6  I opened to my beloved,

but my beloved had turned and gone.

My soul failed me when he spoke.

I ^vsought him, but found him not;

I called him, but he gave no answer.

7  ^wThe watchmen found me

as they went about in the city;

they beat me, they bruised me,

they took away my veil,

those watchmen of the walls.

8  I adjure you, O ^xdaughters of Jerusalem,

if you find my beloved,

that you tell him

^yI am sick with love.

6  Set me ^has a seal upon your heart,

as a seal upon your arm,

for love is strong as death,

jealousy¹ is fierce as the grave.²

Its flashes are flashes of fire,

the very flame of the Lord.

7  Many waters cannot quench love,

neither can floods drown it.

If a man offered for love

all the wealth of his house,

he³ would be utterly despised.