Song of Solomon 6
1 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.
[[Lad.]] Whither is thy beloved gone, thou fairest among women? Whither hath thy beloved betaken himself? That we may seek him with thee.
2 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.
[[M.]] My beloved is gone down to his garden, To the beds of balsam, To feed in the gardens, And to gather lilies.
3 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].
I am my beloved's, and my beloved is mine; He feedeth among the lilies.
4 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.
Beautiful art thou, my love, as Tirzah, Lovely as Jerusalem; But terrible as an army with banners.
5 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].
Turn away thine eyes from me! They overpower me! Thy locks are like a flock of goats, Which lie down upon Gilead.
6 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.
Thy teeth are like a flock of sheep, Which come up from the washing-place, Of which every one hath twins, And none is barren among them.
7 Beneath your veil, your cheeks are like [SIM] the halves of a pomegranate.
As a divided pomegranate Are thy cheeks behind thy veil.
8 Even if a king had 60 queens and 80 (concubines/slave wives) and more young women than anyone can count,
Threescore are the queens, and fourscore the concubines, And the maidens without number.
9 [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].
But my dove, my undefiled, is the one; She is the incomparable one of her mother, The darling of her that bore her. The daughters saw her, and blessed her; The queens and concubines, and they praised her.
10 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?
[[Lov.]] Who is this that looketh forth like the morning, Fair as the moon, bright as the sun, And terrible as an army with banners?
11 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.
[[M.]] I went down into the garden of nuts, To see the green plants of the valley, To see whether the vine blossomed, And the pomegranates budded.
12 [But] before I realized it, my desire [to make love caused me to be as excited as] a prince riding in a chariot.
Or ever I was aware, My soul had made me like the chariots of the prince's train.
13 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?
[[Lad.]] Return, return, O Shulamite! Return, return, that we may look upon thee! [[M.]] Why should ye look upon the Shulamite, As upon a dance of the hosts?
