The Fourth Song
1 The Maidens to the Beloved: Where has your beloved gone, O most beautiful among women? Where has your beloved turned? Tell us, that we may seek him with you.
1 Whither is thy beloved gone, O thou fairest among women? whither is thy beloved turned aside? that we may seek him with thee.
1 “(a)(A)Where has your beloved gone,O (B)most beautiful among women?Where has your beloved turned,That we may seek him with you?”
1 Y Where has your love gone,most beautiful of women?Which way has he(a) turned?We will seek him with you.
1 Where did your beloved go, most beautiful of women? Where did your beloved turn, so we may look for him with you?
2 The Beloved to the Maidens: My beloved has gone down to his garden, to the flowerbeds of balsam spices, to graze in the gardens, and to gather lilies.
2 My beloved is gone down into his garden, to the beds of spices, to feed in the gardens, and to gather lilies.
2 “(b)My beloved has gone down to his (C)garden,To the (D)beds of balsam,To (E)pasture his flock in the gardensAnd gather (F)lilies.
2 W My love has gone down to his garden,(A)to beds of spice,(B)to feed in the gardens(C)and gather lilies.(D)
2 My beloved has gone down to his garden, to the beds of spices, to graze his flock in the gardens and gather lilies.
Mutual Possession Refrain
Solomon's Praise Of His Beloved
4 The Lover to His Beloved: My darling, you are as beautiful as Tirzah, as lovely as Jerusalem, as awe-inspiring as bannered armies!
4 Thou art beautiful, O my love, as Tirzah, comely as Jerusalem, terrible as an army with banners.
4 “(c)(I)You are as beautiful as (J)Tirzah, my darling,As (K)lovely as (L)Jerusalem,As (M)awesome as (d)an army with banners.
4 M You are as beautiful as Tirzah,(b) my darling,lovely as Jerusalem,awe-inspiring as an army with banners.(F)
4 You are beautiful, my darling, like Tirzah, lovely like Jerusalem, as awesome as an army with banners.
5 Turn your eyes away from me -- they overwhelm me! Your hair is like a flock of goats descending from Mount Gilead.
5 Turn away thine eyes from me, for they have overcome me: thy hair is as a flock of goats that appear from Gilead.
5 “Turn your eyes away from me,For they have confused me;(N)Your hair is like a flock of goatsThat have descended from Gilead.
5 Turn your eyes away from me,for they captivate me.(G)Your hair is like a flock of goatsstreaming down from Gilead.(H)
5 Turn your eyes from me, for they excite me. Your hair is like a flock of goats coming down from Mt. Gilead.
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 Thy teeth are as a flock of sheep which go up from the washing, whereof every one beareth twins, and there is not one barren among them.
6 “(O)Your teeth are like a flock of ewesWhich have come up from their washing,All of which bear twins,And not one among them has (e)lost her young.
6 Your teeth are like a flock of ewescoming up from washing,each one having a twin,and not one missing.(c)(I)
6 Your teeth are like a flock of ewes coming up from being washed. All of them are twins, not one has lost her young.
The Maiden's Beauty Is Without Peer
9 But she is unique! My dove, my perfect one! She is the special daughter of her mother, she is the favorite of the one who bore her. The maidens saw her and complimented her; the queens and concubines praised her:
9 My dove, my undefiled is but one; she is the only one of her mother, she is the choice one of her that bare her. The daughters saw her, and blessed her; yea, the queens and the concubines, and they praised her.
9 But (S)my dove, my perfect one, is (g)unique:She is her mother’s (h)only daughter;She is the pure child of the one who bore her.The (i)(T)maidens saw her and called her blessed,The (U)queens and the concubines also, and they praised her, saying,
9 But my dove,(L) my virtuous one, is unique;(M)she is the favorite of her mother,perfect to the one who gave her birth.Women see her and declare her fortunate;(N)queens and concubines also, and they sing her praises:
9 but my dove, my perfect one, is unique. She's unique to her mother, she's pure to the one who gave birth to her. Young women see her and call her blessed, queens and mistresses praise her.
The Young Woman's Home In Shulam
10 "Who is this who appears like the dawn? Beautiful as the moon, bright as the sun, awe-inspiring as the stars in procession?"
10 Who is she that looketh forth as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners?
10 ‘Who is this that (j)grows like the dawn,As beautiful as the full (V)moon,As pure (W)as the sun,As (X)awesome as (k)an army with banners?’
10 Y(f) Who is this(g)(O) who shines like the dawn—as beautiful as the moon,bright as the sun,awe-inspiring as an army with banners?(P)
10 Who is this who appears like the dawn, beautiful as the moon, bright as the sun, awesome as an army with banners?
The Journey To The Valley
11 The Lover to His Beloved: I went down to the orchard of walnut trees, to look for the blossoms of the valley, to see if the vines had budded or if the pomegranates were in bloom.
11 I went down into the garden of nuts to see the fruits of the valley, and to see whether the vine flourished, and the pomegranates budded.
11 “I went down to the orchard of nut treesTo see the blossoms of the valley,To see whether (Y)the vine had buddedOr the (Z)pomegranates had bloomed.
11 W I came down to the walnut groveto see the blossoms of the valley,to see if the vines were budding(Q)and the pomegranates blooming.
11 I went down to the walnut orchard, to look at the green sprouts in the valley, to see whether the vine had budded, whether the pomegranates had blossomed.
The Friends Call To The Woman
13 The Lover to His Beloved: Turn, turn, O Perfect One! Turn, turn, that I may stare at you! The Beloved to Her Lover: Why do you gaze upon the Perfect One like the dance of the Mahanaim?
13 Return, return, O Shulamite; return, return, that we may look upon thee. What will ye see in the Shulamite? As it were the company of two armies.
13 “(m)(n)Come back, come back, O Shulammite;Come back, come back, that we may gaze at you!” “(o)Why should you gaze at the Shulammite,As at the (AA)dance of (p)(AB)the two companies?
13 (i)Y Come back, come back, Shulammite!(j)(k)Come back, come back, that we may look at you!M Why are you looking at the Shulammite,as you look at the dance(R) of the two camps?(l)(S) >
13 Return, return, Shulammite, return, return, so we may look at you! Why should you look at the Shulammite, like you watch the dance of the two camps?