The young woman speaks to her lover

2 Kiss me on my lips,

because your love for me is more delightful than wine.

3 The fragrance of the cologne on your skin is very sweet/pleasing [CHI].

And your reputation is very good and spreads,

like [SIM] the fragrance of the special oil spread on your skin.

That is why the other young women are attracted to you.

4 Take me quickly;

take me to your home.

It is as though you are my king;

take me into your room.

Their friends speak to the man

We are very happy [DOU] about you;

we say that your love for each other is better than wine.

It is not surprising that the other young women adore you.

The woman speaks

5 You women of Jerusalem,

I am dark but beautiful;

my dark skin is like [SIM] the tents in Kedar,

or like the beautiful curtains in Solomon’s palace.

6 But do not stare at me because of the sun having caused my skin to become dark;

my brothers were angry with me,

so they forced me to work out in the sunshine in the vineyards,

so I was not able to take good care of my body/skin [CHI, MET].

7 You whom I [SYN] love, where will you take your flock of sheep today?

Where will you allow them to rest at noontime?

I want to know because it is not right [RHQ] for me to wander around like a prostitute

looking for you among the flocks that belong to your friends.

The man speaks

8 You who are the most beautiful of all the women,

if you search for me and do not know where I will take my sheep,

follow the tracks/footprints of the sheep.

Then allow your young goats to ◄graze/eat grass► near the shepherds’ tents.

9 You are beautiful, my darling, like the young female horse

that pulls the chariot of the king of Egypt.

10 Your cheeks are decorated with jewelry,

and there are strings of beads/pearls around your neck.

11 We will make for you some gold earrings

that are decorated/inlaid with silver.

The woman speaks

12 While the king was on his couch,

the smell of my perfume spread around the room.

13 The man who loves me is as delightful as [MET] a ◄sachet/small cloth bag► of myrrh between my breasts.

14 He is like [MET] a bunch of flowers from the vineyards at En-Gedi.

The man speaks

15 You whom I love, you are beautiful;

you are very beautiful!

Your eyes are as delightful/charming as doves.

The woman replies

16 You who love me, you are very delightful/handsome,

you are wonderful!

This green grass will be like a couch where we lie down.

17 Branches of cedar trees will shade us;

it is as though branches of juniper/pine trees will be like [MET] a roof over our heads.

The woman speaks

2 I am like [MET] a flower/rose from the Sharon Plain,

and like [MET] a lily that grows in a valley.

The man speaks

2 Among the other young women,

the one whom I love is like [MET] a lily growing among thorns!

The woman speaks

3 And among the other men, you, the man who loves me, are like [MET] an apple/fruit tree that grows in the forest.

You are like a tree whose shadow protects me from the sun,

and your being close to me [EUP] is like [MET] eating sweet fruit.

4 You led me to the ◄banquet room/room where we could make love►,

and it is evident that you love me very much.

5 Refresh me and strengthen me with your lovemaking

like I am refreshed by eating [MET, EUP] raisins and other fruit,

because I very much desire that you love me even more.

6 Put your left arm under my head

and with your right arm hold me close.

7 You young women of Jerusalem,

solemnly promise me, while the does and gazelles are listening, that you will not

disturb us while we are making love

until we are ready to quit.

8 I hear the voice of the man who loves me.

It is as though [MET] he is leaping over the mountains

and skipping over the hills

9 like [SIM] a deer or a gazelle.

Now he is standing outside the wall of our house,

looking in the window,

and peering through the ◄lattice/wooden strips inside the window frame►.

10 He spoke to me and said,

“You whom I love, get up;

my beautiful one, come with me [CHI]!

11 Look, the ◄winter/cold season► is ended;

the rain has stopped;

12 flowers are blooming throughout the country/land.

It is now time to sing;

we hear the doves cooing.

13 There are young/new figs on the fig trees,

and there are blossoms on the grapevines

and their fragrance fills the air.

You whom I love, get up;

my beautiful one, come with me!

14 You are like [MET] a dove that is hiding far from me in an opening/crack in the rocky cliff.

Show me your face,

and allow me to hear your voice,

because your voice is sweet-sounding

and your face is lovely [CHI].”

The woman continues to speak

15 There are other men who are like [MET] little jackals/foxes that ruin vineyards;

do not allow those men to attack me.

16 You who love me, I belong to you and you belong to me,

and you experience pleasure when you kiss my lips

like [MET] a shepherd enjoys taking care of his sheep.

17 You who love me, come and be like [SIM] a gazelle or like a young deer on the hills of Bether,

and then flee like a deer at dawn tomorrow morning,

when the darkness fades.

3 All through the night while I lay on my bed,

I longed for the one whom I love.

