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Song of Solomon 4
The Voice
Song of Solomon 4
The Voice
4 Him (to her): You, my love, are beautiful.
So beautiful!
Because stimulating images come forth when the lovers describe in intimate detail each other’s bodies, Jewish men were discouraged from reading this greatest of songs until the age of 30.
Your eyes are like doves
nestled behind your veil.
Your hair moves as gracefully as a flock of goats
leaping down the slopes of Mount Gilead.
2 Your teeth are pearl white like a flock of sheep shorn,
fresh up from a wash.
Each perfect and paired with another;
not one of them is lost.
3 Your lips are as red as scarlet threads;
your mouth is beautiful.
Your cheeks rosy and round are beneath your veil,
like the halves of a pomegranate.
4 Your neck is elegant like the tower of David,
perfectly fit stone-by-stone.
There hang a thousand shields,
the shields of mighty men.
5 Your breasts are like two fawns,
twin gazelles grazing in a meadow of lilies.
6 As the day breathes its morning breeze
and shadows turn and flee,
I will go up your myrrh mountain
and climb your frankincense hill.
7 You are so beautiful, my love,
without blemish.
8 Come with me from Lebanon, my bride;
come with me from Lebanon.
Journey with me from the crest of Amana,
from the top of Senir even the summit of Hermon,
From the lions’ dangerous den,
from the mountain hideouts of leopards.
9 My heart is your captive, my sister, my bride;
you have stolen it with one glance,
caught it with a single strand of your necklace.
10 How beautiful is your love, my sister, my bride!
Your love is more pleasing than the finest wine,
and the fragrance of your perfume brings more delight than any spice!
11 Your lips taste sweet like honey off the comb, my bride;
milk and honey are beneath your tongue.
The scents of your clothes are like the fresh air of Lebanon.
12 You are a locked garden, my sister, my bride, open only to me;
a spring closed up tight, a sealed fountain.
13 Your sprouts are an orchard of pomegranates and exotic fruits—
with henna and nard,
14 With nard and saffron,
calamus and cinnamon—
With rows of frankincense trees
and myrrh and aloes and all the finest spices.
15 My bride, you are a fountain in a garden,
a well of life-giving water flowing down from Lebanon.
What does he mean by “my sister, my bride”? Is this a sudden revelation of an incestuous relationship? No. He is describing how sexual expression can bring two people intimately together, as close as two people can be; the man and woman are now family. This image would have been particularly meaningful in ancient Israelite society, where life was centered on familial relationships and calling someone “brother” or “sister” was a sign of deep intimacy and care. Blood relatives lived together, worked together, traded with each other, and were buried together. By calling the woman “sister,” he is declaring they are now blood relatives. In the covenant relationship called marriage, blood is drawn during consummation, bonding the two parties together as man and wife, as brother and sister, forever.
16 Him (to the winds): Rise, you north wind;
come, you south wind.
Breathe on my garden,
and let the fragrance of its natural spices fill the air.
Her: Let my love come into his garden
and feast from its choice fruits.
Song of Songs 4
New International Version
Song of Songs 4
New International Version
He
4 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)
2 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)
3 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)
4 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.
5 Your breasts(J) are like two fawns,
like twin fawns of a gazelle(K)
that browse among the lilies.(L)
6 Until the day breaks
and the shadows flee,(M)
I will go to the mountain of myrrh(N)
and to the hill of incense.
7 You are altogether beautiful,(O) my darling;
there is no flaw(P) in you.
8 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.
9 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
Footnotes
- Song of Songs 4:4 The meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.
- Song of Songs 4:15 Or I am (spoken by She)
The Voice (VOICE)
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.