The Bride and Her Beloved The Bridegroom 1 UST You who are as dear to me as a sister, my bride, I am ready to go away with you now and enjoy making love with you. It will be delightful, delightful like when I gather my myrrh with my other spices, as wonderful as eating my honey and honeycomb, and as enjoyable as drinking my wine with milk. The women of Jerusalem speaking to the newly married couple Friends, enjoy making love; fully enjoy all that you do with each other. The woman speaking to the women of Jerusalem 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 UST I was asleep, and I had a dream. In it I heard the man I love knocking at the door. He said,“You who are as dear to me as a sister, my dear one, you who are like a dove, my flawless one. Open the door for me because my hair is wet from the dew, from the mist that has fallen during the night.” 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 UST But I had already taken my robe off; I did not want to put it on again to open the door. I had already washed my feet; so I did not want them to get dirty again by answering the door. 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 UST The man I love put his hand through the opening in the door, and I was thrilled in my inner being that he was there. BSB BSB: My beloved put his hand to the latch; my heart pounded for him.
5 UST I got up to open the door for the man I love, but first I put much myrrh on my hands. The liquid myrrh was dripping from my fingers while I unlatched the bolt. 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 UST I opened the door for the man I love, but he had left. He had turned away and was gone! I greatly despaired because he was not there. I searched for him, but I could not find him. I called out for him, but he did not answer. 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 UST The city watchmen saw me while they were walking around the city. They struck me and bruised me because they thought I was a prostitute; those watchmen who were guarding the city walls took my robe that was on 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 UST You young women of Jerusalem, if you see the man I love, what will you tell him? I want you to solemnly promise me that if you see him, you will tell him that the way he loves me makes me feel lovesick. The women of Jerusalem speaking to the woman BSB BSB: O daughters of Jerusalem, I adjure you, if you find my beloved, tell him I am sick with love.
The Friends 9 UST You who are the most beautiful of all the women, why do you think that the man you love is better than other men? In what way is he better than other men that would cause you to want us to solemnly promise that we will tell him that? The woman speaking to the women of Jerusalem 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 UST It is because the man I love is handsome and healthy, outstanding among an uncountable number of other men. BSB BSB: My beloved is dazzling and ruddy, outstanding among ten thousand.
11 UST His face is beautiful and gleams like gold; he is as precious as purest gold. His hair is wavy and as black as a raven. BSB BSB: His head is purest gold; his hair is wavy and black as a raven.
12 UST His eyes are as gentle and beautiful as doves which are beside streams. His eyes are as white as white doves which are sitting beside pools of water. BSB BSB: His eyes are like doves beside the streams of water, bathed in milk and mounted like jewels.
13 UST His cheeks are like a garden where spices grow and like towers where spices are kept. His lips are like lilies that have myrrh dripping from them. BSB BSB: His cheeks are like beds of spice, towers of perfume. His lips are like lilies, dripping with flowing myrrh.
14 UST His arms are like round gold rods, that are decorated with precious stones. His abdomen is like ivory that is decorated with sapphires. BSB BSB: His arms are rods of gold set with beryl. His body is polished ivory bedecked with sapphires.
15 UST His legs are like alabaster columns that are set in bases made of pure gold. He is majestic, like the mountains of Lebanon. He is tall and strong and outstanding like the cedar trees that grow there. 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.