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What a Beautiful Bride

He Speaks:

My darling, you are lovely,
    so very lovely—
as you look through your veil,
    your eyes are those of a dove.
Your hair tosses about
as gracefully as goats
    coming down from Gilead.
Your teeth are whiter
    than sheep freshly washed;
they match perfectly,
    not one is missing.
Your lips are crimson cords,
    your mouth is shapely;
behind your veil are hidden
    beautiful rosy cheeks.[a]
Your neck is more graceful
    than the tower of David,
decorated with thousands
    of warriors' shields.

Your breasts are perfect;
they are twin deer
    feeding among lilies.
I will hasten to those hills
sprinkled with sweet perfume
    and stay there till sunrise.
My darling, you are lovely
    in every way.
My bride, together
    we will leave Lebanon!
We will say goodbye
to the peaks of Mount Amana,
    Senir, and Hermon,
where lions and leopards
    live in the caves.

My bride, my very own,
    you have stolen my heart!
With one glance from your eyes
and the glow of your necklace,
    you have stolen my heart.
10 Your love is sweeter than wine;
the smell of your perfume
    is more fragrant than spices.
11 Your lips are a honeycomb;
milk and honey
    flow from your tongue.
Your dress has the aroma
    of cedar trees from Lebanon.

12 My bride, my very own,
you are a garden, a fountain
    closed off to all others.
13 Your arms[b] are vines,
covered with delicious fruits
    and all sorts of spices—
henna, nard, 14 saffron,
    calamus, cinnamon,
frankincense, myrrh, and aloes
    —all the finest spices.
15 You are a spring in the garden,
    a fountain of pure water,
and a refreshing stream
    from Mount Lebanon.

She Speaks:

16 Let the north wind blow,
    the south wind too!
Let them spread the aroma
    of my garden,
so the one I love
may enter and taste
    its delicious fruits.

Footnotes

  1. 4.3 beautiful rosy cheeks: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  2. 4.13 Your arms: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.

He

How beautiful you are, my darling!
    Oh, how beautiful!
    Your eyes behind your veil(A) are doves.(B)
Your hair is like a flock of goats
    descending from the hills of Gilead.(C)
Your teeth are like a flock of sheep just shorn,
    coming up from the washing.
Each has its twin;
    not one of them is alone.(D)
Your lips are like a scarlet ribbon;
    your mouth(E) is lovely.(F)
Your temples behind your veil
    are like the halves of a pomegranate.(G)
Your neck is like the tower(H) of David,
    built with courses of stone[a];
on it hang a thousand shields,(I)
    all of them shields of warriors.
Your breasts(J) are like two fawns,
    like twin fawns of a gazelle(K)
    that browse among the lilies.(L)
Until the day breaks
    and the shadows flee,(M)
I will go to the mountain of myrrh(N)
    and to the hill of incense.
You are altogether beautiful,(O) my darling;
    there is no flaw(P) in you.

Come with me from Lebanon, my bride,(Q)
    come with me from Lebanon.
Descend from the crest of Amana,
    from the top of Senir,(R) the summit of Hermon,(S)
from the lions’ dens
    and the mountain haunts of leopards.
You have stolen my heart, my sister, my bride;(T)
    you have stolen my heart
with one glance of your eyes,
    with one jewel of your necklace.(U)
10 How delightful(V) is your love(W), my sister, my bride!
    How much more pleasing is your love than wine,(X)
and the fragrance of your perfume(Y)
    more than any spice!
11 Your lips drop sweetness as the honeycomb, my bride;
    milk and honey are under your tongue.(Z)
The fragrance of your garments
    is like the fragrance of Lebanon.(AA)
12 You are a garden(AB) locked up, my sister, my bride;(AC)
    you are a spring enclosed, a sealed fountain.(AD)
13 Your plants are an orchard of pomegranates(AE)
    with choice fruits,
    with henna(AF) and nard,
14     nard and saffron,
    calamus and cinnamon,(AG)
    with every kind of incense tree,
    with myrrh(AH) and aloes(AI)
    and all the finest spices.(AJ)
15 You are[b] a garden(AK) fountain,(AL)
    a well of flowing water
    streaming down from Lebanon.

She

16 Awake, north wind,
    and come, south wind!
Blow on my garden,(AM)
    that its fragrance(AN) may spread everywhere.
Let my beloved(AO) come into his garden
    and taste its choice fruits.(AP)

Footnotes

  1. Song of Songs 4:4 The meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.
  2. Song of Songs 4:15 Or I am (spoken by She)