Song of Solomon 6:4-10
English Standard Version
Solomon and His Bride Delight in Each Other
He
4 You are beautiful as (A)Tirzah, (B)my love,
(C)lovely as (D)Jerusalem,
(E)awesome as an army with banners.
5 Turn away your eyes from me,
for they overwhelm me—
(F)Your hair is like a flock of goats
leaping down the slopes of Gilead.
6 (G)Your teeth are like a flock of ewes
that have come up from the washing;
all of them bear twins;
not one among them has lost its young.
7 (H)Your cheeks are like halves of a pomegranate
behind your veil.
8 There are (I)sixty (J)queens and eighty (K)concubines,
and (L)virgins without number.
9 My (M)dove, my (N)perfect one, is the only one,
the only one of her mother,
pure to (O)her who bore her.
(P)The young women saw her and called her blessed;
(Q)the queens and (R)concubines also, and they praised her.
10 (S)“Who is this who looks down like the dawn,
beautiful as the moon, bright as the sun,
(T)awesome as an army with banners?”
Song of Solomon 6:4-10
Lexham English Bible
Solomon’s Praise of His Beloved
4 You are beautiful, my beloved, as Tirzah,
lovely as Jerusalem,
overwhelming as an army with banners.[a]
5 Turn away your eyes from before me,
for they overwhelm me.
Your hair is like a flock of the goats
that moves down from Gilead.
6 Your teeth are like a flock of the ewes
that have come up from the washing,
all of them bearing twins,
and there is none bereaved among them.
7 Your cheeks behind[b] your veil
are like halves of a pomegranate.
The Maiden’s Beauty Is without Peer
8 Sixty queens there are, eighty concubines,
and maidens beyond number.
9 My dove, she is the one;[c][d]
my perfect, she is the only one;[e][f]
she is the favorite of[g][h] her mother who bore her.
Maidens see her and consider her fortunate;[i]
queens and concubines praise her:
10 “Who is this that looks down like the dawn,
beautiful as the moon,
bright as the sun,[j][k]
overwhelming as an army with banners?”[l]
Footnotes
- Song of Solomon 6:4 Literally “terrible as the bannered ones”
- Song of Solomon 6:7 Literally “from behind”
- Song of Solomon 6:9 Literally “she is one”
- Song of Solomon 6:9 The term “one” functions here as an adjective of quality: “unique, singular, the only one”
- Song of Solomon 6:9 Literally “she is one”
- Song of Solomon 6:9 Or “the only daughter of her mother.” Although the latter option is permissible, the term is used elsewhere of the heir as the favored child (e.g., Gen 22:2; Prov 4:3). This nuance is supported by the parallel term “favorite”
- Song of Solomon 6:9 Or “she is the pure one.” Since there are two Hebrew terms spelled the same way, some relate this to the adjective that means “pure.” Others relate it to the verb that means “to choose, select.” The parallelism favors the latter
- Song of Solomon 6:9 Literally “the favorite for”
- Song of Solomon 6:9 Or “call her happy” or “call her blessed” or “bless her”
- Song of Solomon 6:10 Literally “pure as the glow”
- Song of Solomon 6:10 Or “bright as the heat of the sun.” The Hebrew term “glow” poetically refers to the bright rays of the sun (Psa 19:7; Isa 24:23; 30:26)
- Song of Solomon 6:10 Literally “terrible as the bannered ones”
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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