts?'

‘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?’

11 U nto a garden of nuts I went down, To look on the buds of the valley, To see whither the vine had flourished, The pomegranates had blossomed --

“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.

12 I knew not my soul, It made me -- chariots of my people Nadib.

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

13 R eturn, return, O Shulammith! Return, return, and we look upon thee. What do ye see in Shulammith?

“ 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?