[1] "Where has your beloved gone, O most beautiful among women? Where has your beloved turned, That we may seek him with you?" [2] "My beloved has gone down to his garden, To the beds of balsam, To pasture his flock in the gardens And gather lilies. [3] "I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine, He who pastures his flock among the lilies." [4] "You are as beautiful as Tirzah, my darling, As lovely as Jerusalem, As awesome as an army with banners. [5] "Turn your eyes away from me, For they have confused me; Your hair is like a flock of goats That have descended from Gilead. [6] "Your teeth are like a flock of ewes Which have come up from their washing, All of which bear twins, And not one among them has lost her young. [7] "Your temples are like a slice of a pomegranate Behind your veil. [8] "There are sixty queens and eighty concubines, And maidens without number; [9] But my dove, my perfect one, is unique: She is her mother's only daughter; She is the pure child of the one who bore her. The maidens saw her and called her blessed, The queens and the concubines also, and they praised her, saying, [10] 'Who is this that grows like the dawn, As beautiful as the full moon, As pure as the sun, As awesome as an army with banners?' [11] "I went down to the orchard of nut trees To see the blossoms of the valley, To see whether the vine had budded Or the pomegranates had bloomed. [12] "Before I was aware, my soul set me Over the chariots of my noble people." [13] "Come back, come back, O Shulammite; Come back, come back, that we may gaze at you!" "Why should you gaze at the Shulammite, As at the dance of the two companies?