I desired for him to come,

but he did not come.

2 So I said to myself,

“I will get up now and walk around the city,

through the streets and plazas,

to search for the one whom I love.”

So I got up and searched for him,

but I could not find him.

3 The city watchmen saw me

while they were patrolling/walking around the city.

I asked them,

“Have you seen the one whom I love?”

4 As soon as I walked past them,

I found the one whom I love.

I clung to him and would not let him go

until I had brought him to my mother’s house,

to the room where my mother had conceived me (OR, where I was born).

5 You women of Jerusalem,

solemnly promise me, while the does and gazelles are listening, that you will not

disturb us while we are making love

until we are ready to quit.

One of their friends speaks

6 Who is it that is coming from the desert,

who is stirring up dust like a column of smoke

from burning myrrh and incense

made from spices imported by merchants?

7 It is Solomon, sitting in his portable chair

surrounded by 60 bodyguards

chosen from the strongest/greatest warriors in Israel.

8 They all have swords

and they all ◄are trained to/know well how to► use them.

Each one has his sword strapped to his side

and is prepared to defend Solomon from dangers that might occur even during the night.

9 King Solomon commanded his servants to make that portable chair for him;

it was made with wood from Lebanon.

10 The canopy that covered it was ◄held up/supported► by posts made of silver,

and the back of the chair was embroidered with gold.

The seat/cushion was covered with purple cloth

lovingly made/woven by the women of Jerusalem.

11 You women of Jerusalem,

come and look at King Solomon

wearing the headdress that his mother put on his head

on the day when he was married,

the day when he [SYN] was very happy.

The man speaks

4 My darling, you are beautiful,

you are very beautiful!

Underneath your veil, your eyes are as gentle as [MET] doves.

Your long black hair moves from side to side like [SIM] a flock of black goats

moving down the slopes of Gilead Mountain.

2 Your teeth are very white

like [SIM] a flock of sheep whose wool has just been ◄shorn/cut off►

and that have come up from being washed in a stream.

You have all of your teeth;

none of them is missing.

3 Your lips are like [SIM] a scarlet ribbon,

and your mouth is lovely.

Beneath your veil,

your round, rosy/red cheeks are like [SIM] the halves of a pomegranate.

4 Your long neck is beautiful like [SIM] the tower of King David

that was built using layers/rows of stone.

The ornaments on your necklaces are like 1,000 [HYP] shields that are hanging on the walls of a tower;

each one belongs to a warrior.

5 Your breasts are as beautiful [SIM] as two ◄fawns/young gazelles►

that eat grass among lilies.

6 Until dawn tomorrow morning

and the nighttime shadows/darkness disappear,

I will lie close to your breasts

that are like [MET] hills that are covered with incense [DOU].

7 My darling, you are completely beautiful;

your body is perfectly formed!

8 My bride, it is as though you are in [MET] Lebanon

far away, where I cannot reach you;

come back to me.

It is as though you are inaccessible [MET]

on the top of Hermon Mountain or the nearby peaks.

Come from where the lions have their dens

and where the leopards live on the mountains.

9 My bride [DOU], you who are dearer to me than my sister, you have captured my affection [IDM]

by only once quickly looking at me,

and by one strand of jewels in your necklace.

10 My bride, your love for me is delightful!

It more delightful than wine!

And the fragrance of your perfume

is more pleasing than any spice!

11 Being kissed by you is as enjoyable as eating [MTY] honey;

your kisses are as sweet as milk mixed with honey.

The aroma of your clothes

is like [SIM] the aroma of cedar trees in Lebanon.

12 My bride, you who are dearer to me than [MET] my sister, you are like [MET] a garden that is locked

in order that other men cannot enter it;

you are like [MET] a spring or a fountain that is covered

in order that others may not drink from it.

13 You are like [MET] an orchard of pomegranate trees

full of delicious fruit,

and plenty of plants that produce henna and nard spices,

14 and saffron and calamus and cinnamon

and many other kinds of incense,

and myrrh and aloes

and many other fine spices.

15 You are like [MET] a fountain in a garden,

like [MET] a spring of clear water

that flows down from the mountains of Lebanon.

The woman speaks

16 I want the north wind and the south wind to come,

and blow on my garden,

in order that the fragrance of the spices will spread through the air.

Similarly, I want the one who loves me to come and enjoy cuddling up to me

like [MET, EUP] someone comes into a garden and enjoys eating the fruit that grows there.

The man speaks

5 My bride, you who are dearer to me than my sister,

I have come to cuddle up to you [MET, EUP];

it will be as though I will be gathering myrrh with my other spices,

and eating my honey and my honeycomb,

and drinking my wine and my milk.

