He
1I have come to my garden,
my sister, my bride;
I have gathered my myrrh with spices,
I have eaten my honey and my honeycomb,
I have drunk my milk and my wine.
Friends, eat and drink!
Drink your fill, my dearest ones!
She
2 ① I slept, but my heart kept vigil.
I heard the knock of my beloved.
“Open to me, my sister, my love,
my perfect one, my dove!
My head is wet with dew,
my hair with the drops of the night.” 3I have taken off my robe;
must I put it on again?
I have washed my feet;
must I soil them again? 4My lover thrust his hand
through the lock opening
and my heart thrilled for him. 5I rose to open the door.
Myrrh from my hands dripped
on the handle of the lock. 6I opened to my lover
but he had turned and gone –
my soul went after him!
I sought him but did not find him;
I called him but he did not answer. 7The watchmen came upon me
those who patrol the city;
they beat me and wounded me;
they took away my mantle –
oh, those guardians of the walls! 8I beg you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
if you ever find my lover –
Oh, what will you tell him?
Tell him that love makes me sick.
Chorus
9How is your lover better than others,
most beautiful woman?
How is your lover better than others,
that you do so beg us?
She
10 ② Radiant and ruddy, my lover
stands out among thousands. 11Pure gold is his head,
palm fronds are his hair,
glossy black like the raven. 12His eyes are doves
beside running waters,
bathed in milk
and set like jewels. 13His fragrant cheeks
are like beds of spice;
his lips like lilies
dripping with myrrh. 14His hands are rods of gold
adorned with jewels;
his body is polished ivory
covered with sapphires, 15set upon bases of gold;
his legs are pillars of alabaster.
He has the stature of Lebanon,
excelling like the cedars. 16His mouth is sweetness itself;
he is most worthy of desire.
O daughters of Jerusalem,
such is my friend and lover.
Chorus
- Song 5,2 Experience of our heaviness: how many times has God passed without our recognizing him? I will come like a thief at an hour you least expect (Rev 3:3). I slept, but my heart kept vigil. It was not the sleep of those who expect nothing, but if the spirit is willing, the flesh is weak. He came laden with his blessings (this is the meaning of the dew), but the opportunity missed: He is recognized when it is too late: we did not open at once because we were actually afraid of anything unknown. He knew it was not yet time, but he does not go away without leaving a sign of his calling: myrrh from my hands dripped. Something has been sown that will ripen later. The watchmen came upon me (v. 7). Here we have one of the features of the poem alluding to the political situation of the Jewish community that has returned from exile. There has been rebuilding but foreign domination continues; this has been figuratively expressed in 1:9: horse harnessed to Pharaoh's chariot. The stress is the same as that in the contemporary poem of Isaiah 26. Song 5,10 Without doubt we find here traditional verses from the song of the bridegroom and the song of the bride (see Introduction) but as nothing remains of these popular songs, it is difficult to say whether there are any allusions to the land of Israel and to the Temple. Here Israel remembers the splendor of the first Temple and as at this time they only have a very modest sanctuary, they dream of a new Temple that the Lord himself will visit.
- Song 5,2 Experience of our heaviness: how many times has God passed without our recognizing him? I will come like a thief at an hour you least expect (Rev 3:3). I slept, but my heart kept vigil. It was not the sleep of those who expect nothing, but if the spirit is willing, the flesh is weak. He came laden with his blessings (this is the meaning of the dew), but the opportunity missed: He is recognized when it is too late: we did not open at once because we were actually afraid of anything unknown. He knew it was not yet time, but he does not go away without leaving a sign of his calling: myrrh from my hands dripped. Something has been sown that will ripen later. The watchmen came upon me (v. 7). Here we have one of the features of the poem alluding to the political situation of the Jewish community that has returned from exile. There has been rebuilding but foreign domination continues; this has been figuratively expressed in 1:9: horse harnessed to Pharaoh's chariot. The stress is the same as that in the contemporary poem of Isaiah 26. Song 5,10 Without doubt we find here traditional verses from the song of the bridegroom and the song of the bride (see Introduction) but as nothing remains of these popular songs, it is difficult to say whether there are any allusions to the land of Israel and to the Temple. Here Israel remembers the splendor of the first Temple and as at this time they only have a very modest sanctuary, they dream of a new Temple that the Lord himself will visit.
