Song of Solomon 4–5

Chapter 4

Young Man

¹You are beautiful, my darling,

beautiful beyond words.

Your eyes are like doves

behind your veil.

Your hair falls in waves,

like a flock of goats winding down the slopes of Gilead.

²Your teeth are as white as sheep,

recently shorn and freshly washed.

Your smile is flawless,

each tooth matched with its twin.

³Your lips are like scarlet ribbon;

your mouth is inviting.

Your cheeks are like rosy pomegranates

behind your veil.

⁴Your neck is as beautiful as the tower of David,

jeweled with the shields of a thousand heroes.

⁵Your breasts are like two fawns,

twin fawns of a gazelle grazing among the lilies.

⁶Before the dawn breezes blow

and the night shadows flee,

I will hurry to the mountain of myrrh

and to the hill of frankincense.

⁷You are altogether beautiful, my darling,

beautiful in every way.

⁸Come with me from Lebanon, my bride,

come with me from Lebanon.

Come down from Mount Amana,

from the peaks of Senir and Hermon,

where the lions have their dens

and leopards live among the hills.

⁹You have captured my heart,

my treasure, my bride.

You hold it hostage with one glance of your eyes,

with a single jewel of your necklace.

¹⁰Your love delights me,

my treasure, my bride.

Your love is better than wine,

your perfume more fragrant than spices.

¹¹Your lips are as sweet as nectar, my bride.

Honey and milk are under your tongue.

Your clothes are scented

like the cedars of Lebanon.

¹²You are my private garden, my treasure, my bride,

a secluded spring, a hidden fountain.

¹³Your thighs shelter a paradise of pomegranates

with rare spices—

henna with nard,

¹⁴nard and saffron,

fragrant calamus and cinnamon,

with all the trees of frankincense, myrrh, and aloes,

and every other lovely spice.

¹⁵You are a garden fountain,

a well of fresh water

streaming down from Lebanon’s mountains.

Young Woman

¹⁶Awake, north wind!

Rise up, south wind!

Blow on my garden

and spread its fragrance all around.

Come into your garden, my love;

taste its finest fruits.

Chapter 5

Young Man

¹I have entered my garden, my treasure, my bride!

I gather myrrh with my spices

and eat honeycomb with my honey.

I drink wine with my milk.

Young Women of Jerusalem

Oh, lover and beloved, eat and drink!

Yes, drink deeply of your love!

Young Woman

²I slept, but my heart was awake,

when I heard my lover knocking and calling:

“Open to me, my treasure, my darling,

my dove, my perfect one.

My head is drenched with dew,

my hair with the dampness of the night.”

³But I responded,

“I have taken off my robe.

Should I get dressed again?

I have washed my feet.

Should I get them soiled?”

⁴My lover tried to unlatch the door,

and my heart thrilled within me.

⁵I jumped up to open the door for my love,

and my hands dripped with perfume.

My fingers dripped with lovely myrrh

as I pulled back the bolt.

⁶I opened to my lover,

but he was gone!

My heart sank.

I searched for him

but could not find him anywhere.

I called to him,

but there was no reply.

⁷The night watchmen found me

as they made their rounds.

They beat and bruised me

and stripped off my veil,

those watchmen on the walls.

⁸Make this promise, O women of Jerusalem—

If you find my lover,

tell him I am weak with love.

Young Women of Jerusalem

⁹Why is your lover better than all others,

O woman of rare beauty?

What makes your lover so special

that we must promise this?

Young Woman

¹⁰My lover is dark and dazzling,

better than ten thousand others!

¹¹His head is finest gold,

his wavy hair is black as a raven.

¹²His eyes sparkle like doves

beside springs of water;

they are set like jewels

washed in milk.

¹³His cheeks are like gardens of spices

giving off fragrance.

His lips are like lilies,

perfumed with myrrh.

¹⁴His arms are like rounded bars of gold,

set with beryl.

His body is like bright ivory,

glowing with lapis lazuli.

¹⁵His legs are like marble pillars

set in sockets of finest gold.

His posture is stately,

like the noble cedars of Lebanon.

¹⁶His mouth is sweetness itself;

he is desirable in every way.

Such, O women of Jerusalem,

is my lover, my friend.