Together in the Garden

The Friends

¹Where has your beloved gone,O most beautiful among women?Which way has he turned?We will seek him with you.

The Bride

²My beloved has gone down to his garden,to the beds of spices,to pasture his flock in the gardensand to gather lilies.

³I belong to my beloved and he belongs to me;he pastures his flock among the lilies.

The Bridegroom

⁴You are as beautiful, my darling, as Tirzah,as lovely as Jerusalem,as majestic as troops with banners.

⁵Turn your eyes away from me,for they have overcome me.Your hair is like a flock of goatsstreaming down from Gilead.

⁶Your teeth are like a flock of sheepcoming up from the washing;each has its twin,and not one of them is lost.

⁷Your brow behind your veilis like a slice of pomegranate.

⁸There are sixty queens and eighty concubines,and maidens without number,

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.

The Friends

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?

The Bridegroom

¹¹I went down to the walnut groveto see the blossoms of the valley,to see if the vines were buddingor the pomegranates were in bloom.

¹²Before I realized it, my desire had set meamong the royal chariots of my people.

The Friends

¹³Come back, come back, O Shulammite!Come back, come back, that we may gaze upon you.The BridegroomWhy do you look at the Shulammite,as on the dance of Mahanaim?

Admiration by the Bridegroom

¹How beautiful are your sandaled feet,O daughter of the prince!The curves of your thighs are like jewels,the handiwork of a master.

²Your navel is a rounded goblet;it never lacks blended wine.Your waist is a mound of wheatencircled by the lilies.

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

⁴Your neck is like a towermade of ivory;your eyes are like the pools of Heshbonby the gate of Bath-rabbim;your nose is like the tower of Lebanon,facing toward Damascus.

⁵Your head crowns you like Mount Carmel,the hair of your head like purple threads;the king is captured in your tresses.

⁶How fair and pleasant you are,O love, with your delights!

⁷Your stature is like a palm tree;your breasts are clusters of fruit.

⁸I said, “I will climb the palm tree;I will take hold of its fruit.”May your breasts be like clusters of the vine,the fragrance of your breath like apples,

⁹and your mouthlike the finest wine.The BrideMay it flow smoothly to my beloved,gliding gently over lips and teeth.

¹⁰I belong to my beloved,and his desire is for me.

¹¹Come, my beloved,let us go to the countryside;let us spend the night among the wildflowers.

¹²Let us go early to the vineyardsto see if the vine has budded,if the blossom has opened,if the pomegranates are in bloom—there I will give you my love.

¹³The mandrakes send forth a fragrance,and at our door is every delicacy,new as well as old,that I have treasured up for you, my beloved.

The Bride Confesses Her Love

¹This is Solomon’s Song of Songs.

The Bride

²Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth!For your love is more delightful than wine.

³The fragrance of your perfume is pleasing;your name is like perfume poured out.No wonder the maidens adore you.

⁴Take me away with you—let us hurry!May the king bring me to his chambers.The FriendsWe will rejoice and delight in you;we will praise your love more than wine.The BrideIt is only right that they adore you.

⁵I am dark, yet lovely, O daughters of Jerusalem,like the tents of Kedar, like the curtains of Solomon.

⁶Do not stare because I am dark,for the sun has gazed upon me.My mother’s sons were angry with me;they made me a keeper of the vineyards,but my own vineyard I have neglected.

⁷Tell me, O one I love,where do you pasture your sheep?Where do you rest them at midday?Why should I be like a veiled womanbeside the flocks of your companions?

The Friends

⁸If you do not know, O fairest of women,follow the tracks of the flock,and graze your young goatsnear the tents of the shepherds.

The Bridegroom

⁹I compare you, my darling,to a mare among Pharaoh’s chariots.

¹⁰Your cheeks are beautiful with ornaments,your neck with strings of jewels.

The Friends

¹¹We will make you ornaments of gold,studded with beads of silver.

The Bride

¹²While the king was at his table,my perfume spread its fragrance.

¹³My beloved is to me a sachet of myrrhresting between my breasts.

¹⁴My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blossomsin the vineyards of En-gedi.

The Bridegroom

¹⁵How beautiful you are, my darling!Oh, how very beautiful!Your eyes are like doves.

The Bride

¹⁶How handsome you are, my beloved!Oh, how delightful!The soft grass is our bed.

The Bridegroom

¹⁷The beams of our house are cedars;our rafters are fragrant firs.

My Heart Is Stirred by a Noble Theme

¹My heart is stirred by a noble themeas I recite my verses to the king;my tongue is the pen of a skillful writer.

²You are the most handsome of men;grace has anointed your lips;therefore God has blessed you forever.

³Strap your sword at your side, O mighty warrior;appear in your majesty and splendor.

⁴In your splendor ride forth in victoryon behalf of truth and humility and justice;may your right hand show your awesome deeds.

⁵Your arrows pierce the hearts of the king’s foes;the nations fall beneath your feet.

⁶Your throne, O God, endures forever and ever,and justice is the scepter of Your kingdom.

⁷You have loved righteousnessand hated wickedness;therefore God, your God, has anointed youabove your companions with the oil of joy.

⁸All your garments are fragrantwith myrrh and aloes and cassia;from palaces of ivory the harps make you glad.

⁹The daughters of kings are among your honored women;the queen stands at your right hand,adorned with the gold of Ophir.

¹⁰Listen, O daughter! Consider and incline your ear:Forget your people and your father’s house,

¹¹and the king will desire your beauty;bow to him, for he is your lord.

¹²The Daughter of Tyre will come with a gift;men of wealth will seek your favor.

¹³All glorious is the princess in her chamber;her gown is embroidered with gold.

¹⁴In colorful garments she is led to the king;her virgin companions are brought before you.

¹⁵They are led in with joy and gladness;they enter the palace of the king.

¹⁶Your sons will succeed your fathers;you will make them princes throughout the land.

¹⁷I will commemorate your name through all generations;therefore the nations will praise you forever and ever.