NET Bible

The Lost Lover Found

^6:1 Where has your beloved gone, O most beautiful among women? Where has your beloved turned? Tell us, that we may seek him with you.

^6:1 The Beloved to the Maidens:

^6:2 My beloved has gone down to his garden, to the flowerbeds of balsam spices, to graze in the gardens, and to gather lilies.

Poetic Refrain: Mutual Possession

^6:2 The Beloved about Her Lover:

^6:3 I am my lover’s, and my lover is mine; he grazes among the lilies.

The Renewal of Love

^6:3 The Lover to His Beloved:

^6:4 My darling, you are as beautiful as Tirzah, as lovely as Jerusalem, as awe-inspiring as bannered armies. ^6:5 Turn your eyes away from me— they overwhelm 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 forehead behind your veil. ^6:8 There may be sixty queens, and eighty concubines, and young women without number. ^6:9 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: ^6:10 “Who is this who appears like the dawn? Beautiful as the moon, bright as the sun, awe-inspiring as the stars in procession?”

The Return to the Vineyards

^6:10 The Lover to His Beloved:

^6:11 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. ^6:12 I was beside myself with joy! There please give me your myrrh, O daughter of my princely people.

The Love Song and Dance

^6:12 The Lover to His Beloved:

^6:13 (7:1) Turn, turn, O Perfect One! Turn, turn, that I may stare at you!

^6:13 The Beloved to Her Lover:

^6:13 Why do you gaze upon the Perfect One like the dance of the Mahanaim?

^6:13 The Lover to His Beloved: