Song of Solomon 4–7

4MHow beautiful you are, my darling.

How very beautiful!

Behind your veil,

your eyes are doves. ^r

Your hair is like a flock of goats

streaming down Mount Gilead. ^s

²Your teeth are like a flock of newly shorn sheep

coming up from washing,

each one having a twin,

and not one missing. ^tu

³Your lips are like a scarlet cord, ^v

and your mouth ^wis lovely.

Behind your veil,

your brow ^xis like a slice of pomegranate. ^y

⁴Your neck is like the tower of David, ^z

constructed in layers.

A thousand bucklers are hung on it—

all of them shields of warriors. ^a

⁵Your breasts are like two fawns,

twins of a gazelle, ^bthat feed among the lilies.

⁶Before the day breaks ^c

and the shadows flee, ^d

I will make my way to the mountain of myrrh

and the hill of frankincense. ^e

⁷You are absolutely beautiful, ^fmy darling,

with no imperfection in you.

⁸Come with me from Lebanon, ^ghmy bride ⁱ—

with me from Lebanon!

Descend from the peak of Amana,

from the summit of Senir and Hermon, ^j

from the dens of the lions,

from the mountains of the leopards.

⁹You have captured my heart, ^kmy sister, ^lmmy bride.

You have captured my heart with one glance of your eyes,

with one jewel of your necklace.

¹⁰How delightful your love is, my sister, my bride.

Your love is much better than wine, ⁿ

and the fragrance of your perfume than any balsam.

¹¹Your lips drip sweetness like the honeycomb, my bride. ^o

Honey and milk ^pare under your tongue.

The fragrance of your garments is like the fragrance of Lebanon.

¹²My sister, my bride, you are a locked garden—

a locked garden ^qand a sealed spring. ^r

¹³Your branches are a paradise ^sof pomegranates

with choicest fruits, ^t

henna with nard—

¹⁴nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon, ^u

with all the trees of frankincense, ^v

myrrh and aloes, ^w

with all the best spices.

¹⁵You are a garden spring,

a well of flowing water ^x

streaming from Lebanon.

W¹⁶Awaken, ^ynorth wind—

come, south wind.

Blow on my garden,

and spread the fragrance of its spices.

Let my love come to his garden

and eat its choicest fruits. ^z

5MI have come to my garden—my sister, my bride.

I gather ^amy myrrh with my spices.

I eat my honeycomb with my honey.

I drink my wine with my milk.

NEat, friends!

Drink, be intoxicated with love! ^bc

W²I sleep, but my heart is awake.

A sound! My love is knocking! ^d

MOpen to me, my sister, my darling,

my dove, my perfect one.

For my head is drenched with dew,

my hair with droplets of the night.

W³I have taken off my clothing. ^e

How can I put it back on?

I have washed my feet.

How can I get them dirty?

⁴My love thrust his hand through the opening,

and my feelings were stirred for him.

⁵I rose to open for my love.

My hands dripped with myrrh, ^f

my fingers with flowing myrrh

on the handles of the bolt.

⁶I opened to my love,

but my love had turned and gone away.

I was crushed ^gthat he had left. ^h

I sought him, but did not find him. ⁱ

I called him, but he did not answer.

⁷The guards who go about the city found me. ^j

They beat and wounded me;

they took my cloak ^kfrom me—

the guardians of the walls. ^l

⁸Young women of Jerusalem, I charge you: ^m

if you find my love,

tell him that I am lovesick. ⁿ

Y⁹What makes the one you love better than another,

most beautiful of women? ^o

What makes him better than another,

that you would give us this charge?

W¹⁰My love is fit and strong, ^pq

notable among ten thousand. ^r

¹¹His head is purest gold.

His hair is wavy ^st

and black as a raven.

¹²His eyes are like doves ^u

beside streams of water,

washed in milk

and set like jewels. ^v

¹³His cheeks ^ware like beds of spice,

towers of ^xperfume.

His lips are lilies,

dripping with flowing myrrh. ^y

¹⁴His arms ^zare rods of gold

set ^awith topaz. ^bc

His body ^dis an ivory panel

covered with sapphires. ^e

¹⁵His legs are alabaster pillars

set on pedestals of pure gold.

His presence is like Lebanon, ^f

as majestic as the cedars. ^g

¹⁶His mouth is sweetness.

He is absolutely desirable. ^h

This is my love, and this is my friend,

young women of Jerusalem.

6YWhere has your love gone,

most beautiful of women?

Which way has he ⁱturned?

We will seek him with you.

W²My love has gone down to his garden, ^j

to beds of spice, ^k

to feed in the gardens ^l

and gather lilies. ^m

³I am my love’s and my love is mine; ⁿ

he feeds among the lilies.

M⁴You are as beautiful as Tirzah, ^omy darling,

lovely as Jerusalem,

awe-inspiring as an army with banners. ^p

⁵Turn your eyes away from me,

for they captivate me. ^q

Your hair is like a flock of goats

streaming down from Gilead. ^r

⁶Your teeth are like a flock of ewes

coming up from washing,

each one having a twin,

and not one missing. ^st

⁷Behind your veil, ^u

your brow ^vis like a slice of pomegranate.

⁸There are 60 queens

and 80 concubines ^w

and young women ^xwithout number.

⁹But my dove, ^ymy virtuous one, is unique; ^z

she is the favorite of her mother,

perfect to the one who gave her birth.

Women see her and declare her fortunate; ^a

queens and concubines also, and they sing her praises:

Y^b10Who is this ^cdwho shines like the dawn—

as beautiful as the moon,

bright as the sun,

awe-inspiring as an army with banners? ^e

W¹¹I came down to the walnut grove

to see the blossoms of the valley,

to see if the vines were budding ^f

and the pomegranates blooming.

¹²Before I knew it,

my desire put me

among the chariots of my noble people. ^g

Y^13hCome back, come back, Shulammite! ^ij

Come back, come back, that we may look at you!

MWhy are you looking at the Shulammite,

as you look at the dance ^kof the two camps? ^lm

7How beautiful are your sandaled feet, princess! ^no

The curves of your thighs are like jewelry,

the handiwork of a master.

²Your navel is a rounded bowl;

it never lacks mixed wine.

Your waist ^pis a mound of wheat

surrounded by lilies.

³Your breasts are like two fawns,

twins of a gazelle. ^q

⁴Your neck is like a tower of ivory, ^r

your eyes like pools in Heshbon

by the gate of Bath-rabbim.

Your nose is like the tower of Lebanon

looking toward Damascus.

⁵Your head crowns you ^slike Mount Carmel,

the hair of your head like purple cloth—

a king could be held captive ^tin your tresses.

⁶How beautiful you are and how pleasant, ^u

my love, with such delights!

⁷Your stature is like a palm tree;

your breasts are clusters of fruit.

⁸I said, “I will climb the palm tree

and take hold of its fruit.” ^v

May your breasts be like clusters of grapes,

and the fragrance of your breath like apricots. ^w

⁹Your mouth ^xis like fine wine ^y—

Wflowing smoothly for my love,

gliding past my lips and teeth! ^z

¹⁰I belong to my love,

and his desire ^ais for me. ^b

¹¹Come, my love,

let’s go to the field;

let’s spend the night among the henna blossoms. ^c

¹²Let’s go early to the vineyards;

let’s see if the vine has budded,

if the blossom has opened,

if the pomegranates are in bloom. ^d

There I will give you my love.

¹³The mandrakes ^egive off a fragrance,

and at our doors is every delicacy—

new as well as old.

I have treasured them up for you, my love.