Song of Solomon 6 — ULB

6Where has your beloved gone,
most beautiful among women?
In what direction has your beloved gone,
so that we may seek him with you?²My beloved has gone down to his garden,
to the beds of spices,
to graze in the garden and to gather lilies.
³I am my beloved's, and my beloved is mine;
he grazes among the lilies with pleasure.⁴You are as beautiful as Tirzah, my love,
as lovely as Jerusalem,
as awe-inspiring as an army with its banners.
⁵Turn your eyes away from me,
for they overwhelm me.
Your hair is like a flock of goats
going down from the slopes of Gilead.
⁶Your teeth are like a flock of ewes
coming up from the washing place.
Each one has a twin,
and none among them is bereaved.
⁷Your cheeks are like pomegranate halves
behind your veil.⁸There are sixty queens, eighty concubines,
and young women without number.
⁹My dove, my undefiled, is the only one;
she is the only daughter of her mother;
she is the favorite one of the woman who bore her.
The young women saw her and called her blessed;
the queens and the concubines saw her also, and they praised her:¹⁰“Who is this who appears like the dawn,
as beautiful as the moon,
as bright as the sun,
as awe-inspiring as an army with its banners?”¹¹I went down into the grove of nut trees
to see the young growth in the valley,
to see whether the vines had budded,
and whether the pomegranates were in bloom.
¹²I was so happy that I felt
I was riding in the chariot of a prince.¹³Turn back, turn back, you perfect woman;⁺
turn back, turn back so that we may gaze on you.The woman speaking to the friendsWhy do you gaze on the perfect woman,⁺
as if on the dance between two armies?⁺