Solomon Arrives for the Wedding

6  cWhat is that coming up from the wilderness

like dcolumns of smoke,

perfumed with emyrrh and frankincense,

with all the fragrant powders of a merchant?

7  Behold, it is the litter1 of Solomon!

Around it are fsixty gmighty men,

some of the mighty men of Israel,

8  all of them wearing swords

and expert in war,

each with his hsword at his thigh,

against iterror by night.

9  King Solomon made himself a carriage2

from the wood of Lebanon.

10  He made its posts of silver,

its back of gold, its seat of purple;

its interior was inlaid with love

by jthe daughters of Jerusalem.

11  Go out, O kdaughters of Zion,

and look upon King Solomon,

with the crown with which his mother crowned him

on lthe day of his wedding,

on the day of the gladness of his heart.

Solomon Admires His Bride’s Beauty

He

4 Behold, myou are beautiful, my love,

behold, you are beautiful!

nYour eyes are doves

obehind your veil.

pYour hair is like a flock of goats

leaping down qthe slopes of Gilead.

2  Your rteeth are like a flock of shorn ewes

that have come up from the washing,

all of which bear twins,

and not one among them has lost its young.

3  Your lips are like sa scarlet thread,

and your mouth is tlovely.

Your ucheeks are like halves of a pomegranate

obehind your veil.

4  Your vneck is like the tower of David,

built in wrows of stone;1

on it xhang a thousand shields,

all of ythem shields of warriors.

5  Your ztwo breasts are like two afawns,

twins of a gazelle,

that bgraze among the lilies.

6  cUntil the day breathes

and the shadows flee,

I will go away to the mountain of dmyrrh

and the hill of dfrankincense.

7  eYou are altogether beautiful, my love;

there is no fflaw in you.

8  gCome with me from hLebanon, my ibride;

come with me from hLebanon.

Depart2 from the peak of Amana,

from the peak of jSenir and kHermon,

from the dens of lions,

from the mountains of leopards.

9  You have captivated my heart, my lsister, my bride;

you have captivated my heart with one glance of your eyes,

with one mjewel of your necklace.

10  How beautiful is your love, my lsister, my bride!

How much nbetter is your love than wine,

and othe fragrance of your oils than any spice!

11  Your plips drip nectar, my bride;

qhoney and milk are under your tongue;

the fragrance of your garments is rlike the fragrance of hLebanon.

12  A garden locked is my lsister, my bride,

a spring locked, sa fountain tsealed.

13  Your shoots are uan orchard of pomegranates

with all vchoicest fruits,

whenna with xnard,

14  nard and saffron, ycalamus and ycinnamon,

with all trees of zfrankincense,

amyrrh and baloes,

with all ychoice spices—

15  a garden fountain, a well of cliving water,

and flowing streams from hLebanon.

16  Awake, O north wind,

and come, O south wind!

Blow upon my dgarden,

let its spices flow.

Together in the Garden of Love

She

eLet my beloved come to his fgarden,

and eat its vchoicest fruits.

He

5 I gcame to my garden, my hsister, my bride,

I gathered my imyrrh with my spice,

I ate my jhoneycomb with my honey,

I kdrank my wine with my milk.

Others

Eat, lfriends, drink,

and be drunk with love!