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Young Man

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.
Your teeth are as white as sheep,
    recently shorn and freshly washed.
Your smile is flawless,
    each tooth matched with its twin.[a]
Your lips are like scarlet ribbon;
    your mouth is inviting.
Your cheeks are like rosy pomegranates
    behind your veil.
Your neck is as beautiful as the tower of David,
    jeweled with the shields of a thousand heroes.
Your breasts are like two fawns,
    twin fawns of a gazelle grazing among the lilies.
Before the dawn breezes blow
    and the night shadows flee,
I will hurry to the mountain of myrrh
    and to the hill of frankincense.
You are altogether beautiful, my darling,
    beautiful in every way.

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.

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.

Footnotes

  1. 4:2 Hebrew Not one is missing; each has a twin.
  2. 4:8 Or Look down.
  3. 4:9 Hebrew my sister; also in 4:10, 12.

Solomon Admires His Bride's Beauty

He

Behold, (A)you are beautiful, my love,
    behold, you are beautiful!
(B)Your eyes are doves
    (C)behind your veil.
(D)Your hair is like a flock of goats
    leaping down (E)the slopes of Gilead.
Your (F)teeth are like a flock of shorn ewes
    that have come up from the washing,
all of which bear twins,
    and not one among them has lost its young.
Your lips are like (G)a scarlet thread,
    and your mouth is (H)lovely.
Your (I)cheeks are like halves of a pomegranate
    (J)behind your veil.
Your (K)neck is like the tower of David,
    built in (L)rows of stone;[a]
on it (M)hang a thousand shields,
    all of (N)them shields of warriors.
Your (O)two breasts are like two (P)fawns,
    twins of a gazelle,
    that (Q)graze among the lilies.
(R)Until the day breathes
    and the shadows flee,
I will go away to the mountain of (S)myrrh
    and the hill of (T)frankincense.
(U)You are altogether beautiful, my love;
    there is no (V)flaw in you.
(W)Come with me from (X)Lebanon, my (Y)bride;
    come with me from (Z)Lebanon.
Depart[b] from the peak of Amana,
    from the peak of (AA)Senir and (AB)Hermon,
from the dens of lions,
    from the mountains of leopards.

You have captivated my heart, my (AC)sister, my bride;
    you have captivated my heart with one glance of your eyes,
    with one (AD)jewel of your necklace.
10 How beautiful is your love, my (AE)sister, my bride!
    How much (AF)better is your love than wine,
    and (AG)the fragrance of your oils than any spice!
11 Your (AH)lips drip nectar, my bride;
    (AI)honey and milk are under your tongue;
    the fragrance of your garments is (AJ)like the fragrance of (AK)Lebanon.
12 A garden locked is my (AL)sister, my bride,
    a spring locked, (AM)a fountain (AN)sealed.
13 Your shoots are (AO)an orchard of pomegranates
    with all (AP)choicest fruits,
    (AQ)henna with (AR)nard,
14 nard and saffron, (AS)calamus and (AT)cinnamon,
    with all trees of (AU)frankincense,
(AV)myrrh and (AW)aloes,
    with all (AX)choice spices—
15 a garden fountain, a well of (AY)living water,
    and flowing streams from (AZ)Lebanon.

16 Awake, O north wind,
    and come, O south wind!
Blow upon my (BA)garden,
    let its spices flow.

Together in the Garden of Love

She

(BB)Let my beloved come to his (BC)garden,
    and eat its (BD)choicest fruits.

Footnotes

  1. Song of Solomon 4:4 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain
  2. Song of Solomon 4:8 Or Look