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Solomon Is Charmed by the Young Woman

[Groom]

Look at you! You are beautiful, my true love.
    Look at you! You are so beautiful.
    Your eyes behind your veil are like doves.
    Your hair is like a flock of goats moving down Mount Gilead.
Your teeth are like a flock of sheep about to be sheared,
    sheep that come up from the washing.
        All of them bear twins, and not one has lost its young.
Your lips are like scarlet thread.
    Your mouth is lovely.
    Your temples behind your veil are like slices of pomegranate.
Your neck is like David’s beautifully-designed[a] tower.
    A thousand round shields belonging to soldiers
        are hung on it.
Your breasts are like two fawns,
    like twin gazelles grazing among the lilies.
When the day brings a cool breeze and the shadows flee,
    I will go to the mountain of myrrh and the hill of incense.
        You are beautiful in every way, my true love.
            There is no blemish on you.
        You will come with me from Lebanon,
            from Lebanon as my bride.
        You will travel with me
            from the peak of Mount Amana,
            from the mountain peaks in Senir and Hermon,
            from the lairs of lions,
            from the mountains of leopards.
        My bride, my sister, you have charmed me.[b]
        You have charmed me
            with a single glance from your eyes,
            with a single strand of your necklace.
10 How beautiful are your expressions of love, my bride, my sister!
    How much better are your expressions of love than wine
    and the fragrance of your perfume than any spice.
11 Your lips drip honey, my bride.
    Honey and milk are under your tongue.
        The fragrance of your clothing is like the fragrance of Lebanon.
12 My bride, my sister is a garden that is locked,
    a garden that is locked,
        a spring that is sealed.
13 You are paradise that produces
    pomegranates and the best fruits,
        henna flowers and nard,
14 nard and saffron,
    calamus,[c] cinnamon, and all kinds of incense,[d]
        myrrh, aloes, and all the best spices.
15 You are a spring for gardens,
    a well of living water flowing from Lebanon.

[Bride]

16 Awake, north wind!
    Come, south wind!
    Blow on my garden!
    Let its spices flow from it.
        Let my beloved come to his garden,
            and let him eat his own precious fruit.

Footnotes

  1. Song of Solomon 4:4 Hebrew meaning of “beautifully-designed” uncertain.
  2. Song of Solomon 4:9 “Brother” and “sister” are terms of endearment between lovers in ancient Near Eastern literature.
  3. Song of Solomon 4:14 Calamus is a sweet-smelling spice.
  4. Song of Solomon 4:14 Or “incense-producing trees.”

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)