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¹“I have come into my garden, my sister, my bride; I have gathered my myrrh along with my balsam. I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey; I have drunk my wine with my milk. Eat, friends; Drink and drink deeply, lovers.”

²“I was asleep but my heart was awake. A voice! My beloved was knocking: ‘Open to me, my sister, my darling, My dove, my perfect one! For my head is drenched with dew, My locks with the dew drops of the night.’

³I have taken off my dress, How can I put it on again? I have washed my feet, How can I dirty them again?

⁴My beloved extended his hand through the opening, And my feelings were stirred for him.

⁵I arose to open to my beloved; And my hands dripped with myrrh, And my fingers with drops of myrrh, On the handles of the bolt.

⁶I opened to my beloved, But my beloved had turned away and had gone! My heart went out to him as he spoke. I searched for him but I did not find him; I called him but he did not answer me.

⁷The watchmen who make the rounds in the city found me, They struck me and wounded me; The guards of the walls took my shawl away from me.

⁸Swear to me, you daughters of Jerusalem, If you find my beloved, As to what you will tell him: For I am lovesick.”

⁹“What kind of beloved is your beloved, O most beautiful among women? What kind of beloved is your beloved, That you make us swear in this way?”

¹⁰“My beloved is dazzling and reddish, Outstanding among ten thousand.

¹¹His head is like gold, pure gold; His locks are like clusters of dates And black as a raven.

¹²His eyes are like doves Beside streams of water, Bathed in milk, And perched in their setting.

¹³His cheeks are like a bed of balsam, Banks of herbal spices; His lips are lilies Dripping with drops of myrrh.

¹⁴His hands are rods of gold Set with topaz; His abdomen is panels of ivory Covered with sapphires.

¹⁵His thighs are pillars of alabaster Set on pedestals of pure gold; His appearance is like Lebanon, Choice as the cedars.

¹⁶His mouth is full of sweetness. And he is wholly desirable. This is my beloved and this is my friend, You daughters of Jerusalem.”

¹“Where has your beloved gone, O most beautiful among women? Where has your beloved turned, That we may seek him with you?”

²“My beloved has gone down to his garden, To the beds of balsam, To pasture his flock in the gardens And gather lilies.

³I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine, He who pastures his flock among the lilies.”

⁴“You are as beautiful as Tirzah, my darling, As lovely as Jerusalem, As awesome as an army with banners.

⁵Turn your eyes away from me, For they have confused me; Your hair is like a flock of goats That have descended from Gilead.

⁶Your 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.

⁷Your temples are like a slice of a pomegranate Behind your veil.

⁸There are sixty queens and eighty concubines, And young women without number;

⁹But my dove, my perfect one, is unique: 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 called her 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?’

¹¹I 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.

¹²Before I was aware, my soul set me Over the chariots of my noble people.”

¹³“Come back, come back, O Shulammite; Come back, come back, so that we may look at you!” “Why should you look at the Shulammite, As at the dance of the two armies?

¹“How beautiful are your feet in sandals, Prince’s daughter! The curves of your hips are like jewels, The work of the hands of an artist.

²Your navel is like a round goblet That never lacks mixed wine; Your belly is like a heap of wheat, Surrounded with lilies.

³Your two breasts are like two fawns, Twins of a gazelle.

⁴Your neck is like a tower of ivory, Your eyes like the pools in Heshbon By the gate of Bath-rabbim; Your nose is like the tower of Lebanon, Which looks toward Damascus.

⁵Your head crowns you like Carmel, And the flowing hair of your head is like purple threads; The king is captivated by your tresses.

⁶How beautiful and how delightful you are, My love, with all your delights!

⁷Your stature is like a palm tree, And your breasts are like its clusters.

⁸I said, ‘I will climb the palm tree, I will grasp its fruit stalks.’ Oh, may your breasts be like clusters of the vine, And the fragrance of your breath like apples,

⁹And your mouth like the best wine!” “It goes down smoothly for my beloved, Flowing gently through the lips of those who are asleep.

¹⁰“I am my beloved’s, And his desire is for me.

¹¹Come, my beloved, let’s go out to the country, Let’s spend the night in the villages.

¹²Let’s rise early and go to the vineyards; Let’s see whether the vine has grown And its buds have opened, And whether the pomegranates have bloomed. There I will give you my love.

¹³The mandrakes have given forth fragrance; And over our doors are all delicious fruits, New as well as old, Which I have saved for you, my beloved.

¹“Oh that you were like a brother to me Who nursed at my mother’s breasts. If I found you outdoors, I would kiss you; No one would despise me, either.

²I would lead you and bring you Into the house of my mother, who used to instruct me; I would give you spiced wine to drink from the juice of my pomegranates.

³Let his left hand be under my head, And his right hand embrace me.”

⁴“Swear to me, you daughters of Jerusalem: Do not disturb or awaken my love Until she pleases.”

⁵“Who is this coming up from the wilderness, Leaning on her beloved?” “Beneath the apple tree I awakened you; There your mother went into labor with you, There she was in labor and gave birth to you.

⁶Put me like a seal over your heart, Like a seal on your arm. For love is as strong as death, Jealousy is as severe as Sheol; Its flames are flames of fire, The flame of the LORD.

⁷Many waters cannot quench love, Nor will rivers flood over it; If a man were to give all the riches of his house for love, It would be utterly despised.”

⁸“We have a little sister, And she has no breasts; What shall we do for our sister On the day when she is spoken for?

⁹If she is a wall, We will build on her a battlement of silver; But if she is a door, We will barricade her with planks of cedar.”

¹⁰“I was a wall, and my breasts were like towers; Then I became in his eyes as one who finds peace.

¹¹Solomon had a vineyard at Baal-hamon; He entrusted the vineyard to caretakers. Each one was to bring a thousand shekels of silver for its fruit.

¹²My very own vineyard is at my disposal; The thousand shekels are for you, Solomon, And two hundred are for those who take care of its fruit.”

¹³“You who sit in the gardens: My companions are listening for your voice— Let me hear it!”

¹⁴“Hurry, my beloved, And be like a gazelle or a young stag On the mountains of balsam trees!”