The Man
1 I have entered my garden,
my sweetheart, my bride.
I am gathering my spices and myrrh;
I am eating my honey and honeycomb;
I am drinking my wine and milk.
The Women
Eat, lovers, and drink
until you are drunk with love!
The Fourth Song
The Woman
2 While I slept, my heart was awake.
I dreamed my lover knocked at the door.
The Man
Let me come in, my darling,
my sweetheart, my dove.
My head is wet with dew,
and my hair is damp from the mist.
The Woman
3 I have already undressed;
why should I get dressed again?
I have washed my feet;
why should I get them dirty again?
4 My lover put his hand to the door,
and I was thrilled that he was near.
5 I was ready to let him come in.
My hands were covered with myrrh,
my fingers with liquid myrrh,
as I grasped the handle of the door.
6 I opened the door for my lover,
but he had already gone.
How I wanted to hear his voice!
I looked for him, but couldn't find him;
I called to him, but heard no answer.
7 The sentries patrolling the city found me;
they struck me and bruised me;
the guards at the city wall tore off my cape.
8 Promise me, women of Jerusalem,
that if you find my lover,
you will tell him I am weak from passion.
The Women
9 Most beautiful of women,
is your lover different from everyone else?
What is there so wonderful about him
that we should give you our promise?
The Woman
10 My lover is handsome and strong;
he is one in ten thousand.
11 His face is bronzed and smooth;
his hair is wavy,
black as a raven.
12 His eyes are as beautiful as doves by a flowing brook,
doves washed in milk and standing by the stream.
13 His cheeks are as lovely as a garden
that is full of herbs and spices.
His lips are like lilies,
wet with liquid myrrh.
14 His hands are well-formed,
and he wears rings set with gems.
His body is like smooth ivory,
with sapphires set in it.
15 His thighs are columns of alabaster
set in sockets of gold.
He is majestic, like the Lebanon Mountains
with their towering cedars.
16 His mouth is sweet to kiss;
everything about him enchants me.
This is what my lover is like,
women of Jerusalem.
1 I am come into my garden, my sister, my spouse: I have gathered my myrrh with my spice; I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey; I have drunk my wine with my milk: eat, O friends; drink, yea, drink abundantly, O beloved.
2 ¶ I sleep, but my heart waketh: it is the voice of my beloved that knocketh, saying , Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my undefiled: for my head is filled with dew, and my locks with the drops of the night. 3 I have put off my coat; how shall I put it on? I have washed my feet; how shall I defile them? 4 My beloved put in his hand by the hole of the door , and my bowels were moved for him. 5 I rose up to open to my beloved; and my hands dropped with myrrh, and my fingers with sweet smelling myrrh, upon the handles of the lock. 6 I opened to my beloved; but my beloved had withdrawn himself, and was gone: my soul failed when he spake: I sought him, but I could not find him; I called him, but he gave me no answer. 7 The watchmen that went about the city found me, they smote me, they wounded me; the keepers of the walls took away my veil from me. 8 I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, if ye find my beloved, that ye tell him, that I am sick of love.
9 ¶ What is thy beloved more than another beloved, O thou fairest among women? what is thy beloved more than another beloved, that thou dost so charge us? 10 My beloved is white and ruddy, the chiefest among ten thousand. 11 His head is as the most fine gold, his locks are bushy, and black as a raven. 12 His eyes are as the eyes of doves by the rivers of waters, washed with milk, and fitly set. 13 His cheeks are as a bed of spices, as sweet flowers: his lips like lilies, dropping sweet smelling myrrh. 14 His hands are as gold rings set with the beryl: his belly is as bright ivory overlaid with sapphires. 15 His legs are as pillars of marble, set upon sockets of fine gold: his countenance is as Lebanon, excellent as the cedars. 16 His mouth is most sweet: yea, he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved, and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem.