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He Praises Her Beauty

Princess,[a] your feet are beautiful in those sandals.
    The curves of your thighs are like jewelry made by an artist.
Your navel is like a round cup[b];
    may it never be without wine.
Your belly is like a pile of wheat
    surrounded by lilies.
Your breasts are like twin fawns
    of a young gazelle.
Your neck is like an ivory tower.
Your eyes are like the pools in Heshbon
    near the gate of Bath Rabbim.
Your nose is like the tower of Lebanon
    that looks toward Damascus.
Your head is like Carmel,
    and the hair on your head is like silk.
Your long flowing hair
    captures even a king.
You are so beautiful and so pleasant,
    a lovely, delightful young woman!
You are tall—
    as tall as a palm tree.
And your breasts are like
    the clusters of fruit on that tree.
I would love to climb that tree
    and take hold of its branches.

May your breasts be like clusters of grapes
    and your fragrance[c] like apples.
May your mouth be like the best wine,
    flowing straight to my love,
    flowing gently to the sleeper’s lips.

She Speaks to Him

10 I belong to my lover,
    and he wants me.
11 Come, my lover,
    let’s go out into the field;
    let’s spend the night in the villages.
12 Let’s get up early and go to the vineyards.
    Let’s see if the vines are in bloom.
Let’s see if the blossoms have opened
    and if the pomegranates are in bloom.
    There I will give you my love.

13 Smell the mandrakes[d]
    and all the pleasant flowers by our door.
I have saved many pleasant things for you, my lover,
    pleasant things, new and old.

Footnotes

  1. Song of Solomon 7:1 Princess Literally, “Daughter of a prince.”
  2. Song of Solomon 7:2 round cup Or “turned bowl,” a stone bowl made on a lathe and used for mixing wine before it is poured into cups. This might also mean a bowl shaped like a crescent or half-moon.
  3. Song of Solomon 7:8 fragrance Literally, “breath of your nose.”
  4. Song of Solomon 7:13 mandrakes Plants with roots that look like people. People thought these plants had the power to make people fall in love.

[a]How beautiful your sandaled feet,
    O prince’s(A) daughter!
Your graceful legs are like jewels,
    the work of an artist’s hands.
Your navel is a rounded goblet
    that never lacks blended wine.
Your waist is a mound of wheat
    encircled by lilies.
Your breasts(B) are like two fawns,
    like twin fawns of a gazelle.
Your neck is like an ivory tower.(C)
Your eyes are the pools of Heshbon(D)
    by the gate of Bath Rabbim.
Your nose is like the tower of Lebanon(E)
    looking toward Damascus.
Your head crowns you like Mount Carmel.(F)
    Your hair is like royal tapestry;
    the king is held captive by its tresses.
How beautiful(G) you are and how pleasing,
    my love, with your delights!(H)
Your stature is like that of the palm,
    and your breasts(I) like clusters of fruit.
I said, “I will climb the palm tree;
    I will take hold of its fruit.”
May your breasts be like clusters of grapes on the vine,
    the fragrance of your breath like apples,(J)
    and your mouth like the best wine.

She

May the wine go straight to my beloved,(K)
    flowing gently over lips and teeth.[b]
10 I belong to my beloved,
    and his desire(L) is for me.(M)
11 Come, my beloved, let us go to the countryside,
    let us spend the night in the villages.[c]
12 Let us go early to the vineyards(N)
    to see if the vines have budded,(O)
if their blossoms(P) have opened,
    and if the pomegranates(Q) are in bloom(R)
    there I will give you my love.
13 The mandrakes(S) send out their fragrance,
    and at our door is every delicacy,
both new and old,
    that I have stored up for you, my beloved.(T)

Footnotes

  1. Song of Songs 7:1 In Hebrew texts 7:1-13 is numbered 7:2-14.
  2. Song of Songs 7:9 Septuagint, Aquila, Vulgate and Syriac; Hebrew lips of sleepers
  3. Song of Songs 7:11 Or the henna bushes