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Song of Solomon 4
New American Standard Bible

Solomon’s Love Expressed

4 “[a]How beautiful (A)you are, my darling,
[b]How beautiful you are!
Your (B)eyes are like doves (C)behind your veil;
Your (D)hair is like a flock of goats
That have descended from Mount (E)Gilead.
2 Your (F)teeth are like a flock of newly shorn sheep
Which have come up from their watering place,
All of which bear twins,
And not one among them has lost her young.
3 Your lips are like a (G)scarlet thread,
And your (H)mouth is beautiful.
Your (I)temples are like a slice of a pomegranate
Behind your veil.
4 Your (J)neck is like the tower of David,
Built with layers of stones
On which are (K)hung a thousand shields,
All the round (L)shields of the warriors.
5 Your (M)two breasts are like two fawns,
Twins of a gazelle
That (N)graze among the lilies.
6 (O)Until [c]the cool of the day
When the shadows flee,
I will go my way to the mountain of (P)myrrh
And to the hill of (Q)frankincense.

7 “(R)You are altogether beautiful, my darling,
And there is no blemish on you.
8 Come with me from (S)Lebanon, my (T)bride,
You shall come with me from Lebanon.
You shall [d]come down from the summit of (U)Amana,
From the summit of (V)Senir and Hermon,
From the dens of lions,
From the mountains of leopards.
9 You have [e]enchanted my heart, (W)my sister, my bride;
You have [f]enchanted my heart with a single glance of your eyes,
With a single strand of your (X)necklace.
10 (Y)How beautiful is your love, my sister, my bride!
How much [g](Z)sweeter is your love than wine,
And the (AA)fragrance of your oils
Than that of all kinds of balsam oils!
11 Your lips (AB)drip (AC)honey, my bride;
Honey and milk are under your tongue,
And the fragrance of your garments is like the (AD)fragrance of Lebanon.
12 A locked garden is my sister, my bride,
A locked spring, a (AE)sealed (AF)fountain.
13 Your branches are an [h](AG)orchard of (AH)pomegranates
With (AI)delicious fruits, (AJ)henna with nard plants,
14 (AK)Nard and saffron, spice reed and (AL)cinnamon,
With all the trees of (AM)frankincense,
(AN)Myrrh, and aloes, along with all the finest balsam oils.
15 You are a garden spring,
A well of [i](AO)fresh water,
And flowing streams from Lebanon.”

The Bride

16 “Awake, north wind,
And come, wind of the south;
[j]Make my (AP)garden breathe out fragrance,
May its balsam oils flow.
May (AQ)my beloved come into his garden
And eat its (AR)delicious fruits!”

Footnotes

  1. Song of Solomon 4:1 Lit Behold
  2. Song of Solomon 4:1 Lit Behold
  3. Song of Solomon 4:6 Lit the day blows
  4. Song of Solomon 4:8 Or look
  5. Song of Solomon 4:9 Or stolen
  6. Song of Solomon 4:9 Or stolen
  7. Song of Solomon 4:10 Lit better
  8. Song of Solomon 4:13 Or park; or garden
  9. Song of Solomon 4:15 Lit living; i.e., running
  10. Song of Solomon 4:16 Or Drift through my
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Song of Songs 4
New American Bible (Revised Edition)

Chapter 4

The Beauty of the Woman

1 M(A), (B) How beautiful you are, my friend,
    how beautiful you are!
Your eyes are doves
    behind your veil.
Your hair is like a flock of goats
    streaming down Mount Gilead.[a]
2 Your teeth[b] are like a flock of ewes to be shorn,
    that come up from the washing,
All of them big with twins,
    none of them barren.
3 Like a scarlet strand, your lips,
    and your mouth—lovely!
Like pomegranate[c] halves, your cheeks
    behind your veil.
4 (C)Like a tower of David, your neck,
    built in courses,
A thousand shields hanging upon it,
    all the armor of warriors.[d]
5 (D)Your breasts are like two fawns,
    twins of a gazelle
    feeding among the lilies.
6 (E)Until the day grows cool
    and the shadows flee,
    I shall go to the mountain of myrrh,
    to the hill of frankincense.[e]
7 You are beautiful in every way, my friend,
    there is no flaw in you![f]
8 With me from Lebanon, my bride!
    With me from Lebanon, come!
Descend from the peak of Amana,
    from the peak of Senir and Hermon,[g]
From the lairs of lions,
    from the leopards’ heights.
9 (F)You have ravished my heart, my sister,[h] my bride;
    you have ravished my heart with one glance of your eyes,
    with one bead of your necklace.
10 (G)How beautiful is your love,
    my sister, my bride,
How much better is your love than wine,
    and the fragrance of your perfumes than any spice!
11 Your lips drip honey,[i] my bride,
    honey and milk are under your tongue;
And the fragrance of your garments
    is like the fragrance of Lebanon.

The Lover’s Garden

12 M(H) A garden enclosed, my sister, my bride,
    a garden enclosed, a fountain sealed![j]
13 Your branches are a grove of pomegranates,
    with fruits of choicest yield:
Henna with spikenard,
14 spikenard and saffron,
Sweet cane and cinnamon,
    with all kinds of frankincense;
Myrrh and aloes,
    with all the finest spices;[k]
15 A garden fountain, a well of living water,
    streams flowing from Lebanon.
16 Awake,[l] north wind!
    Come, south wind!
Blow upon my garden
    that its perfumes may spread abroad.
W Let my lover come to his garden
    and eat its fruits of choicest yield.

Footnotes

  1. 4:1 This section (vv. 1–7) begins a wasf, a traditional poetic form describing the physical attributes of one’s partner in terms of the natural world (cf. 5:10–16; 6:5b–7; 7:1–7). Veil: women of the region customarily veiled their faces for some occasions (cf. 4:3; 6:7; Gn 24:65–67; 38:14–19).
  2. 4:2 Teeth: praised for whiteness and evenness.
  3. 4:3 Pomegranate: a fruit with a firm skin and deep red color. The woman’s cheek (or perhaps her brow) is compared, in roundness and tint, to a half-pomegranate.
  4. 4:4 The ornaments about her neck are compared to the trophies and armaments on the city walls. Cf. 1 Kgs 10:10; 14:26–28; Ez 27:10.
  5. 4:6 Mountain of myrrh…hill of frankincense: spoken figuratively of the woman; cf. 8:14.
  6. 4:7 Cf. the description of the church in Eph 5:27.
  7. 4:8 Amana…Senir and Hermon: these rugged heights symbolize obstacles that would separate the lovers; cf. 2:14.
  8. 4:9 Sister: a term of endearment; brother-sister language forms part of the conventional language of love used in this canticle, the Book of Tobit, and elsewhere in poetry from Egypt, Mesopotamia, and Syro-Palestine.
  9. 4:11 Honey: sweet words (cf. Prv 5:3) or perhaps kisses (1:2–3). Honey and milk: familiar descriptions for the fertile promised land (Ex 3:8, 17; Lv 20:24; Nm 13:27; Dt 6:3).
  10. 4:12 Garden enclosed…fountain sealed: reserved for the lover alone. Cf. Prv 5:15–19 for similar images used to describe fruitful, committed relationship.
  11. 4:14 These plants are all known for their sweet fragrance.
  12. 4:16 Awake: the same verb is used of love in 3:5. The woman may be the speaker of 16a, as it is she who issues the invitation of 16b. His garden: the woman herself.
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Song of Solomon 3
Song of Solomon 5
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New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE)

Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.