6
Their friends speak to the woman
1 You who are the most beautiful of all the women,
where has the one who loves you gone?
If you tell us which [RHQ] direction he went,
we will go with you to search for him.
The woman speaks
2 The one who loves me has now come to me, who am like [MET, EUP] his garden,
He has come to enjoy my ◄charms/physical attractions► which are like [MET, EUP] spices,
to enjoy cuddling up to me [EUP, MET],
and kissing my lips, which are like [MET] lilies.
3 I belong to the one who loves me, and the one who loves me belongs to me;
he enjoys kissing my lips
like [MET] a shepherd enjoys taking care of his sheep.
The man speaks
4 My darling, you are beautiful,
like [SIM] Tirzah the capital city of Israel and Jerusalem the capital city of Judah are beautiful;
you are as exciting [MET] as a group/battalion of troops holding up their banners.
5 Quit looking at me like that,
because your eyes excite me very much.
Your long black hair moves from side to side like [SIM] a flock of black goats
moving down the slopes of Gilead Mountain.
6 Your teeth are very white
like [SIM] a flock of sheep whose wool has just been shorn
and that have come up from being washed in a stream.
You have all of your teeth;
none of them is missing.
7 Beneath your veil,
your cheeks are like [SIM] the halves of a pomegranate.
8 Even if a king had 60 queens and 80 ◄concubines/slave wives►
and more young women than anyone can count,
9 none of them would be like my dove, who is perfect,
you who are your mother’s only daughter,
whom your mother considers to be very precious.
Other young women who see you say that you are fortunate,
and the queens and concubines recognize that you are very beautiful.
Their friends speaks
10 Who is [RHQ] this woman who is as delightful as [SIM] the dawn,
as fair/delightful to look at as the light of the moon,
as exciting as a group/battalion of troops holding up their banners?
The man speaks
11 I went down to some walnut trees
to look at the new plants that were growing in the valley.
I wanted to see if the grapevines had budded
or if the pomegranate trees were blooming.
12 But before I realized it,
my desire to make love caused me to be as excited as a prince riding in a chariot.
Their friends speak
13 You who are the perfect one,
come back to us, in order that we may see you!
The man speaks
Why do you want to look at this woman who is perfect,
like [SIM] you like to watch two rows/lines of people dancing?