1He says:
‘My sister, my bride,
I come to my garden
and I pick my myrrh with my herbs,
I eat my honeycomb with my honey,
and I drink my wine with my milk.’
Friends, you must eat.
Friends, you must drink. Yes,
you must become drunk from love.
I could not find him
2She says:
‘I was sleeping, but my heart was awake.
I heard the man at the door,
the man that I love.
He said: “My sister, my darling,
my dove, you are perfect.
Open the door for me.
My head is wet with evening dew.”
3I said:
“I have already taken off my dress.
Must I put on my dress again?
I have already washed my feet.
Must I let them become dirty again?”
4But then the man that I love
put his hand through the door,
and my heart started beating fast for him.
5I got up to open the door for the man I love.
When my hands came to the lock on the door,
the myrrh dripped from my hands
and from my fingers.
6I opened the door for the man that I love,
but he was not there. He was gone.
I thought I would follow him
and I looked for him, but I did not find him.
I called him, but he did not answer.
7The guards who looked after the city
found me. They hit me and hurt me.
The guards on the walls took off my veil.
8Women of Jerusalem,
you must promise me this:
When you find the man that I love,
you must tell him that I love him
so much that I have become sick.’
What does he look like?
9Their friends say:
‘The most beautiful of all women,
what does the man look like,
the man that you love?
Is he different from other men?
You say we must promise,
but what does he look like,
the man you love?
Is he different from other men?’
You will know it is him
10She says:
‘The man that I love
is good-looking and strong.
You will know it is him
among 10 000 other men.
11His forehead looks like shining gold.
His long curly hair is as black as a raven.
12His eyes are like doves near rivers,
doves as white as milk,
sitting by the water.
13His cheeks look like a garden
full of sweet-smelling herbs.
His lips look like flowers,
dripping with myrrh.
14His arms look like gold,
with beautiful gemstones.
His body looks like marble,
with sapphire in it.
15His legs look like marble pillars,
standing on golden stands.
He looks like the Lebanon Mountains
where the best cedar trees grow.
16His mouth tastes sweet,
and he is beautiful in every way.
Women of Jerusalem,
this is the man that I love.
This is my friend.’
