1Where has your beloved gone, you most beautiful among women? Where has your beloved turned, so we can search for him with you?
2My beloved has gone down to his garden, to the beds of spices, to feed his flock in the gardens and to gather lilies.
3I belong to my beloved, and my beloved belongs to me. He feeds among the lilies.
4You are beautiful, my love, like Tirzah, lovely as Jerusalem, impressive as an army with banners.
5Turn your eyes away from me, for they have overwhelmed me. Your hair is like a flock of goats descending from Gilead.
6Your teeth are like a flock of ewes that have been washed, each one having twins, and none missing.
7Your temples are like a piece of pomegranate behind your veil.
8There are sixty queens, eighty concubines, and countless virgins.
9My dove, my perfect one, is unique. She is her mother’s only daughter. She is the favorite of the one who gave birth to her. When other young women saw her, they called her blessed; the queens and concubines also praised her.
10Who is she who appears like the dawn, beautiful as the moon, radiant as the sun, and impressive as an army with banners?
11I went down into the grove of nut trees to see the new growth in the valley, to see if the vines had budded and if the pomegranates were in bloom.
12Before I knew it, my desire placed me among the chariots of my princely people.
13Return, return, Shulammite! Return, return, so we may look at you. Why do you wish to look at the Shulammite, as in the dance of Mahanaim?