Song of Songs 6
The Lost Lover Found
The Maidens to the Beloved:
6:1 Where has your beloved gone,
O most beautiful among women?
Where has your beloved turned?
Tell us,1 that we may seek him with you.2
The Beloved to the Maidens:
6:2 My beloved has gone down to his garden,3
to the flowerbeds of balsam spices,4
to graze5 in the gardens,
and to gather lilies.6
Poetic Refrain: Mutual Possession
The Beloved about Her Lover:
6:3 I am my lover’s7 and my lover is mine;8
he grazes among the lilies.
The Renewal of Love
The Lover to His Beloved:
6:4 My darling, you are as beautiful as Tirzah,9
as lovely as Jerusalem,10
as awe-inspiring11 as bannered armies!
6:5 Turn your eyes away from me –
they overwhelm12 me!
Your hair is like a flock of goats
descending from Mount Gilead.
6:6 Your teeth are like a flock of sheep
coming up from the washing;
each has its twin;
not one of them is missing.
6:7 Like a slice of pomegranate
is your forehead13 behind your veil.
6:8 There may be sixty14 queens,
and eighty concubines,
and young women15 without number.
6:9 But she is unique!16
My dove, my perfect one!
She is the special daughter17 of her mother,
she is the favorite18 of the one who bore her.
The maidens19 saw her and complimented her;20
the queens and concubines praised her:
6:10 “Who21 is this who appears22 like the dawn?23
Beautiful as the moon,24 bright25 as the sun,
awe-inspiring26 as the stars in procession?”27
The Return to the Vineyards
The Lover to His Beloved:28
6:11 I went down to the orchard of walnut trees,29
to look for the blossoms of the valley,30
to see if the vines had budded
or if the pomegranates were in bloom.
6:1231 I was beside myself with joy!32
There please give me your myrrh,33
O daughter of my princely people.34
The Love Song and Dance
The Lover to His Beloved:
6:13 (7:1)35 Turn36, turn, O37 Perfect One!38
Turn, turn, that I39 may stare at you!
The Beloved to Her Lover:
Why40 do you gaze upon the Perfect One
like the dance of the Mahanaim?41