10“Who is this, arising like the dawn,

as fair as the moon,

as bright as the sun,

as majestic as an army with billowing banners?”

Young Woman

11I went down to the grove of walnut trees

and out to the valley to see the new spring growth,

to see whether the grapevines had budded

or the pomegranates were in bloom.

12Before I realized it,

my strong desires had taken me to the chariot of a noble man.*6:12 Or to the royal chariots of my people, or to the chariots of Amminadab. The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.

Young Women of Jerusalem

13*6:13a Verse 6:13 is numbered 7:1 in Hebrew text.Return, return to us, O maid of Shulam.

Come back, come back, that we may see you again.

Young Man

Why do you stare at this young woman of Shulam,

as she moves so gracefully between two lines of dancers?*6:13b Or as you would at the movements of two armies? or as you would at the dance of Mahanaim? The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.

Song of Songs 7

1*7:1 Verses 7:1-13 are numbered 7:2-14 in Hebrew text.How beautiful are your sandaled feet,

O queenly maiden.

Your rounded thighs are like jewels,

the work of a skilled craftsman.

2Your navel is perfectly formed

like a goblet filled with mixed wine.

Between your thighs lies a mound of wheat

bordered with lilies.

3Your breasts are like two fawns,

twin fawns of a gazelle.

4Your neck is as beautiful as an ivory tower.

Your eyes are like the sparkling pools in Heshbon

by the gate of Bath-rabbim.

Your nose is as fine as the tower of Lebanon

overlooking Damascus.

5Your head is as majestic as Mount Carmel,

and the sheen of your hair radiates royalty.

The king is held captive by its tresses.

6Oh, how beautiful you are!

How pleasing, my love, how full of delights!

7You are slender like a palm tree,

and your breasts are like its clusters of fruit.

8I said, “I will climb the palm tree

and take hold of its fruit.”

May your breasts be like grape clusters,

and the fragrance of your breath like apples.

9May your kisses be as exciting as the best wine—

Young Woman

Yes, wine that goes down smoothly for my lover,

flowing gently over lips and teeth.*7:9 As in Greek and Syriac versions and Latin Vulgate; Hebrew reads over lips of sleepers.

10I am my lover’s,

and he claims me as his own.

11Come, my love, let us go out to the fields

and spend the night among the wildflowers.*7:11 Or in the villages.

12Let us get up early and go to the vineyards

to see if the grapevines have budded,

if the blossoms have opened,

and if the pomegranates have bloomed.

There I will give you my love.

13There the mandrakes give off their fragrance,

and the finest fruits are at our door,

new delights as well as old,

which I have saved for you, my lover.

Song of Songs 8

Young Woman

1Oh, I wish you were my brother,

who nursed at my mother’s breasts.

Then I could kiss you no matter who was watching,

and no one would criticize me.

2I would bring you to my childhood home,

and there you would teach me.*8:2 Or there she will teach me.

I would give you spiced wine to drink,

my sweet pomegranate wine.

3Your left arm would be under my head,

and your right arm would embrace me.

4Promise me, O women of Jerusalem,

not to awaken love until the time is right.*8:4 Or not to awaken love until it is ready.