Song of Solomon 6
Expanded Bible
The Friends Speak to the Woman
6 Where has your lover gone,
most beautiful of women?
Which way did your lover turn?
We will ·look [search] for him with you.
The Woman Answers the Friends
2 My lover has gone down to his garden,
to the beds of spices,
to ·feed [graze] in the gardens
and to ·gather [pluck] lilies.
3 I belong to my lover,
and my lover belongs to me [2:16; 7:11].
He ·feeds [grazes] among the lilies.
The Man Speaks to the Woman
4 My darling, you are as beautiful as the city of Tirzah [C onetime capital of the northern kingdom of Israel; the name means “pleasant”; 1 Kin. 14:17; 15:21],
as lovely as the city of Jerusalem [C the capital of the southern kingdom of Judah; Ps. 122],
·like an army flying flags [L awesome like an army under banners].
5 Turn your eyes from me,
because they ·excite me too much [unsettle me].
Your hair is like a flock of goats
streaming down Mount Gilead [4:1].
6 Your teeth are like a flock of sheep
just coming from ·their bath [a washing; C white];
each one has a twin,
and none of them is missing [4:2].
7 Your ·cheeks [or temple] behind your veil
are like slices of a pomegranate [reddish orange; 4:3].
8 There may be sixty queens and eighty ·slave women [concubines; C secondary wives]
and so many girls you cannot count them,
9 but there is only one like my dove, my ·perfect [flawless] one.
She is her mother’s only daughter,
the ·brightest [favored] of the one who gave her birth.
The ·young women [L daughters] saw her and called her ·happy [blessed];
the queens and the ·slave women [concubines, v. 8] also praised her.
The Young Women Praise the Woman
10 Who is that young woman
that ·shines out [L looks down] like the dawn?
She is as ·pretty [beautiful] as the moon,
as bright as the sun,
·as wonderful as an army flying flags [awesome like an army under banners; v. 4].
The Man Speaks
11 I went down into the ·orchard [grove] of nut trees
to see the ·blossoms [new growth] of the valley,
to look for buds on the vines,
to see if the pomegranate trees had bloomed.
12 Before I realized it, my desire ·for you made me feel
like a prince in a chariot [or placed me in the chariots of Amminadab; C perhaps a well-known lover like Romeo].
The Friends Call to the Woman
13 ·Come back [or Turn around], ·come back [or turn around], woman of Shulam [C feminine form of Solomon, both based on the Hebrew root meaning “peace”; their union brings contentment].
·Come back [or Turn around], ·come back [or turn around],
so we may look at you!
The Woman Answers the Friends
Why do you want to look at the woman of Shulam
as you would at the dance of two armies [C as at a mesmerizing sight]?
Song of Songs 6
New International Version
Friends
6 Where has your beloved(A) gone,
most beautiful of women?(B)
Which way did your beloved turn,
that we may look for him with you?
She
2 My beloved has gone(C) down to his garden,(D)
to the beds of spices,(E)
to browse in the gardens
and to gather lilies.
3 I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine;(F)
he browses among the lilies.(G)
He
4 You are as beautiful as Tirzah,(H) my darling,
as lovely as Jerusalem,(I)
as majestic as troops with banners.(J)
5 Turn your eyes from me;
they overwhelm me.
Your hair is like a flock of goats
descending from Gilead.(K)
6 Your teeth are like a flock of sheep
coming up from the washing.
Each has its twin,
not one of them is missing.(L)
7 Your temples behind your veil(M)
are like the halves of a pomegranate.(N)
8 Sixty queens(O) there may be,
and eighty concubines,(P)
and virgins beyond number;
9 but my dove,(Q) my perfect one,(R) is unique,
the only daughter of her mother,
the favorite of the one who bore her.(S)
The young women saw her and called her blessed;
the queens and concubines praised her.
Friends
10 Who is this that appears like the dawn,
fair as the moon, bright as the sun,
majestic as the stars in procession?
He
11 I went down to the grove of nut trees
to look at the new growth in the valley,
to see if the vines had budded
or the pomegranates were in bloom.(T)
12 Before I realized it,
my desire set me among the royal chariots of my people.[a]
Friends
13 Come back, come back, O Shulammite;
come back, come back, that we may gaze on you!
He
Footnotes
- Song of Songs 6:12 Or among the chariots of Amminadab; or among the chariots of the people of the prince
- Song of Songs 6:13 In Hebrew texts this verse (6:13) is numbered 7:1.
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