• The Bride Searches for Her Beloved

  • 1 “I have come into my garden, my sister, my bride; I have picked 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 imbibe deeply, O 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 full of dew, My locks with the damp of the night.’
  • 3 “I have taken off my long-sleeved garment, How can I put it on again? I have washed my feet, How can I dirty them again?
  • 4 “My beloved sent forth his hand through the opening, And my feelings moaned for him.
  • 5 “I arose to open to my beloved; And my hands dripped with myrrh, And my fingers with liquid myrrh, On the handles of the lock.
  • 6 “I opened to my beloved, But my beloved had turned away and passed by! My soul 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.
  • 7 “The watchmen who go about in the city found me, They struck me and wounded me; The guardsmen of the walls took away my shawl from me.
  • 8 “I call you to solemnly swear, O daughters of Jerusalem, If you find my beloved, What will you tell him? Tell him that I am sick with love.”
  • 9 “What is your beloved that he is more than any other beloved, O most beautiful among women? What is your beloved that he is more than any other beloved, That thus you call us to solemnly swear?”

  • The Bride Extols Her Beloved

  • 10 “My beloved is dazzling and ruddy, Lifted up as a banner among ten thousand.
  • 11 “His head is like gold, fine gold; His locks are like clusters of dates And black as a raven.
  • 12 “His eyes are like doves Beside streams of water, Washed in milk, And sitting in their setting.
  • 13 “His cheeks are like a bed of spices, Towers of sweet-scented herbs; His lips are lilies Dripping with liquid myrrh.
  • 14 “His hands are rods of gold Set with beryl; His abdomen is a plate of ivory Inlaid with sapphires.
  • 15 “His legs are pillars of marble Set on bases of fine gold; His appearance is like Lebanon Choice as the cedars.
  • 16 “His mouth is full of sweetness. And he is wholly desirable. This is my beloved and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem.”