August 26 – Song of Solomon 3 thru 5 from the Old Testament
Song of Solomon 3 thru 5 – The Lost Lover is Found
The Beloved about Her Lover:
3:1 All night long on my bed
I longed for my lover.
I longed for him but he never appeared.
3:2 “I will arise and look all around throughout the town,
and throughout the streets and squares;
I will search for my beloved.”
I searched for him but I did not find him.
3:3 The night watchmen found me – the ones who guard the city walls.
“Have you seen my beloved?”
3:4 Scarcely had I passed them by
when I found my beloved!
I held onto him tightly and would not let him go
until I brought him to my mother’s house,
to the bedroom chamber of the one who conceived me.
The Adjuration Refrain
The Beloved to the Maidens:
3:5 I admonish you, O maidens of Jerusalem,
by the gazelles and by the young does of the open fields:
“Do not awake or arouse love until it pleases!”
The Royal Wedding Procession
The Speaker:
3:6 Who is this coming up from the desert
like a column of smoke,
like a fragrant billow of myrrh and frankincense,
every kind of fragrant powder of the traveling merchants?
3:7 Look! It is Solomon’s portable couch!
It is surrounded by sixty warriors,
some of Israel’s mightiest warriors.
3:8 All of them are skilled with a sword,
well-trained in the art of warfare.
Each has his sword at his side,
to guard against the terrors of the night.
3:9 King Solomon made a sedan chair for himself
of wood imported from Lebanon.
3:10 Its posts were made of silver;
its back was made of gold.
Its seat was upholstered with purple wool;
its interior was inlaid with leather by the
maidens of Jerusalem.
3:11 Come out, O maidens of Zion,
and gaze upon King Solomon!
He is wearing the crown with which his mother crowned him
on his wedding day,
on the most joyous day of his life!
The Wedding Night: Praise of the Bride
The Lover to His Beloved:
4:1 Oh, you are beautiful, my darling!
Oh, you are beautiful!
Your eyes behind your veil are like doves.
Your hair is like a flock of female goats
descending from Mount Gilead.
4:2 Your teeth are like a flock of newly-shorn sheep
coming up from the washing place;
each of them has a twin,
and not one of them is missing.
4:3 Your lips are like a scarlet thread;
your mouth is lovely.
Your forehead behind your veil
is like a slice of pomegranate.
4:4 Your neck is like the tower of David
built with courses of stones;
one thousand shields are hung on it –
all shields of valiant warriors.
4:5 Your two breasts are like two fawns,
twins of the gazelle
grazing among the lilies.
4:6 Until the dawn arrives
and the shadows flee,
I will go up to the mountain of myrrh,
and to the hill of frankincense.
4:7 You are altogether beautiful, my darling!
There is no blemish in you!
The Wedding Night: Beautiful as Lebanon
4:8 Come with me from Lebanon, my bride,
come with me from Lebanon.
Descend from the crest of Amana,
from the top of Senir, the summit of Hermon,
from the lions’ dens
and the mountain haunts of the leopards.
4:9 You have stolen my heart, my sister, my bride!
You have stolen my heart with one glance of your eyes,
with one jewel of your necklace.
4:10 How delightful is your love, my sister, my bride!
How much better is your love than wine;
the fragrance of your perfume is better than any spice!
4:11 Your lips drip sweetness like the honeycomb, my bride,
honey and milk are under your tongue.
The fragrance of your garments is like the fragrance of Lebanon.
The Wedding Night: The Delightful Garden
The Lover to His Beloved:
4:12 You are a locked garden, my sister, my bride;
you are an enclosed spring, a sealed-up fountain.
4:13 Your shoots are a royal garden full of pomegranates
with choice fruits:
henna with nard,
4:14 nard and saffron;
calamus and cinnamon with every kind of spice,
myrrh and aloes with all the finest spices.
4:15 You are a garden spring,
a well of fresh water flowing down from Lebanon.
The Beloved to Her Lover:
4:16 Awake, O north wind; come, O south wind!
Blow on my garden so that its fragrant spices may send out their sweet smell.
May my beloved come into his garden
and eat its delightful fruit!
The Lover to His Beloved:
5:1 I have entered my garden, O my sister, my bride;
I have gathered my myrrh with my balsam spice.
I have eaten my honeycomb and my honey;
I have drunk my wine and my milk!
The Poet to the Couple:
Eat, friends, and drink!
Drink freely, O lovers!
The Trials of Love: The Beloved’s Dream of Losing Her Lover
The Beloved about Her Lover:
5:2 I was asleep, but my mind was dreaming.
Listen! My lover is knocking at the door!
The Lover to His Beloved:
“Open for me, my sister, my darling,
my dove, my flawless one!
My head is drenched with dew,
my hair with the dampness of the night.”
The Beloved to Her Lover:
5:3 “I have already taken off my robe – must I put it on again?
I have already washed my feet – must I soil them again?”
5:4 My lover thrust his hand through the hole,
and my feelings were stirred for him.
5:5 I arose to open for my beloved;
my hands dripped with myrrh –
my fingers flowed with myrrh
on the handles of the lock.
5:6 I opened for my beloved,
but my lover had already turned and gone away.
I fell into despair when he departed.
I looked for him but did not find him;
I called him but he did not answer me.
5:7 The watchmen found me as they made their rounds in the city.
They beat me, they bruised me;
they took away my cloak, those watchmen on the walls!
The Triumph of Love: The Beloved Praises Her Lover
The Beloved to the Maidens:
5:8 O maidens of Jerusalem, I command you –
If you find my beloved, what will you tell him?
Tell him that I am lovesick!
The Maidens to The Beloved:
5:9 Why is your beloved better than others,
O most beautiful of women?
Why is your beloved better than others,
that you would command us in this manner?
The Beloved to the Maidens:
5:10 My beloved is dazzling and ruddy;
he stands out in comparison to all other men.
5:11 His head is like the most pure gold.
His hair is curly – black like a raven.
5:12 His eyes are like doves by streams of water,
washed in milk, mounted like jewels.
5:13 His cheeks are like garden beds full of
balsam trees yielding perfume.
His lips are like lilies dripping with drops of myrrh.
5:14 His arms are like rods of gold set with chrysolite.
His abdomen is like polished ivory inlaid with sapphires.
5:15 His legs are like pillars of marble set on bases of pure gold.
His appearance is like Lebanon, choice as its cedars.
5:16 His mouth is very sweet;
he is totally desirable.
This is my beloved!
This is my companion, O maidens of Jerusalem!
