The Mutual Delight of the Bride and Bridegroom

61 " Where has your beloved gone , O most beautiful among women ? Where has your beloved turned , That we may seek him with you?" 2 "My beloved has gone down to his garden , To the beds of balsam , To pasture his flock in the gardens And gather lilies . 3 " I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine, He who pastures his flock among the lilies ."

4 " You are as beautiful as Tirzah , my darling , As lovely as Jerusalem , As awesome as an army with banners . 5 "Turn your eyes away from me, For they have confused me; Your hair is like a flock of goats That have descended from Gilead . 6 " Your teeth are like a flock of ewes Which have come up from their washing , All of which bear twins , And not one among them has lost her young . 7 " Your temples are like a slice of a pomegranate Behind e your veil . 8 "There are sixty queens and eighty concubines , And maidens without number ; 9 But my dove , my perfect one , is unique : She is her mother's only daughter; She is the pure child of the one who bore her. The maidens saw her and called her blessed , The queens and the concubines also, and they praised her, saying, 10 'Who is this that grows like the dawn , As beautiful as the full moon , As pure as the sun , As awesome as an army with banners ?'

11 "I went down to the orchard of nut trees To see the blossoms of the valley , To see whether the vine had budded Or the pomegranates had bloomed . 12 "Before I was aware , my soul set me Over the chariots of my noble people ." 13 "Come back , come back , O Shulammite ; Come back , come back , that we may gaze at you!" " Why should you gaze at the Shulammite , As at the dance of the two companies ?