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Beautiful From Bottom to Top

The Friends

13 Turn back, turn back, O Shulammite.
Turn back, turn back, so that we may look at you![a]

The Woman[b]

Why would you look at the Shulammite.
    as at the dance of Mahanaim?[c]

The Friends or The Man

How beautiful are your feet in sandals,
    O prince’s daughter!
Your hips are curved like a necklace,
the work of the hands of a craftsman.
Your navel is a round mixing bowl.
It never lacks blended wine.
Your belly is a mound of wheat, encircled by lilies.
Your two breasts are like two fawns,
    twins of a gazelle.
Your neck is like an ivory tower.
Your eyes are the pools in Heshbon,
    by the gate of Bat Rabbim.[d]
Your nose is like the tower of Lebanon,
    overlooking Damascus.
Your head rises above you like Mount Carmel.
The flowing hair of your head is like purple.
The king is captivated by its curls.

Footnotes

  1. Song of Songs 6:13 English verse 6:13 is 7:1 in Hebrew. In the rest of chapter 7, the English verse numbers are one lower than the Hebrew verse numbers.
  2. Song of Songs 7:1 The identity of the speaker of this verse is uncertain.
  3. Song of Songs 7:1 Mahanaim is the name of a city. It means two camps. Here the term may refer to two lines of dancers.
  4. Song of Songs 7:5 Bat Rabbim means Daughter of Nobles.

13 [a] Turn, turn,[b] O Shulammite![c]
    Turn, turn[d] so that we may look upon you!
Why do you look upon the Shulammite
    as at a dance of the two armies?

Solomon’s Praise of His Dancing Maiden

How beautiful are your feet in sandals,
    O royal princess![e]
The curves of your thighs[f] are like jewels,[g]
    the work of the hands of a craftsman.
Your navel is a round wine-mixing bowl[h]
    that does not lack mixed[i] wine!
Your belly is a heap of wheat
    encircled with lilies.
Your two breasts are like two fawns,
    twins of a gazelle.
Your neck is like a tower of ivory;
    your eyes are pools in Heshbon at the gate of Beth Rabbim.
Your nose is like the tower of Lebanon
    looking out over Damascus.[j]
Your head crowns you like Carmel;[k][l]
    the flowing locks of your head are like purple tapestry;[m]
        a king is held captive in the tresses!
How beautiful you are and how pleasant,
    O loved one in the delights!

Footnotes

  1. Song of Solomon 6:13 Song of Songs 6:13–7:13 in the English Bible is 7:1–14 in the Hebrew Bible
  2. Song of Solomon 6:13 Or “Return, return …!”
  3. Song of Solomon 6:13 Or “O perfect one,” “O peaceful one,” “O bride.” Many interpreters take this moniker as suggesting the maiden was from the village of Shulem (alternately called Shunem)
  4. Song of Solomon 6:13 Or “Return, return …!”
  5. Song of Solomon 7:1 Or “O daughter of leader”
  6. Song of Solomon 7:1 Literally “thigh”
  7. Song of Solomon 7:1 Literally “ornaments”
  8. Song of Solomon 7:2 Literally “a bowl of the roundness”
  9. Song of Solomon 7:2 Or “blended”
  10. Song of Solomon 7:4 Literally “looking out over the face of Damascus”
  11. Song of Solomon 7:5 Literally “Your head is on you like the Carmel”
  12. Song of Solomon 7:5 Because of its height and fertility, Mount Carmel is often associated with royalty
  13. Song of Solomon 7:5 Literally “the purple”