Mutual Delight in Each Other

The Chorus

1“Where has your beloved gone,

O 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 garden,

To the beds of balsam,

To pasture his flock in the gardens

And gather lilies.

3“I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine,

He who pastures his flock among the lilies.”

The Groom

4“You are as beautiful as Tirzah, my darling,

As lovely as Jerusalem,

As awesome as an army with banners.

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.

6“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“Your temples are like a slice of a pomegranate

Behind your veil.

8“There are sixty queens and eighty concubines,

And [a]young women without number;

9But 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]young women saw her and called her [e]blessed,

The 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 moon,

As pure as the sun,

As 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 the vine had grown

Or the 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