The Bride and Her Beloved The Bridegroom 1 DRA Let my beloved come into his garden, and eat the fruit of his apple trees. I am come into my garden, O my sister, my spouse, I have gathered my myrrh, with my aromatical spices: I have eaten the honeycomb with my honey, I have drunk my wine with my milk: eat, O friends, and drink, and be inebriated, my dearly beloved. BSB BSB: I have come to my garden, my sister, my bride; I have gathered my myrrh with my spice. I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey; I have drunk my wine with my milk. Eat, O friends, and drink; drink freely, O beloved.
The Friends The Bride 2 DRA I sleep, and my heart watcheth; the voice of my beloved knocking: Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my undefiled: for my head is full of dew, and my locks of the drops of the nights. BSB BSB: I sleep, but my heart is awake. A sound! My beloved is knocking: “Open to me, my sister, my darling, my dove, my flawless one. My head is drenched with dew, my hair with the dampness of the night.”
3 DRA I have put off my garment, how shall I put it on? I have washed my feet, how shall I defile them? BSB BSB: I have taken off my robe—must I put it back on? I have washed my feet—must I soil them again?
4 DRA My beloved put his hand through the key hole, and my bowels were moved at his touch. BSB BSB: My beloved put his hand to the latch; my heart pounded for him.
5 DRA I arose up to open to my beloved: my hands dropped with myrrh, and my fingers were full of the choicest myrrh. BSB BSB: I rose up to open for my beloved. My hands dripped with myrrh, my fingers with flowing myrrh on the handles of the bolt.
6 DRA I opened the bolt of my door to my beloved: but he had turned aside, and was gone. My soul melted when he spoke: I sought him, and found him not: I called, and he did not answer me. BSB BSB: I opened for my beloved, but he had turned and gone. My heart sank at his departure. I sought him but did not find him. I called, but he did not answer.
7 DRA The keepers that go about the city found me: they struck me: and wounded me: the keepers of the walls took away my veil from me. BSB BSB: I encountered the watchmen on their rounds of the city. They beat me and bruised me; they took away my cloak, those guardians of the walls.
8 DRA I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, if you find my beloved, that you tell him that I languish with love. BSB BSB: O daughters of Jerusalem, I adjure you, if you find my beloved, tell him I am sick with love.
The Friends 9 DRA What manner of one is thy beloved of the beloved, O thou most beautiful among women? what manner of one is thy beloved of the beloved, that thou hast so adjured us? BSB BSB: How is your beloved better than others, O most beautiful among women? How is your beloved better than another, that you charge us so?
The Bride 10 DRA My beloved is white and ruddy, chosen out of thousands. BSB BSB: My beloved is dazzling and ruddy, outstanding among ten thousand.
11 DRA His head is as the finest gold: his locks as branches of palm trees, black as a raven. BSB BSB: His head is purest gold; his hair is wavy and black as a raven.
12 DRA His eyes as doves upon brooks of waters, which are washed with milk, and sit beside the plentiful streams. BSB BSB: His eyes are like doves beside the streams of water, bathed in milk and mounted like jewels.
13 DRA His cheeks are as beds of aromatical spices set by the perfumers. His lips are as lilies dropping choice myrrh. BSB BSB: His cheeks are like beds of spice, towers of perfume. His lips are like lilies, dripping with flowing myrrh.
14 DRA His hands are turned and as of gold, full of hyacinths. His belly as of ivory, set with sapphires. BSB BSB: His arms are rods of gold set with beryl. His body is polished ivory bedecked with sapphires.
15 DRA His legs as pillars of marble, that are set upon bases of gold. His form as of Libanus, excellent as the cedars. BSB BSB: His legs are pillars of marble set on bases of pure gold. His appearance is like Lebanon, as majestic as the cedars.
Select verses for actions: Enter goes to them and Escape comes back.