Song of Solomon 4
Holman Christian Standard Bible
4 M How beautiful you are, my darling.
How very beautiful!
Behind your veil,
your eyes are doves.(A)
Your hair is like a flock of goats
streaming down Mount Gilead.(B)
2 Your teeth are like a flock of newly shorn sheep
coming up from washing,
each one having a twin,
and not one missing.[a](C)
3 Your lips are like a scarlet cord,(D)
and your mouth[b] is lovely.
Behind your veil,
your brow[c] is like a slice of pomegranate.(E)
4 Your neck is like the tower of David,(F)
constructed in layers.
A thousand bucklers are hung on it—
all of them shields of warriors.[d]
5 Your breasts are like two fawns,
twins of a gazelle,(G) that feed among the lilies.
6 Before the day breaks[e]
and the shadows flee,(H)
I will make my way to the mountain of myrrh
and the hill of frankincense.(I)
7 You are absolutely beautiful,(J) my darling,
with no imperfection in you.
8 Come with me from Lebanon,[f](K) my bride(L)—
with me from Lebanon!
Descend from the peak of Amana,
from the summit of Senir and Hermon,(M)
from the dens of the lions,
from the mountains of the leopards.
9 You have captured my heart,(N) my sister,[g](O) my bride.
You have captured my heart with one glance of your eyes,
with one jewel of your necklace.
10 How delightful your love is, my sister, my bride.
Your love is much better than wine,(P)
and the fragrance of your perfume than any balsam.
11 Your lips drip sweetness like the honeycomb, my bride.(Q)
Honey and milk(R) are under your tongue.
The fragrance of your garments is like the fragrance of Lebanon.
12 My sister, my bride, you are a locked garden—
a locked garden[h] and a sealed spring.(S)
13 Your branches are a paradise[i] of pomegranates
with choicest fruits,(T)
henna with nard—
14 nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon,(U)
with all the trees of frankincense,(V)
myrrh and aloes,(W)
with all the best spices.
15 You are a garden spring,
a well of flowing water(X)
streaming from Lebanon.
16 W Awaken,(Y) north wind—
come, south wind.
Blow on my garden,
and spread the fragrance of its spices.
Let my love come to his garden
and eat its choicest fruits.(Z)
Footnotes
- Song of Solomon 4:2 Lit and no one bereaved among them
- Song of Solomon 4:3 Or speech
- Song of Solomon 4:3 Or temple, or cheek, or lips
- Song of Solomon 4:4 Perhaps describing the woman’s necklace
- Song of Solomon 4:6 Lit breathes
- Song of Solomon 4:8 In Hb, the word for Lebanon is similar to “frankincense” in Sg 4:6,14,15.
- Song of Solomon 4:9 A term of endearment
- Song of Solomon 4:12 Some Hb mss read locked fountain
- Song of Solomon 4:13 Or park, or orchard
Song of Solomon 4
New Living Translation
Young Man
4 You are beautiful, my darling,
beautiful beyond words.
Your eyes are like doves
behind your veil.
Your hair falls in waves,
like a flock of goats winding down the slopes of Gilead.
2 Your teeth are as white as sheep,
recently shorn and freshly washed.
Your smile is flawless,
each tooth matched with its twin.[a]
3 Your lips are like scarlet ribbon;
your mouth is inviting.
Your cheeks are like rosy pomegranates
behind your veil.
4 Your neck is as beautiful as the tower of David,
jeweled with the shields of a thousand heroes.
5 Your breasts are like two fawns,
twin fawns of a gazelle grazing among the lilies.
6 Before the dawn breezes blow
and the night shadows flee,
I will hurry to the mountain of myrrh
and to the hill of frankincense.
7 You are altogether beautiful, my darling,
beautiful in every way.
8 Come with me from Lebanon, my bride,
come with me from Lebanon.
Come down[b] from Mount Amana,
from the peaks of Senir and Hermon,
where the lions have their dens
and leopards live among the hills.
9 You have captured my heart,
my treasure,[c] my bride.
You hold it hostage with one glance of your eyes,
with a single jewel of your necklace.
10 Your love delights me,
my treasure, my bride.
Your love is better than wine,
your perfume more fragrant than spices.
11 Your lips are as sweet as nectar, my bride.
Honey and milk are under your tongue.
Your clothes are scented
like the cedars of Lebanon.
12 You are my private garden, my treasure, my bride,
a secluded spring, a hidden fountain.
13 Your thighs shelter a paradise of pomegranates
with rare spices—
henna with nard,
14 nard and saffron,
fragrant calamus and cinnamon,
with all the trees of frankincense, myrrh, and aloes,
and every other lovely spice.
15 You are a garden fountain,
a well of fresh water
streaming down from Lebanon’s mountains.
Young Woman
16 Awake, north wind!
Rise up, south wind!
Blow on my garden
and spread its fragrance all around.
Come into your garden, my love;
taste its finest fruits.
Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
