Canticum Canticorum 6
1 Quo abiit dilectus tuus, o pulcherrima mulierum? quo declinavit dilectus tuus? et quæremus eum tecum.
[DAUGHTERS OF JERUSALEM] Whither hath thy beloved, gone, thou most beautiful among women? whither hath thy beloved turned him aside? That we may seek him with thee.
2 Dilectus meus descendit in hortum suum ad areolam aromatum, ut pascatur in hortis, et lilia colligat.
[SHE] My beloved, is gone down to his garden, to the beds of balsam, —to pasture in the gardens, and to gather lilies,
3 Ego dilecto meo, et dilectus meus mihi, qui pascitur inter lilia.
I, am, my beloved’s, and, my beloved, is mine, he that pastureth among lilies.
4 Pulchra es, amica mea; suavis, et decora sicut Jerusalem; terribilis ut castrorum acies ordinata.
[HE] Beautiful, art thou, my fair one, as Tirzah, comely, as Jerusalem, —majestic as bannered hosts!
5 Averte oculos tuos a me, quia ipsi me avolare fecerunt. Capilli tui sicut grex caprarum quæ apparuerunt de Galaad.
Turn away thine eyes from me, for, they, have excited me, —Thy hair, is like a flock of goats, that are reclining on the sides of Mount Gilead:
6 Dentes tui sicut grex ovium quæ ascenderunt de lavacro: omnes gemellis fœtibus, et sterilis non est in eis.
Thy teeth, are like a flock of sheep which have come up from the washing-place, —whereof, all of them, are twin-bearers, and bereaved, is there none among them:
7 Sicut cortex mali punici, sic genæ tuæ, absque occultis tuis.
Like a slice of pomegranate, are thy temples, from behind thy veil:
8 Sexaginta sunt reginæ, et octoginta concubinæ, et adolescentularum non est numerus.
Threescore, are the queens, and, fourscore, are the concubines, —and, virgins, there are, without number.
9 Una est columba mea, perfecta mea, una est matris suæ, electa genetrici suæ. Viderunt eam filiæ, et beatissimam prædicaverunt; reginæ et concubinæ, et laudaverunt eam.
One alone, is my dove, my perfect one, one alone, was she to her mother, Pure, was she to her that bare her, —The daughters, have seen her, and pronounced her happy, Queens and concubines, and they have praised her.
10 Quæ est ista quæ progreditur quasi aurora consurgens, pulchra ut luna, electa ut sol, terribilis ut castrorum acies ordinata?
[THEY] Who is this, that looketh forth like the dawn, beautiful as the moon, pure as the sun, majestic as bannered hosts?
11 Descendi in hortum nucum, ut viderem poma convallium, et inspicerem si floruisset vinea, et germinassent mala punica.
[HE] To the garden of nuts, I went down, to look at the fresh shoots of the ravine, —to see whether: had burst forth the vine, had blossomed the pomegranate: —
12 Nescivi: anima mea conturbavit me, propter quadrigas Aminadab.
I know not [how it was], my soul, set for me the chariots of my willing people!
13 Revertere, revertere, Sulamitis! revertere, revertere ut intueamur te. Quid videbis in Sulamite, nisi choros castrorum?
[THEY] Return, return, O Shulamite, Return, return, that we may look on thee! [SHE] What would ye look on in the Shulamite? [THEY] As it were the dance of a double camp…
