The Beloved about Her Lover:
5:2 I was asleep, but my mind 1 was dreaming. 2
Listen! 3 My lover 4 is knocking 5 at the door! 6
The Lover to His Beloved:
“Open 7 for me, my sister, my darling,
my dove, my flawless one!
My head is drenched with dew,
my hair with the dampness of the night.”
The Beloved to Her Lover:
5:3 “I have already taken off my robe – must I put it on again?
I have already washed my feet – must I soil them again?”
5:4 My lover thrust his hand 8 through 9 the hole, 10
and my feelings 11 were stirred 12 for him.
5:5 I arose to open for my beloved;
my hands dripped with myrrh –
my fingers flowed with myrrh
on the handles of the lock.
5:6 I opened for my beloved,
but my lover had already turned 13 and gone away. 14
I fell into despair 15 when he departed. 16
I looked for him but did not find him;
I called him but he did not answer me.
5:7 The watchmen found me as they made their rounds in the city.
They beat me, they bruised me;
they took away my cloak, those watchmen on the walls!
The Beloved to the Maidens:
5:8 O maidens of Jerusalem, I command you –
If you find my beloved, what will you tell him?
Tell him that I am lovesick! 17