The Beloved’s Brothers: We have a little sister, and as yet she has no breasts. What shall we do for our sister on the day when she is spoken for? ¹ 

The Beloved to Her Lover: Solomon had a vineyard at Baal-Hamon; he leased out ¹  the vineyard to those who maintained it. Each was to bring a thousand shekels of silver for its fruit.

They ¹  went up ²  on the broad plain of the earth ³  and encircled ⁴  the camp ⁵  of the saints and the beloved city, but ⁶  fire came down from heaven and devoured them completely. ⁷ 

Draw me ¹  after you; let us hurry! ²  May the king ³  bring ⁴  me into his ⁵  bedroom chambers! ⁶  The Maidens ⁷  to the Lover: We will ⁸  rejoice and delight in you; ⁹  we will praise your love more than wine. The Beloved to Her Lover: How rightly the young women adore you!

The Beloved to Her Lover: Tell me, O you whom my heart ¹  loves, where do you pasture your sheep? Where do you rest your sheep during the midday heat? Tell me lest ²  I wander around ³  beside the flocks of your companions!

The Lover to His Beloved: O my dove, ¹  in the clefts of the rock, in the hiding places of the mountain crags, let me see your face, let me hear your voice; for your voice is sweet, and your face is lovely.

Scarcely ¹  had I passed them by when I found my beloved! I held onto him ²  tightly and would not let him go ³  until I brought him to my mother’s house, ⁴  to the bedroom chamber ⁵  of the one who conceived me.

The Lover to His Beloved: I have entered my garden, O my sister, my bride; I have gathered my myrrh with my balsam spice. I have eaten my honeycomb and my honey; I have drunk my wine and my milk! The Poet to the Couple: ¹  Eat, friends, and drink! ²  Drink freely, O lovers!

The Beloved to Her Lover: Set me like a cylinder seal ¹  over your heart, ²  like a signet ³  on your arm. ⁴  For love is as strong as death, ⁵  passion ⁶  is as unrelenting ⁷  as Sheol. Its flames burst forth, ⁸  it is a blazing flame. ⁹ 

The Lord says to the people of Judah, ¹  “What right do you have to be in my temple, my beloved people? ²  Many of you have done wicked things. ³  Can your acts of treachery be so easily canceled by sacred offerings ⁴  that you take joy in doing evil even while you make them? ⁵ 

These are the ones who now take oaths ¹  in the name of the sinful idol goddess ²  of Samaria. They vow, ³  ‘As surely as your god ⁴  lives, O Dan,’ or ‘As surely as your beloved one ⁵  lives, O Beer Sheba!’ But they will fall down and not get up again.”