Man
1 I have come to my garden—my sister, my bride.
I gather I my myrrh with my spices.
I eat my honeycomb with my honey.
I drink my wine with my milk.
Narrator
Eat, friends!
Drink, be intoxicated with caresses! J,g
Woman
2 I was sleeping, but my heart was awake.
A sound! My love was knocking! h
Man
Open to me, my sister, my darling,
my dove, my perfect one.
For my head is drenched with dew,
my hair with droplets of the night.
Woman
3 I have taken off my clothing. i
How can I put it back on?
I have washed my feet.
How can I get them dirty?
4 My love thrust his hand through the opening,
and my feelings were stirred for him.
My hands dripped with myrrh, j
my fingers with flowing myrrh
on the handles of the bolt.
but my love had turned and gone away.
My heart sank K because he had left. L
I sought him, but did not find him. k
I called him, but he did not answer.
7 The guards who go about the city found me. l
They beat and wounded me;
they took my cloak M from me—
the guardians of the walls. m
8 Young women of Jerusalem, I charge you, n
if you find my love,
tell him that I am lovesick. o
Young Women
9 What makes the one you love better than another,
most beautiful of women? p
What makes him better than another,
that you would give us this charge?
Woman
10 My love is fit and strong, N,q
notable among ten thousand. r
and black as a raven.
12 His eyes are like doves t
beside flowing streams,
washed in milk
and set like jewels. P
13 His cheeks u are like beds of spice,
mounds of Q perfume.
His lips are lilies,
dripping with flowing myrrh. v
14 His arms R are rods of gold
His body T is an ivory panel
covered with lapis lazuli. x
15 His legs are alabaster pillars
set on pedestals of pure gold.
His presence is like Lebanon, y
as majestic as the cedars. z
He is absolutely desirable. a
This is my love, and this is my friend,
young women of Jerusalem.