Song of Solomon 6
1 [DAUGHTERS OF JERUSALEM] Whither hath thy beloved, gone, thou most beautiful among women? whither hath thy beloved turned him aside? 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 [SHE] My beloved, is gone down to his garden, to the beds of balsam, —to pasture 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 that pastureth among 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 [HE] Beautiful, art thou, my fair one, as Tirzah, comely, as Jerusalem, —majestic as bannered hosts!
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 excited me, —Thy hair, is like a flock of goats, that are reclining on the sides of Mount 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 sheep which have come up from the washing-place, —whereof, all of them, are twin-bearers, and bereaved, is there none 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 Like a slice of pomegranate, are thy temples, from behind thy veil:
Beneath your veil, your cheeks are like [SIM] the halves of a pomegranate.
8 Threescore, are the queens, and, fourscore, are the concubines, —and, virgins, there are, without number.
Even if a king had 60 queens and 80 (concubines/slave wives) and more young women than anyone can count,
9 One alone, is my dove, my perfect one, one alone, was she to her mother, Pure, was she to her that bare her, —The daughters, have seen her, and pronounced her happy, Queens and concubines, and they have 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 [THEY] Who is this, that looketh forth like the dawn, beautiful as the moon, pure as the sun, majestic as bannered hosts?
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 [HE] To the garden of nuts, I went down, to look at the fresh shoots of the ravine, —to see whether: had burst forth the vine, had blossomed the pomegranate: —
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 I know not [how it was], my soul, set for me the chariots of my willing 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 [THEY] Return, return, O Shulamite, Return, return, that we may look on thee! [SHE] What would ye look on in the Shulamite? [THEY] As it were the dance of a double camp…
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?