Their friends speak

You two who love each other, enjoy your lovemaking;

enjoy all that you want to.

The woman speaks

2 I was partially asleep, but my mind was still awake.

Then I heard the one who loves me knocking at the door.

He said, “My darling, you who are dearer to me than my sister, my dear friend, my perfect one, my dove [MET],

open the door for me!

My hair is wet from the dew,

from the mist that has fallen during the night.”

3 But I had already taken off my robe;

I did not [RHQ] want to put it on again to open the door.

I had already washed my feet;

I did not [RHQ] want them to become dirty again.

4 The one who loves me put his hand through the opening in the wall,

and I was thrilled that he was there.

5 I got up to open the door for the one who loves me,

but first I put a lot of myrrh on my hands.

The myrrh was dripping from my fingers

while I unlatched the bolt.

6 I opened the door for the man who loves me,

but he had left.

He had turned away and was gone!

I was very disappointed [IDM];

I searched for him, but I could not find him.

I called him, but he did not answer.

7 The city watchmen saw me while they were walking around the city.

They beat me and wounded me

because they thought I must be a prostitute;

those men who were guarding the city walls took my robe.

8 You young women of Jerusalem,

I plead with you,

if you see the man who loves me,

tell him [DOU] that I am very disappointed that we did not make love.

Their friends speak

9 You who are the ◄fairest/most beautiful► among women,

why do you think that the one who loves you is better than other men?

In what way is the man who loves you better than other men

with the result that you ask us to tell him that?

The woman speaks

10 The man who loves me is handsome and healthy,

◄outstanding among/better than► ◄10,000/an uncountable number of► other men.

11 His head is beautiful, like [MET] purest gold;

his hair is wavy

and as black as [SIM] a raven/crow.

12 His eyes are as gentle as [SIM] doves

along the streams;

the white parts of his eyes are as white as [MET] milk,

with what resembles jewels inlaid in them.

13 His cheeks are like [SIM] a garden full of spice trees

that produce sweet-smelling perfume.

His lips are like [SIM] lilies

that have myrrh/perfume dripping from them.

14 His arms are like [MET] gold bars/rods

that are decorated with precious stones/jewels.

His body is like [SIM] a column/pillar of ivory

that is decorated with ◄sapphires/valuable blue stones►.

15 His legs are like [MET] pillars of marble

that are set in bases made of pure gold.

He is majestic, like the mountains of [SIM] Lebanon,

as delightful/beautiful as [SIM] cedar trees.

16 His kisses [MTY] are extremely sweet;

he is very handsome.

You young women of Jerusalem,

all that tells you why the one who loves me and who is my friend is better than other men.

Their friends speak to the woman

6 You who are the most beautiful of all the women,

where has the one who loves you gone?

If you tell us which [RHQ] direction he went,

we will go with you to search for him.

The woman speaks

2 The one who loves me has now come to me, who am like [MET, EUP] his garden,

He has come to enjoy my ◄charms/physical attractions► which are like [MET, EUP] spices,

to enjoy cuddling up to me [EUP, MET],

and kissing my lips, which are like [MET] lilies.

3 I belong to the one who loves me, and the one who loves me belongs to me;

he enjoys kissing my lips

like [MET] a shepherd enjoys taking care of his sheep.

The man speaks

4 My darling, you are beautiful,

like [SIM] Tirzah the capital city of Israel and Jerusalem the capital city of Judah are beautiful;

you are as exciting [MET] as a group/battalion of troops holding up their banners.

5 Quit looking at me like that,

because your eyes excite me very much.

Your long black hair moves from side to side like [SIM] a flock of black goats

moving down the slopes of Gilead Mountain.

6 Your teeth are very white

like [SIM] a flock of sheep whose wool has just been shorn

and that have come up from being washed in a stream.

You have all of your teeth;

none of them is missing.

7 Beneath your veil,

your cheeks are like [SIM] the halves of a pomegranate.

8 Even if a king had 60 queens and 80 ◄concubines/slave wives►

and more young women than anyone can count,

9 none of them would be like my dove, who is perfect,

you who are your mother’s only daughter,

whom your mother considers to be very precious.

Other young women who see you say that you are fortunate,

and the queens and concubines recognize that you are very beautiful.

Their friends speaks

10 Who is [RHQ] this woman who is as delightful as [SIM] the dawn,

as fair/delightful to look at as the light of the moon,

as exciting as a group/battalion of troops holding up their banners?

The man speaks

11 I went down to some walnut trees

to look at the new plants that were growing in the valley.

I wanted to see if the grapevines had budded

or if the pomegranate trees were blooming.

12 But before I realized it,

my desire to make love caused me to be as excited as a prince riding in a chariot.

