Chapter 5
Bridegroom:
1 I have come to my garden, my sister, my bride;
I gather my myrrh and my spices,
I eat my honeycomb and my honey,
I drink my wine and my milk.
Companions:
Eat, friends, and drink deeply,
until you are drunk with love.
Fourth Poem
I Sought Him, but I Could Not Find Him
Open to Me
Bride:
2 I was sleeping, but my heart was awake.
Listen! My beloved is knocking:
“Open to me, my sister, my beloved,
my dove, my perfect one.
For my head is drenched with dew,
my hair with the wetness of the night.”
3 I have taken off my robe;
must I put it on again?
I have bathed my feet;
must I soil them again?
4 My beloved thrust his hand through the opening in the door,
and my heart began to tremble.
5 I arose to open to my beloved
with myrrh dripping from my hands;
the liquid myrrh from my fingers
ran onto the handle of the bolt.
6 I opened to my beloved,
but he had turned away and was gone;
my heart sank at his disappearance.
I sought him, but I could not find him;
I called out to him, but he did not answer.
I Am Sick with Love
7 The watchmen came upon me
as they made their rounds of the city.
They beat me and wounded me
and took my cloak from me,
those guardians of the walls.
8 I charge you, daughters of Jerusalem,
if you should find my beloved,
please tell him this:
that I am sick with love.
Companions:
9 In what way is your beloved better than any other,
O fairest of women?
In what way is your beloved better than any other
that you lay this charge upon us?
Bride:
10 My beloved is radiant and ruddy,
one who would stand out in a group of ten thousand.
11 His head is golden, of the purest gold;
his hair is like palm branches,
black as the raven.
12 His eyes are like doves
by water streams,
bathed in milk,
and mounted like jewels.
13 His cheeks are like beds of spices
pouring forth fragrant scents.
His lips are like lilies,
distilling choice myrrh.
14 His arms are rods of gold
adorned with jewels.
His body is a block of ivory
covered with sapphires.
15 His legs are pillars of marble
set in sockets of pure gold.
His appearance is like Lebanon,
as imposing as the cedars.
16 His mouth is most sweet,
and he is totally desirable.
Such is my beloved and such is my friend,
O daughters of Jerusalem.
Footnotes
- Song of Songs 5:2
- Song of Songs 5:2
- Song of Songs 5:2
- Song of Songs 5:3
- Song of Songs 5:4
- Song of Songs 5:6
- Song of Songs 5:7
- Song of Songs 5:7
- Song of Songs 5:10
- Song of Songs 5:12
- Song of Songs 5:13
