Song of Songs 6

Young Women of Jerusalem 1 Where has your lover gone,O woman of rare beauty?Which way did he turnso we can help you find him?

Young Woman 2 My lover has gone down to his garden,to his spice beds,to browse in the gardensand gather the lilies. 3 I am my lover’s, and my lover is mine.He browses among the lilies.

Young Man 4 You are beautiful, my darling,like the lovely city of Tirzah.Yes, as beautiful as Jerusalem,as majestic as an army with billowing banners. 5 Turn your eyes away,for they overpower me.Your hair falls in waves,like a flock of goats winding down the slopes of Gilead. 6 Your teeth are as white as sheepthat are freshly washed.Your smile is flawless,each tooth matched with its twin. Hebrew Not one is missing; each has a twin. 7 Your cheeks are like rosy pomegranatesbehind your veil.

8Even among sixty queensand eighty concubinesand countless young women, 9 I would still choose my dove, my perfect one—the favorite of her mother,dearly loved by the one who bore her.The young women see her and praise her;even queens and royal concubines sing her praises: 10 “Who is this, arising like the dawn,as fair as the moon,as bright as the sun,as majestic as an army with billowing banners?”

11I went down to the grove of walnut treesand out to the valley to see the new spring growth,to see whether the grapevines had buddedor the pomegranates were in bloom. 12 Before I realized it,I found myself in the royal chariot with my beloved. Or among the royal chariots of my people, or among the chariots of Amminadab. The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.

Young Women of Jerusalem 13 Verse 6:13 is numbered 7:1 in Hebrew text.Return, return to us, O maid of Shulam.Come back, come back, that we may see you again.

Young Man

Why do you stare at this young woman of Shulam,as she moves so gracefully between two lines of dancers? Or as you would at the movements of two armies? or as you would at the dance of Mahanaim? The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.