Canticle of Canticles 5

Douai-Rheims	New Jerusalem Bible
¹ 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.	¹ LOVER: I come into my garden, my sister, my promised bride, I pick my myrrh and balsam, I eat myhoney and my honeycomb, I drink my wine and my milk. POET: Eat, friends, and drink, drink deep, my dearestfriends.
² 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.	² BELOVED: I sleep, but my heart is awake. I hear my love knocking. 'Open to me, my sister, my beloved,my dove, my perfect one, for my head is wet with dew, my hair with the drops of night.'
³ I have put off my garment, how shall I put it on? I have washed my feet, how shall I defile them?	³ -'I have taken off my tunic, am I to put it on again? I have washed my feet, am I to dirty them again?'
⁴ My beloved put his hand through the key hole, and my bowels were moved at his touch.	⁴ My love thrust his hand through the hole in the door; I trembled to the core of my being.
⁵ I arose up to open to my beloved: my hands dropped with myrrh, and my fingers were full of the choicest myrrh.	⁵ Then I got up to open to my love, myrrh ran off my hands, pure myrrh off my fingers, on to the handle ofthe bolt.
⁶ 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.	⁶ I opened to my love, but he had turned and gone. My soul failed at his flight, I sought but could not findhim, I cal ed, but he did not answer.
⁷ 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.	⁷ The watchmen met me, those who go on their rounds in the city. They beat me, they wounded me, theytook my cloak away from me: those guardians of the ramparts!
⁸ I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, if you find my beloved, that you tell him that I languish with love.	⁸ I charge you, daughters of Jerusalem, if you should find my love, what are you to tel him? -That I amsick with love!
⁹ 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?	⁹ CHORUS: What makes your lover better than other lovers, O loveliest of women? What makes yourlover better than other lovers, to put us under such an oath?
¹⁰ My beloved is white and ruddy, chosen out of thousands.	¹⁰ BELOVED: My love is fresh and ruddy, to be known among ten thousand.
¹¹ His head is as the finest gold: his locks as branches of palm trees, black as a raven.	¹¹ His head is golden, purest gold, his locks are palm fronds and black as the raven.
¹² His eyes as doves upon brooks of waters, which are washed with milk, and sit beside the plentiful streams.	¹² His eyes are like doves beside the water-courses, bathing themselves in milk, perching on a fountain-rim.
¹³ His cheeks are as beds of aromatical spices set by the perfumers. His lips are as lilies dropping choice myrrb.	¹³ His cheeks are beds of spices, banks sweetly scented. His lips are lilies, distil ing pure myrrh.
¹⁴ His hands are turned and as of gold, full of hyacinths. His belly as of ivory, set with sapphires.	¹⁴ His hands are golden, rounded, set with jewels of Tarshish. His bel y a block of ivory covered withsapphires.
¹⁵ His legs as pillars of marble, that are set upon bases of gold. His form as of Libanus, excellent as the cedars.	¹⁵ His legs are alabaster columns set in sockets of pure gold. His appearance is that of Lebanon,unrival ed as the cedars.
¹⁶ His throat most sweet, and he is all lovely: such is my beloved, and he is my friend, O ye daughters of Jerusalem.	¹⁶ His conversation is sweetness itself, he is altogether lovable. Such is my love, such is my friend, Odaughters of Jerusalem.
¹⁷ Whither is thy beloved gone, O thou most beautiful among women? whither is thy beloved turned aside, and we will seek him with thee?