5 “I have ^(A)come into my garden, ^(B)my sister, my bride;
I have gathered my ^(C)myrrh along with my balsam.
I have eaten my honeycomb with my ^(D)honey;
I have ^(E)drunk my wine with my milk.
Eat, ^(F)friends;
Drink and ^[a]drink deeply, lovers.”

² “I was asleep but my heart was awake.
A voice! My beloved was knocking:
‘Open to me, ^(G)my sister, my darling,
^(H)My dove, my perfect one!
For my head is ^[b]drenched with dew,
My ^(I)locks with the dew drops of the night.’
³ I have ^(J)taken off my dress,
How can I put it on again?
I have ^(K)washed my feet,
How can I dirty them again?
⁴ My beloved extended his hand through the opening,
And my ^(L)feelings were stirred for him.
⁵ I arose to open to my beloved;
And my hands ^(M)dripped with myrrh,
And my fingers with drops of myrrh,
On the handles of the bolt.
⁶ I opened to my beloved,
But my beloved had ^(N)turned away and had gone!
My ^[c]heart went out to him as he ^(O)spoke.
I ^(P)searched for him but I did not find him;
I ^(Q)called him but he did not answer me.
⁷ The ^(R)watchmen who make the rounds in the city found me,
They struck me and wounded me;
The guards of the walls took my shawl away from me.
^8 (S)Swear to me, you daughters of Jerusalem,
If you find my beloved,
As to what you will tell him:
For ^(T)I am lovesick.”

⁹ “^[d]What kind of beloved is your beloved,
O ^(U)most beautiful among women?
^[e]What kind of beloved is your beloved,
That you make us swear in this way?”

¹⁰ “My beloved is dazzling and ^[f](V)reddish,
^(W)Outstanding among ten thousand.
¹¹ His head is like gold, pure gold;
His ^(X)locks are like clusters of dates
And black as a raven.
¹² His ^(Y)eyes are like doves
Beside streams of water,
Bathed in milk,
And perched in their ^(Z)setting.
¹³ His cheeks are like a ^(AA)bed of balsam,
^[g]Banks of herbal spices;
His lips are ^(AB)lilies
^(AC)Dripping with drops of myrrh.
¹⁴ His hands are rods of gold
Set with ^(AD)topaz;
His abdomen is panels of ivory
Covered with ^[h](AE)sapphires.
¹⁵ His thighs are pillars of alabaster
Set on pedestals of pure gold;
His appearance is like ^(AF)Lebanon,
Choice as the ^(AG)cedars.
¹⁶ His ^[i](AH)mouth is full of sweetness.
And he is wholly ^(AI)desirable.
This is my beloved and this is my friend,
You daughters of Jerusalem.”