Song of Solomon 6
1 Whither is thy beloved gone, O thou fairest among women? whither hath thy beloved turned him, that we may seek him with thee?
You who are the most beautiful of all the women, where has the one who loves you gone? [If you tell us] which [RHQ] direction he went, we will go with you to search for him.
2 My beloved is gone down to his garden, to the beds of spices, to feed in the gardens, and to gather lilies.
The one who loves me has now come [to me, who am like] [MET, EUP] his garden, He has come to [enjoy my (charms/physical attractions) which are like] [MET, EUP] spices, to enjoy cuddling up to me [EUP, MET], and [kissing my lips, which are like] [MET] lilies.
3 I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine: he feedeth [his flock] among the lilies.
I belong to the one who loves me, and the one who loves me belongs to me; he [enjoys kissing] my lips like [MET] [a shepherd enjoys] taking care of [his sheep].
4 Thou art beautiful, O my love, as Tirzah, comely as Jerusalem, terrible as an army with banners.
My darling, you are beautiful, like [SIM] Tirzah [the capital city of Israel] and Jerusalem [the capital city of Judah are beautiful]; you are as exciting [MET] as a [group/battalion of] troops holding up their banners.
5 Turn away thine eyes from me, for they have overcome me. Thy hair is as a flock of goats, that lie along the side of Gilead.
Quit looking at me like that, because your eyes excite me very much. Your [long black] hair [moves from side to side] like [SIM] a flock of [black] goats [moving down the slopes] of Gilead [Mountain].
6 Thy teeth are like a flock of ewes, which are come up from the washing; whereof every one hath twins, and none is bereaved among them.
Your teeth are [very white] like [SIM] a flock of sheep [whose wool] has just been shorn and that have come up from being washed [in a stream]. You have all of your teeth; none of them is missing.
7 Thy temples are like a piece of a pomegranate behind thy veil.
Beneath your veil, your cheeks are like [SIM] the halves of a pomegranate.
8 There are threescore queens, and fourscore concubines, and virgins without number.
Even if a king had 60 queens and 80 (concubines/slave wives) and more young women than anyone can count,
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 called her blessed; [yea], the queens and the concubines, and they praised her.
[none of them would be like] my dove, who is perfect, you who are your mother’s only daughter, whom your mother considers to be very precious. [Other] young women who see you say that you are fortunate, and the queens and concubines recognize that you [are very beautiful].
10 Who is she that looketh forth as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, terrible as an army with banners?
Who is [RHQ] this woman who is [as delightful] as [SIM] the dawn, as fair/delightful [to look at] as [the light of] the moon, as exciting as a [group/battalion of] troops holding up their banners?
11 I went down into the garden of nuts, to see the green plants of the valley, to see whether the vine budded, [and] the pomegranates were in flower.
I went down to some walnut trees to look at the new plants that were growing in the valley. I wanted to see if the grapevines had budded or if the pomegranate trees were blooming.
12 Or ever I was aware, my soul set me [among] the chariots of my princely people.
[But] before I realized it, my desire [to make love caused me to be as excited as] a prince riding in a chariot.
13 Return, return, O Shulammite; return, return, that we may look upon thee. Why will ye look upon the Shulammite, as upon the dance of Mahanaim?
You who are the perfect one, come back [to us], in order that we may see you! Why do you want to look at this woman who is perfect, like [SIM] you like to watch two rows/lines of people dancing?