Their friends speak

13 You who are the perfect one,

come back to us, in order that we may see you!

The man speaks

Why do you want to look at this woman who is perfect,

like [SIM] you like to watch two rows/lines of people dancing?

7 You who are the daughter of a prince/king,

you have lovely feet in your sandals.

Your curved hips/thighs are like [SIM] jewels

that have been made by a ◄skilled craftsman/man who shapes jewels very well►.

2 Your navel is like [MET] a round bowl

that is always full of wine mixed with spices.

Your waist is like [SIM] a mound/bundle of wheat

with lilies growing around it.

3 Your breasts are as as beautiful as [SIM] two ◄fawns/young gazelles►.

4 Your neck is like [SIM] a tower made of ivory.

Your eyes sparkle/shine like [MET] the pools in Heshbon city,

near the Bath-Rabbim gate.

Your nose is is as lovely as [SIM] the tower of Lebanon

which faces toward Damascus.

5 Your head is majestic like [SIM] Carmel Mountain.

Your long hair is shiny [SIM] and black;

it is as though I, your king, am captured by your tresses.

6 You whom I love, who have many charming features that attract me,

are very beautiful and pleasant/pleasing.

7 You are stately like [SIM] a palm tree,

and your breasts are like [SIM] clusters/bunches of dates/fruit.

8 I said to myself, “I will climb that palm tree

and take hold of those clusters of dates.”

To me, your breasts are like clusters of grapes that I can feel

and your breath is like the sweet fragrance of apples

9 and your kisses are like very good wine.

The woman speaks

My kisses [MTY] go to the one who loves me

and flow like wine over his lips and his teeth.

10 I belong to the man who loves me,

and he desires me.

11 You who love me, let’s go to the countryside,

and sleep among the henna bushes (OR, in one of the villages).

12 And let’s go early to the vineyards

to see if the grapevines have budded

and if there are blossoms on them that have opened,

and to see if the pomegranate trees are blooming,

and there I will make love to you.

13 The mandrakes/love-apples are producing a fragrant odor,

and we are surrounded by delightful pleasures [MET, EUP],

new ones and old ones,

pleasures that I have been saving to give to you, who love me.

The woman speaks

8 I wish that you were my brother

who ◄nursed at/drank milk from► my mother’s breasts when you were a baby,

because, if you were my brother, if I saw you when you were outside the house,

I could kiss you,

and no one would say that my doing that was wrong.

2 No one would object if I led you to my mother’s house,

to where my mother, who taught me many things, lives.

I would like to take you to my mother’s house because I would like to make love to you [EUP],

and that would be as delightful as [MET] juice squeezed from pomegranates.

3 You would put your left arm under my head

and with your right arm hold me close.

4 I would say to you women of Jerusalem,

“Solemnly promise me

that you will not disturb us while we are making love

until we are ready to quit.”

Their friends speak

5 Who is that woman who is coming up from the desert,

◄leaning on/clinging close to► the man who loves her?

The woman speaks

I woke you up when you were under the apple tree

at the place where your mother conceived you,

which is the same place where she gave birth to you.

6 Keep me close to you,

like [SIM] a seal on your heart,

or like [SIM] a bracelet on your arm.

Our love for each other is as powerful as death,

it is as enduring as the grave.

It is as though our love for each other bursts into flames

and burns like a hot fire.

7 Nothing can extinguish our love for each other,

not even a flood.

If a man tried to cause a woman to love him by saying he would give her everything that is in his house,

she would refuse.

Their friends speak

8 We have a younger sister,

and her breasts are still small.

So this is [RHQ] what we should do for her on the day that we promise some young man that he can marry her:

9 If her chest is flat like [MET] a wall,

we will decorate it by putting silver jewels that are like [MET] towers on it.

Or, if she is flat like [MET] a door,

we will decorate her with bits/pieces of cedar wood.

The woman speaks

10 My chest was previously flat like [MET] a wall,

but now my breasts are big like [SIM] towers.

So the one who loves me is delighted with me.

11 King Solomon had a vineyard at Baal-Hamon,

and he rented it to people for them to take care of it.

He required each one to pay him 1,000 pieces of silver each year for the grapes that they harvested.

12 But my body is like [MET] my own vineyard,

and Solomon, I am giving it to you.

You do not need to pay me 1,000 pieces of silver to enjoy my body,

but I will give 200 pieces of silver to those who take care of me [MET].

The man speaks to the woman

13 You are staying in the gardens

and my friends are listening to your voice;

so allow me to hear it, too.

The woman speaks

14 You who love me, come to me quickly;

run to me [MET, EUP] as fast as [SIM] a gazelle or young deer

runs across [MET] hills of spices.