CH. III.

Until I had brought him to my mother's house, To the apartment of her who bore me. 5 I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, By the antelopes, and by the hinds of the 'field,

'That ye disturb not, nor awake

'This lovely one until he please.'

SECTION VI. [3d Evening.]

FIRST VIRGIN.

6 What is this rising from the wilderness, like columns of smoke,

Fuming with myrrh, and frankincense,
More [precious] than all the powders of the

merchant?

SECOND VIRGIN.

7 Behold! Solomon's own palanquin ! Threescore warriors surround it, the warriors of Israel,

8 Every one having a sword, being skilled in

war;

Each [with] his sword upon his thigh,
Because of danger in the night.

FIRST VIRGIN.

9 A carriage hath he made for himself,
[Even] Solomon the king, of the wood of
Lebanon.

10 The pillars thereof hath he made of silver;
Its carpet of gold,-its seat of purple :
The midst thereof being lined with love,
By the daughters of Jerusalem.

CH. III.

SECOND VIRGIN.

11 Go forth, ye daughters of Zion, and behold King Solomon

In the crown wherewith his mother crowned

him

In the day of his espousals,

In the day of the gladness of his heart.

CH. IV.

SECTION VII. [4th Morning.]

BRIDEGROOM.

Behold thou art beautiful, my consort;
Behold thou art beautiful !

Thine eyes are doves, behind thy veil.
Thy hair is like a flock of goats,

Which come up sleek from [mount] Gilead. 2 Thy teeth are like a flock [newly] shorn, Which ascend from the washing.

All of them bearing twins,

And none of them miscarrying.

3 Like a brede of scarlet are thy lips, And thy speech is agreeable.

Like the flower of the pomegranate

Are thy cheeks, behind thy veil.

4 Thy neck is like the tower of David, builded for an armoury;

A thousand bucklers hang thereon,

All shields of mighty men.

5 Thy two breasts are like twin fawns of the antelope,

Feeding among the lilies.

6 Until the day breathe, and the shades flee away, I will get me to the mountain of myrrh,

[And] to the hill of frankincense.

CH. IV.

SECTION VIII. [4th Evening.]

BRIDEGROOM.

7 Thou art all beautiful, my consort,
And blemish is not in thee.

8 Come unto me from Lebanon, O spouse
[Come] unto me from Lebanon.
Look from the top of Amana,

From the top of Shenir and Hermon ;
From the dens of the lions,

From the mountains of the leopards.

9 Thou hast ravished my heart, my sister, [my]

spouse,

Thou hast ravished my heart with one of thine

eyes,

With one chain of thy neck.

10 How beautiful is thy love, my sister, [my] spouse!

How much more excellent than wine;

And the odour of thine ointments than all

perfumes!

11 Thy lips, O spouse, drop [as] the honeycomb;

Honey and milk are under thy tongue :

And the odour of thy garments is as the odour of Lebanon.

12 A garden locked is my sister, [my] spouse; A well locked-a fountain sealed.

13 Thy shoots are a paradise of pomegranates, Together with the precious fruits of cypresses, and nards.

14 Spikenard and saffron-calamus and cinna

mon

CH. IV.

With all the trees of frankincense, myrrh and

aloes

With all the principal aromatics.

15 A fountain of gardens, a well of living waters, And streams from Lebanon.

SPOUSE.

Awake, O north wind! and come, O south, Breathe upon my garden, that its aromatics may flow out!

16 My beloved shall come into his garden, And eat his precious fruits.

I am come into my garden, my sister, [my]

spouse,

I have gathered my myrrh with my aromatics;
I have eaten my honey in the comb;

I have drank my wine with my milk.

[To the Companions.]

Eat, O friends!

Drink, yea, drink abundantly, O beloved.

SECTION IX. [5th Morning.]

SPOUSE

2 I slept; but my heart waked:

.

The voice of my beloved, [who was] knock

ing:

'Open to me, my sister, my consort,

My dove, my accomplished one;

For my head is filled with dew,

• And my locks with the drops of the night.

S

CH. V.

3. I have put off my vest, how shall I put it on?

'I have washed my feet, how shall I defile

them ?'

4 My beloved put forth his hand by the opening [of the door,]

And my bowels were moved for him.

5 I rose to open to my beloved,

But my hands dropped myrrh,
And my fingers liquid myrrh,
Upon the handles of the lock.
6 I opened to my beloved;

But my beloved had withdrawn-was gone.
My soul fainted when he spake :

I sought him, but could not find him;

I called him, but he gave me no answer.

7 The watchmen, who go round the city, found

me:

They smote me-they hurt me :

The keepers of the walls plucked my veil from me.

8 I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, if ye find my beloved—

What should ye tell him?-That I am sick

with love.

VIRGINS.

9 What is thy beloved more than [another] be

loved?

O most beautiful of women!

What is thy beloved more than [another] beloved,

That so thou dost adjure us?

SPOUSE.

10 My beloved is white and ruddy,

The chief among ten thousand.