The Beloved

If you do not know, O fairest among women,
Follow in the footsteps of the flock,
And feed your little goats
Beside the shepherds’ tents.
  

I have compared you, my love,
To my filly among Pharaoh’s chariots.
 

 Your cheeks are lovely with ornaments,
Your neck with chains of gold.

Behold, you are fair, my love!
Behold, you are fair!
You have dove’s eyes.

 Like a lily among thorns,
So is my love among the daughters.

 Behold, you are fair, my love! Behold, you are fair! You have dove’s eyes behind your veil. Your hair is like a flock of goats, Going down from Mount Gilead.
 

 Your teeth are like a flock of shorn sheep Which have come up from the washing, Every one of which bears twins, And none is barren among them.
 

 Your lips are like a strand of scarlet, And your mouth is lovely.  

Your temples behind your veil Are like a piece of pomegranate.
 

 Your neck is like the tower of David, Built for an armory, On which hang a thousand bucklers, All shields of mighty men.
 

 Your two breasts are like two fawns,
Twins of a gazelle, Which feed among the lilies.

 Until the day breaks
And the shadows flee away, I will go my way to the mountain of myrrh And to the hill of frankincense.

 You are all fair, my love,
And there is no spot in you.
 

 Come with me from Lebanon, my spouse, With me from Lebanon. Look from the top of Amana, From the top of Senir and Hermon, From the lions’ dens, From the mountains of the leopards.

 You have ravished my heart, My sister, my spouse; You have ravished my heart With one look of your eyes, With one link of your necklace.
 

 How fair is your love, My sister, my spouse! How much better than wine is your love, And the scent of your perfumes Than all spices!
 

^' Your lips, O my spouse,
Drip as the honeycomb; Honey and milk are under your tongue; And the fragrance of your garments Is like the fragrance of Lebanon.

 A garden enclosed
 

Is my sister, my spouse, A spring shut up, A fountain sealed.
 

 Your plants are an orchard of pomegranates
With pleasant fruits, Fragrant henna with spikenard,
 Spikenard and saffron, Calamus and cinnamon, With all trees of frankincense, Myrrh and aloes, With all the chief spices— A fountain of gardens, A well of living waters, And streams from Lebanon.

 I have come to my garden, my sister, my spouse; I have gathered my myrrh with my spice; I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey; I have drunk my wine with my milk.

O my love, you are as beautiful as Tirzah,
Lovely as Jerusalem, Awesome as an army with banners!
 

 Turn your eyes away from me,
For they have overcome me.  

Your hair is like a flock of goats Going down from Gilead.
 

 Your teeth are like a flock of sheep
Which have come up from the washing; Every one bears twins, And none is barren among them.
 

 Like a piece of pomegranate
Are your temples behind your veil.

 There are sixty queens
And eighty concubines, And virgins without number.
 My dove, my perfect one, Is the only one, The only one of her mother, The favorite of the one who bore her. The daughters saw her And called her blessed, The queens and the concubines, And they praised her.

 Who is she who looks forth as the morning,
Fair as the moon, Clear as the sun, Awesome as an army with banners?

How beautiful are your feet in sandals, O prince’s daughter!  

The curves of your thighs are like jewels, The work of the hands of a skillful workman.
 

 Your navel is a rounded goblet;
It lacks no blended beverage.

  Your waist is a heap of wheat Set about with lilies.
 

 Your two breasts are like two fawns, Twins of a gazelle.
 

 Your neck is like an ivory tower, 

Your eyes like the pools in Heshbon By the gate of Bath Rabbim.  

Your nose is like the tower of Lebanon Which looks toward Damascus.
 

 Your head crowns you like Mount Carmel,
And the hair of your head is like purple; 

A king is held captive by your tresses.

 How fair and how pleasant you are, O love, with your delights!
 

 This stature of yours is like a palm tree,
And your breasts like its clusters.
 

 I said, “I will go up to the palm tree, I will take hold of its branches.”  

Let now your breasts be like clusters of the vine, The fragrance of your breath like apples,
 And the roof of your mouth like the best wine.

 You who dwell in the gardens, The companions listen for your voice— Let me hear it!