I Sleep, But My Heart Is Awake

The chapter describes basically the Shulamite's woman loss of her Beloved. The Beloved seems to have been celebrating with his friends and did thought about the Shulamite woman.

Turning to the scene of the Shulamite woman, she had fallen asleep, waiting for her Beloved. She heard a knock on the door but there was no one there. So she went out to find him. It also seemed she was attacked while searching for him. When asked, she described to the daughters of Jerusalem, the very fine physical appearance of her beloved.




Song of Solomon 5


The Beloved

1 I have come to my garden, my sister, my spouse;
I have gathered my myrrh with my spice;
I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey;
I have drunk my wine with my milk.


(To His Friends)

Eat, O friends!
Drink, yes, drink deeply,
O beloved ones!


The Shulamite’s Troubled Evening


The Shulamite

2 I sleep, but my heart is awake;
It is the voice of my beloved!
He knocks, saying,
“Open for me, my sister, my love,
My dove, my perfect one;
For my head is covered with dew,
My locks with the drops of the night.”
3 I have taken off my robe;
How can I put it on again?
I have washed my feet;
How can I defile them?
4 My beloved put his hand
By the latch of the door,
And my heart yearned for him.
5 I arose to open for my beloved,
And my hands dripped with myrrh,
My fingers with liquid myrrh,
On the handles of the lock.
6 I opened for my beloved,
But my beloved had turned away and was gone.
My heart leaped up when he spoke.
I sought him, but I could not find him;
I called him, but he gave me no answer.
7 The watchmen who went about the city found me.
They struck me, they wounded me;
The keepers of the walls
Took my veil away from me.
8 I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
If you find my beloved,
That you tell him I am lovesick!


The Daughters of Jerusalem

9 What is your beloved
More than another beloved,
O fairest among women?
What is your beloved
More than another beloved,
That you so charge us?


The Shulamite

10 My beloved is white and ruddy,
Chief among ten thousand.
11 His head is like the finest gold;
His locks are wavy,
And black as a raven.
12 His eyes are like doves
By the rivers of waters,
Washed with milk,
And fitly set.
13 His cheeks are like a bed of spices,
Banks of scented herbs.
His lips are lilies,
Dripping liquid myrrh.
14 His hands are rods of gold
Set with beryl.
His body is carved ivory
Inlaid with sapphires.
15 His legs are pillars of marble
Set on bases of fine gold.
His countenance is like Lebanon,
Excellent as the cedars.
16 His mouth is most sweet,
Yes, he is altogether lovely.
This is my beloved,
And this is my friend,
O daughters of Jerusalem!

If You Do Not Know, O Fairest Among Women

The Songs of Solomon is renowned as a series of love poems by Solomon. It also has much to teach about God fearing men in their relationship with God fearing women. In this first chapter, a conversation is presented between the Shulamite woman and the Beloved, who would be Solomon.



Song of Solomon 1
Solomon’s Love for a Shulamite Girl

1 The song of songs, which is Solomon’s.

The Banquet
The Shulamite[a]

2 Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth—
For your[b] love is better than wine.
3 Because of the fragrance of your good ointments,
Your name is ointment poured forth;
Therefore the virgins love you.
4 Draw me away!


The Daughters of Jerusalem

We will run after you.[c]


The Shulamite

The king has brought me into his chambers.



The Daughters of Jerusalem

We will be glad and rejoice in you.[d]
We will remember your[e] love more than wine.


The Shulamite

Rightly do they love you.[f]
5 I am dark, but lovely,
O daughters of Jerusalem,
Like the tents of Kedar,
Like the curtains of Solomon.
6 Do not look upon me, because I am dark,
Because the sun has tanned me.
My mother’s sons were angry with me;
They made me the keeper of the vineyards,
But my own vineyard I have not kept.


(To Her Beloved)

7 Tell me, O you whom I love,
Where you feed your flock,
Where you make it rest at noon.
For why should I be as one who veils herself[g]
By the flocks of your companions?


The Beloved

8 If you do not know, O fairest among women,
Follow in the footsteps of the flock,
And feed your little goats
Beside the shepherds’ tents.
9 I have compared you, my love,
To my filly among Pharaoh’s chariots.
10 Your cheeks are lovely with ornaments,
Your neck with chains of gold.


The Daughters of Jerusalem

11 We will make you[h] ornaments of gold
With studs of silver.


The Shulamite

12 While the king is at his table,
My spikenard sends forth its fragrance.
13 A bundle of myrrh is my beloved to me,
That lies all night between my breasts.
14 My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blooms
In the vineyards of En Gedi.


The Beloved

15 Behold, you are fair, my love!
Behold, you are fair!
You have dove’s eyes.


The Shulamite

16 Behold, you are handsome, my beloved!
Yes, pleasant!
Also our bed is green.
17 The beams of our houses are cedar,
And our rafters of fir.