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The King Delights in His Bride

How lovely you are, my darling, how lovely!
Your eyes are doves behind your veil.
Your hair is like a flock of ewe goats
    descending down from Mount Gilead.
Your teeth are like a flock of shorn ewes
    coming up from washing.
Each of them has a twin,
    and none among them is missing.
Your lips are like a scarlet thread
    and your speech is lovely.
Your temple is like a slice of pomegranate
    behind your veil.
Like the tower of David is your neck,
    built for weapons.
A thousand shields are hung on it
    —all shields of warriors.
Your two breasts are like two fawns,
    like twin gazelles
    grazing among the lilies.
Until the day cools
    and the shadows flee away,
I will go to the mountain of myrrh
    and to the hill of frankincense.
You are altogether lovely, my darling,
    and no blemish is in you.[a]
Come with me from Lebanon, my bride,
    come with me from Lebanon.
Watch from the top of Amana,
    from the top of Senir, even Hermon,
    from lions’ dens,
    from mountains of leopards.
You have captivated my heart,
    my sister, my bride—
    you captivated me
    with one of your eyes,
    with one jewel from your necklace.
10 How delightful is your love,
        my sister, my bride!
    How much better is your love than wine,
and the fragrance of your oils
    better than all spices!
11 Your lips, my bride,
    drip honey from the honeycomb.
    Honey and milk
    are under your tongue.
The scent of your garments
    is like the aroma of Lebanon.
12 A locked garden is my sister, my bride,
    an enclosed spring, a sealed fountain.
13 Your shoots are an orchard of pomegranates
with choice fruit,
henna with nard
14 —nard and saffron,
        calamus and cinnamon—
with all the trees of frankincense,
        myrrh and aloes,
    along with all the finest spices—
15 a garden spring,
a well of living water[b]
    and flowing streams from Lebanon.

16 Awake, north wind,
        and come, south wind!
    Blow on my garden,
Let its fragrance spread out.
    Let my lover come into his garden
    and eat its choicest fruit.

Footnotes

  1. Song of Songs 4:7 Lit. there is no flaw in you; hyperbole.
  2. Song of Songs 4:15 cf. John 4:10.

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)