| King James Bible | Holman Christian Standard Bible |
| 1Whither is thy beloved gone, O thou fairest among women? whither is thy beloved turned aside? that we may seek him with thee. | 1Y Where has your love gone, most beautiful of women? Which way has he turned? We will seek him with you. W |
| 2My beloved is gone down into his garden, to the beds of spices, to feed in the gardens, and to gather lilies. | 2My love has gone down to his garden, to beds of spice, to feed in the gardens and gather lilies. |
| 3I am my beloved's, and my beloved is mine: he feedeth among the lilies. | 3I am my love's and my love is mine; he feeds among the lilies. M |
| 4Thou art beautiful, O my love, as Tirzah, comely as Jerusalem, terrible as an army with banners. | 4You are as beautiful as Tirzah, my darling, lovely as Jerusalem, awe-inspiring as an army with banners. |
| 5Turn away thine eyes from me, for they have overcome me: thy hair is as a flock of goats that appear from Gilead. | 5Turn your eyes away from me, for they captivate me. Your hair is like a flock of goats streaming down from Gilead. |
| 6Thy teeth are as a flock of sheep which go up from the washing, whereof every one beareth twins, and there is not one barren among them. | 6Your teeth are like a flock of ewes coming up from washing, each one having a twin, and not one missing. |
| 7As a piece of a pomegranate are thy temples within thy locks. | 7Behind your veil, your brow is like a slice of pomegranate. |
| 8There are threescore queens, and fourscore concubines, and virgins without number. | 8There are 60 queens and 80 concubines and young women without number. |
| 9My dove, my undefiled is but one; she is the only one of her mother, she is the choice one of her that bare her. The daughters saw her, and blessed her; yea, the queens and the concubines, and they praised her. | 9But my dove, my virtuous one, is unique; she is the favorite of her mother, perfect to the one who gave her birth. Women see her and declare her fortunate; queens and concubines also, and they sing her praises: Y |
| 10Who is she that looketh forth as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners? | 10Who is this who shines like the dawn-- as beautiful as the moon, bright as the sun, awe-inspiring as an army with banners? W |
| 11I went down into the garden of nuts to see the fruits of the valley, and to see whether the vine flourished, and the pomegranates budded. | 11I came down to the walnut grove to see the blossoms of the valley, to see if the vines were budding and the pomegranates blooming. |
| 12Or ever I was aware, my soul made me like the chariots of Amminadib. | 12Before I knew it, my desire put me among the chariots of my noble people. Y |
| 13Return, return, O Shulamite; return, return, that we may look upon thee. What will ye see in the Shulamite? As it were the company of two armies. | 13Come back, come back, Shulammite! Come back, come back, that we may look at you! M Why are you looking at the Shulammite, as you look at the dance of the two camps? |
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