The Bride’s Troubled Dream
“On my bed night after night I sought him
aWhom my soul loves;
I bsought him but did not find him.
2 ‘I must arise now and go about the city;
In the astreets and in the squares
I must seek him whom my soul loves.’
I sought him but did not find him.
3 aThe watchmen who go about the city found me,
And I said, ‘Have you seen him whom my soul loves?’
4 aScarcely had I passed them by
When I found him whom my soul loves;
I bseized him and would not let him go
Until I had cbrought him to my mother’s house,
And into the chamber of her who conceived me.”
5 “I acall you to solemnly swear, O daughters of Jerusalem,
By the bgazelles or by the hinds of the field,
That you do not arouse or awaken my love
Until she pleases.”
Solomon Arrives on His Wedding Day
6 “aWho is this coming up from the wilderness
Like bcolumns of smoke,
As rising incense of cmyrrh and dfrankincense,
With all scented powders of the merchant?
7 Behold, it is the traveling couch of Solomon;
Sixty mighty men around it,
Of the mighty men of Israel.
8 All of them are those who seize the sword,
aLearned in war;
Each man has his bsword at his side,
Guarding against the cdreadful things of the night.
9 King Solomon has made for himself a sedan chair
From the timber of Lebanon.
10 He made its posts of silver,
Its back of gold
And its seat of purple fabric,
With its interior inlaid with love
By the adaughters of Jerusalem.
11 Go forth and see, O adaughters of Zion,
King Solomon with the crown
With which his mother has crowned him
On the bday of his wedding,
And on the day of his gladness of heart.”
Solomon Praises the Beauty of His Bride
“Behold, you are beautiful, amy darling,
Behold, you are beautiful!
Your beyes are like doves cbehind your veil;
Your dhair is like a flock of goats
That have leapt down from Mount eGilead.
2 Your ateeth are like a flock of newly shorn ewes
Which have come up from their washing,
All of which bear twins,
And not one among them has lost her young.
3 Your lips are like a ascarlet thread,
And your bmouth is lovely.
Your ctemples are like a slice of a pomegranate
Behind your veil.
4 Your aneck is like the tower of David,
Built with rows of stones
On which are bhung one thousand shields,
All the small cshields of the mighty men.
5 Your atwo breasts are like two fawns,
Twins of a gazelle
Which bfeed among the lilies.
6 aUntil the day breathes
And the shadows flee,
I will go my way to the mountain of bmyrrh
And to the hill of bfrankincense.
7 “aYou are altogether beautiful, my darling,
And there is no blemish in you.
8 Come with me from aLebanon, my bbride,
May you come with me from Lebanon.
Journey down from the top of cAmana,
From the top of dSenir and Hermon,
From the dens of lions,
From the mountains of leopards.
9 You have made my heart beat faster, amy sister, my bride;
You have made my heart beat faster with a single glance of your eyes,
With a single strand of your bnecklace.
10 aHow beautiful is your love, my sister, my bride!
How much bbetter is your love than wine,
And the cfragrance of your oils
Than all kinds of spices!
11 Your lips, my bride, adrip bhoney from the comb;
Honey and milk are under your tongue,
And the fragrance of your garments is like the cfragrance of Lebanon.
12 A garden locked is my sister, my bride,
A rock garden locked, a aspring bsealed up.
13 Your shoots are an aorchard of bpomegranates
With cchoice fruits, dhenna with nard plants,
14 aNard and saffron, calamus and bcinnamon,
With all the trees of cfrankincense,
dMyrrh and aloes, along with all the finest spices.
15 You are a garden spring,
A well of afresh water,
And streams flowing from Lebanon.”
16 “Awake, O north wind,
And come, wind of the south;
Make my agarden breathe out fragrance,
Let its spices flow forth.
May bmy beloved come into his garden
And eat its cchoice fruits!”
The Bride Searches for Her Beloved
“I have acome into my garden, bmy sister, my bride;
I have picked my cmyrrh along with my balsam.
I have eaten my honeycomb with my dhoney;
I have edrunk my wine with my milk.
Eat, ffriends;
Drink and imbibe deeply, O lovers.”
2 “I was asleep, but my heart was awake.
A voice! My beloved was knocking:
‘Open to me, amy sister, my darling,
bMy dove, my perfect one!
For my head is full of dew,
My clocks with the damp of the night.’
3 I have ataken off my long‑sleeved garment,
How can I put it on again?
I have bwashed my feet,
How can I dirty them again?
4 My beloved sent forth his hand through the opening,
And my afeelings moaned for him.
5 I arose to open to my beloved;
And my hands adripped with myrrh,
And my fingers with liquid myrrh,
On the handles of the lock.
6 I opened to my beloved,
But my beloved had aturned away and passed by!
My soul went out to him as he bspoke.
I csearched for him, but I did not find him;
I dcalled him, but he did not answer me.
7 The awatchmen 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 acall you to solemnly swear, O daughters of Jerusalem,
If you find my beloved,
What will you tell him?
Tell him that bI am sick with love.”
9 “What is your beloved that he is more than any other beloved,
O amost 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 aruddy,
bLifted up as a banner among ten thousand.
11 His head is like gold, fine gold;
His alocks are like clusters of dates
And black as a raven.
12 His aeyes are like doves
Beside streams of water,
Washed in milk,
And sitting in their bsetting.
13 His cheeks are like a abed of spices,
Towers of sweet‑scented herbs;
His lips are blilies
cDripping with liquid myrrh.
14 His hands are rods of gold
Set with aberyl;
His abdomen is a plate of ivory
Inlaid with bsapphires.
15 His legs are pillars of marble
Set on bases of fine gold;
His appearance is like aLebanon
Choice as the bcedars.
16 His amouth is full of sweetness.
And he is wholly bdesirable.
This is my beloved and this is my friend,
O daughters of Jerusalem.”