The Women
1Most beautiful of women,
where has your lover gone?
Tell us which way your lover went,
so that we can help you find him.
The Woman
2My lover has gone to his garden,
where the balsam trees grow.
He is feeding his flock in the garden
and gathering lilies.
3My lover is mine, and I am his;
he feeds his flock among the lilies.
The Fifth Song
The Man
4My love, you are as beautiful as Jerusalem,
as lovely as the city of Tirzah,
as breathtaking as these great cities.
5Turn your eyes away from me;
they are holding me captive.
Your hair dances, like a flock of goats
bounding down the hills of Gilead.
6Your teeth are as white as a flock of sheep
that have just been washed.
Not one of them is missing;
they are all perfectly matched.
7Your cheeks glow behind your veil.
8Let the king have sixty queens, eighty concubines,
young women without number!
9But I love only one,
and she is as lovely as a dove.
She is her mother's only daughter,
her mother's favourite child.
All women look at her and praise her;
queens and concubines sing her praises.
10Who is this whose glance is like the dawn?
She is beautiful and bright,
as dazzling as the sun or the moon.
11I have come down among the almond trees
to see the young plants in the valley,
to see the new leaves on the vines
and the blossoms on the pomegranate trees.
12I am trembling; you have made me as eager for love
as a chariot driver is for battle.
The Women
13Dance, dance, girl of Shulam.
Let us watch you as you dance.
The Woman
Why do you want to watch me
as I dance between the rows of onlookers?