| New Living Translation | Holman Christian Standard Bible |
| 1Where has your lover gone, O woman of rare beauty? Which way did he turn so we can help you find him? Young Woman | 1Y Where has your love gone, most beautiful of women? Which way has he turned? We will seek him with you. W |
| 2My lover has gone down to his garden, to his spice beds, to browse in the gardens and gather the lilies. | 2My love has gone down to his garden, to beds of spice, to feed in the gardens and gather lilies. |
| 3I am my lover’s, and my lover is mine. He browses among the lilies. Young Man | 3I am my love's and my love is mine; he feeds among the lilies. M |
| 4You are beautiful, my darling, like the lovely city of Tirzah. Yes, as beautiful as Jerusalem, as majestic as an army with billowing banners. | 4You are as beautiful as Tirzah, my darling, lovely as Jerusalem, awe-inspiring as an army with banners. |
| 5Turn your eyes away, for they overpower me. Your hair falls in waves, like a flock of goats winding down the slopes of Gilead. | 5Turn your eyes away from me, for they captivate me. Your hair is like a flock of goats streaming down from Gilead. |
| 6Your teeth are as white as sheep that are freshly washed. Your smile is flawless, each tooth matched with its twin. | 6Your teeth are like a flock of ewes coming up from washing, each one having a twin, and not one missing. |
| 7Your cheeks are like rosy pomegranates behind your veil. | 7Behind your veil, your brow is like a slice of pomegranate. |
| 8Even among sixty queens and eighty concubines and countless young women, | 8There are 60 queens and 80 concubines and young women without number. |
| 9I would still choose my dove, my perfect one— the favorite of her mother, dearly loved by the one who bore her. The young women see her and praise her; even queens and royal concubines sing her praises: | 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 |
| 10“Who is this, arising like the dawn, as fair as the moon, as bright as the sun, as majestic as an army with billowing banners?” Young Woman | 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 to the grove of walnut trees and out to the valley to see the new spring growth, to see whether the grapevines had budded or the pomegranates were in bloom. | 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. |
| 12Before I realized it, my strong desires had taken me to the chariot of a noble man. Young Women of Jerusalem | 12Before I knew it, my desire put me among the chariots of my noble people. Y |
| 13 Return, return to us, O maid of Shulam. Come back, come back, that we may see you again. Young Man Why do you stare at this young woman of Shulam, as she moves so gracefully between two lines of dancers? | 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? |
| Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. | Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. |
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