5:1   My bride, my very own, I come to my garden and enjoy its spices. I eat my honeycomb and honey; I drink my wine and milk. Eat and drink until you are drunk with love.

5:2   I was asleep, but dreaming: The one I love was at the door, knocking and saying, "My darling, my very own, my flawless dove, open the door for me! My head is drenched with evening dew."

5:3   But I had already undressed and bathed my feet. Should I dress again and get my feet dirty?

5:4   Then my darling's hand reached to open the latch, and my heart stood still.

5:5   When I rose to open the door, my hands and my fingers dripped with perfume.

5:6   My heart stood still while he spoke to me, but when I opened the door, my darling had disappeared. I searched and shouted, but I could not find him-- there was no answer.

5:7   Then I was found by the guards patrolling the town and guarding the wall. They beat me up and stripped off my robe.

5:8   Young women of Jerusalem, if you find the one I love, please say to him, "She is weak with desire."

5:9   Most beautiful of women, why is the one you love more special than others? Why do you ask us to tell him how you feel?

5:10   He is handsome and healthy, the most outstanding among ten thousand.

5:11   His head is purest gold; his hair is wavy, black as a raven.

5:12   His eyes are a pair of doves bathing in a stream flowing with milk.

5:13   His face is a garden of sweet-smelling spices; his lips are lilies dripping with perfume.

5:14   His arms are branches of gold covered with jewels; his body is ivory decorated with sapphires.

5:15   His legs are columns of marble on feet of gold. He stands there majestic like Mount Lebanon and its choice cedar trees.

5:16   His kisses are sweet. I desire him so much! Young women of Jerusalem, he is my lover and friend.