Berean Study Bible | New Living Translation |
1Where has your beloved gone, O most beautiful among women? Which way has he turned? We will seek him with you. | 1Where has your lover gone, O woman of rare beauty? Which way did he turn so we can help you find him? Young Woman |
2My beloved has gone down to his garden, to the beds of spices, to pasture his flock in the gardens and to gather lilies. | 2My lover has gone down to his garden, to his spice beds, to browse in the gardens and gather the lilies. |
3I belong to my beloved and he belongs to me; he pastures his flock among the lilies. | 3I am my lover’s, and my lover is mine. He browses among the lilies. Young Man |
4You are as beautiful, my darling, as Tirzah, as lovely as Jerusalem, as majestic as troops with banners. | 4You are beautiful, my darling, like the lovely city of Tirzah. Yes, as beautiful as Jerusalem, as majestic as an army with billowing banners. |
5Turn your eyes away from me, for they have overcome me. Your hair is like a flock of goats streaming down from Gilead. | 5Turn your eyes away, for they overpower me. Your hair falls in waves, like a flock of goats winding down the slopes of Gilead. |
6Your teeth are like a flock of sheep coming up from the washing; each has its twin, and not one of them is lost. | 6Your teeth are as white as sheep that are freshly washed. Your smile is flawless, each tooth matched with its twin. |
7Your brow behind your veil is like a slice of pomegranate. | 7Your cheeks are like rosy pomegranates behind your veil. |
8There are sixty queens and eighty concubines, and maidens without number, | 8Even among sixty queens and eighty concubines and countless young women, |
9but my dove, my perfect one, is unique, the favorite of the mother who bore her. The maidens see her and call her blessed; the queens and concubines sing her praises. | 9I would still choose my dove, my perfect one— the favorite of her mother, dearly loved by the one who bore her. The young women see her and praise her; even queens and royal concubines sing her praises: |
10Who is this who shines like the dawn, as fair as the moon, as bright as the sun, as majestic as the stars in procession? | 10“Who is this, arising like the dawn, as fair as the moon, as bright as the sun, as majestic as an army with billowing banners?” Young Woman |
11I went down to the walnut grove to see the blossoms of the valley, to see if the vines were budding or the pomegranates were in bloom. | 11I went down to the grove of walnut trees and out to the valley to see the new spring growth, to see whether the grapevines had budded or the pomegranates were in bloom. |
12Before I realized it, my desire had set me among the royal chariots of my people. | 12Before I realized it, my strong desires had taken me to the chariot of a noble man. Young Women of Jerusalem |
13Come back, come back, O Shulammite! Come back, come back, that we may gaze upon you. Why do you look at the Shulammite, as on the dance of Mahanaim? | 13 Return, return to us, O maid of Shulam. Come back, come back, that we may see you again. Young Man Why do you stare at this young woman of Shulam, as she moves so gracefully between two lines of dancers? |
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