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Song of Songs 5:2-8
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Song of Songs 5:2-8
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
A Fruitless Search
2 W(A) I was sleeping, but my heart was awake.[a]
The sound of my lover knocking!
“Open to me, my sister, my friend,
my dove, my perfect one!
For my head is wet with dew,
my hair, with the moisture of the night.”
3 I have taken off my robe,[b]
am I then to put it on?
I have bathed my feet,
am I then to soil them?
4 My lover put his hand in through the opening:
my innermost being[c] trembled because of him.
5 I rose to open for my lover,
my hands dripping myrrh:
My fingers, flowing myrrh
upon the handles of the lock.
6 I opened for my lover—
but my lover had turned and gone!
At his leaving, my soul sank.
I sought him, but I did not find him;
I called out after him, but he did not answer me.[d]
7 The watchmen[e] found me,
as they made their rounds in the city;
They beat me, they wounded me,
they tore off my mantle,
the watchmen of the walls.
8 (B)I adjure you, Daughters of Jerusalem,
if you find my lover
What shall you tell him?
that I am sick with love.
Footnotes
- 5:2–8 An experience of anticipation and loss similar to that in 3:1–5. The lover’s abrupt appearance resembles that in 2:8–9.
- 5:3 Robe: knee-length undergarment worn by men and women. Am I then…?: the woman’s refusal is a form of gentle teasing; that she does not really reject her lover is shown by her actions in vv. 5–6. See 1:7–8; 2:14–15, for other teasing interchanges.
- 5:4 My innermost being: lit., “innards.” In Gn 25:23, Is 49:1; Ps 71:6, the word appears to carry the meaning of “womb.”
- 5:6 The motif of the locked-out lover is common in classical Greek and Latin poetry.
- 5:7 The watchmen: they do not know the reason for the woman’s appearance in the city streets; cf. 3:2–4.
Song of Songs 5:2-8
New International Version
Song of Songs 5:2-8
New International Version
She
2 I slept but my heart was awake.
Listen! My beloved is knocking:
“Open to me, my sister, my darling,
my dove,(A) my flawless(B) one.(C)
My head is drenched with dew,
my hair with the dampness of the night.”
3 I have taken off my robe—
must I put it on again?
I have washed my feet—
must I soil them again?
4 My beloved thrust his hand through the latch-opening;
my heart began to pound for him.
5 I arose to open for my beloved,
and my hands dripped with myrrh,(D)
my fingers with flowing myrrh,
on the handles of the bolt.
6 I opened for my beloved,(E)
but my beloved had left; he was gone.(F)
My heart sank at his departure.[a]
I looked(G) for him but did not find him.
I called him but he did not answer.
7 The watchmen found me
as they made their rounds in the city.(H)
They beat me, they bruised me;
they took away my cloak,
those watchmen of the walls!
8 Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you(I)—
if you find my beloved,(J)
what will you tell him?
Tell him I am faint with love.(K)
Footnotes
- Song of Songs 5:6 Or heart had gone out to him when he spoke
New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE)
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