Song of Songs 4
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
The Young Woman’s Beauty Extolled
4 How beautiful you are, my love,
how very beautiful!
Your eyes are doves
behind your veil.
Your hair is like a flock of goats,
moving down the slopes of Gilead.(A)
2 Your 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 is bereaved.(B)
3 Your lips are like a crimson thread,
and your mouth is lovely.
Your cheeks are like halves of a pomegranate
behind your veil.(C)
4 Your neck is like the tower of David,
built in courses;
on it hang a thousand bucklers,
all of them shields of warriors.(D)
5 Your two breasts are like two fawns,
twins of a gazelle,
that feed among the lilies.(E)
6 Until the day breathes
and the shadows flee,
I will hasten to the mountain of myrrh
and the hill of frankincense.(F)
7 You are altogether beautiful, my love;
there is no flaw in you.(G)
8 Come with me from Lebanon, my bride;
come with me from Lebanon.
Depart[a] from the peak of Amana,
from the peak of Senir and Hermon,
from the dens of lions,
from the mountains of leopards.(H)
9 You have ravished my heart, my sister, my bride;
you have ravished my heart with a glance of your eyes,
with one jewel of your necklace.(I)
10 How sweet is your love, my sister, my bride!
How much better is your love than wine
and the fragrance of your oils than any spice!(J)
11 Your lips distill nectar, my bride;
honey and milk are under your tongue;
the scent of your garments is like the scent of Lebanon.(K)
12 A garden locked is my sister, my bride,
a garden[b] locked, a fountain sealed.(L)
13 Your channel[c] is an orchard of pomegranates
with all choicest fruits,
henna with nard,(M)
14 nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon,
with all trees of frankincense,
myrrh and aloes,
with all chief spices—(N)
15 a garden fountain, a well of living water,
and flowing streams from Lebanon.(O)
16 Awake, O north wind,
and come, O south wind!
Blow upon my garden
that its fragrance may be wafted abroad.
Let my beloved come to his garden
that he may eat its choicest fruits.(P)
Song of Solomon 4
Common English Bible
In praise of her
[Man]
4 Look at you—so beautiful, my dearest!
Look at you—so beautiful! Your eyes are doves
behind the veil of your hair!
Your hair is like a flock of goats
as they stream down Mount Gilead.
2 Your teeth are like newly shorn ewes
as they come up from the washing pool—
all of them perfectly matched,
not one of them lacks its twin.
3 Like a crimson ribbon are your lips;
when you smile, it is lovely.
Like a slice of pomegranate is the curve of your face
behind the veil of your hair.
4 Like David’s tower is your neck,
splendidly built!
A thousand shields are hung upon it—
all the weapons of the warriors.
5 Your two breasts are like two fawns,
twins of a gazelle doe,
that graze among the lilies.
6 Before the day breeze blows
and the shadows flee,
I will be off to the mountain of myrrh,
to the hill of frankincense.
7 You are utterly beautiful, my dearest;
there’s not a single flaw in you.
Garden of delight
[Man]
8 Come down with me from Lebanon, my bride—
if only you would come down with me from Lebanon.
Descend from the peak of Amana,
from the peaks of Senir and Hermon,
from the lions’ dens,
from the mountain lairs of leopards.
9 You have captured my heart, my sister,[a] my bride!
You have captured my heart with one glance from your eyes,
with one strand of your necklace.
10 How beautiful is your loving, my sister, my bride!
Your loving is so much better than wine,
and your fragrance better than any perfume!
11 Sweetness drops from your lips, my bride;
honey and milk are under your tongue,
and the fragrance of your garments
is like the fragrance of Lebanon.
12 An enclosed garden is my sister, my bride;
an enclosed pool, a sealed spring.
13 Your limbs are an orchard of pomegranates
with all kinds of luscious fruit,
henna, and spices:
14 nard and saffron,
sweet cane and cinnamon,
with all scented woods,
myrrh, and aloes,
with the very choicest perfumes!
15 You are a garden spring, a well of fresh water,
streams from Lebanon.
16 Stir, north wind, and come, south wind!
Blow upon my garden;
let its perfumes flow!
[Woman]
Let my love come to his garden;
let him eat its luscious fruit!
Footnotes
- Song of Solomon 4:9 Sister here and below is a common term in ancient love poetry; it doesn't imply blood relation.
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible