Song of Solomon 4-5

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.
²Your ^(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.
³Your 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.
⁴Your ^(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.
⁵Your ^(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.
⁸Come 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.
⁹You 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!
¹¹Your 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.
¹²A locked garden is my sister, my bride,
A locked spring, a ^(AE)sealed ^(AF)fountain.
¹³Your 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.
¹⁵You 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!”

The Torment of Separation

The Groom

5 “I have ^(AS)come into my garden, ^(AT)my sister, my bride;
I have gathered my ^(AU)myrrh along with my balsam.
I have eaten my honeycomb with my ^(AV)honey;
I have ^(AW)drunk my wine with my milk.
Eat, ^(AX)friends;
Drink and ^[k]drink deeply, lovers.”

The Bride

²“I was asleep but my heart was awake.
A voice! My beloved was knocking:
‘Open to me, ^(AY)my sister, my darling,
^(AZ)My dove, my perfect one!
For my head is ^[l]drenched with dew,
My ^(BA)locks with the dew drops of the night.’
³I have ^(BB)taken off my dress,
How can I put it on again?
I have ^(BC)washed my feet,
How can I dirty them again?
⁴My beloved extended his hand through the opening,
And my ^(BD)feelings were stirred for him.
⁵I arose to open to my beloved;
And my hands ^(BE)dripped with myrrh,
And my fingers with drops of myrrh,
On the handles of the bolt.
⁶I opened to my beloved,
But my beloved had ^(BF)turned away and had gone!
My ^[m]heart went out to him as he ^(BG)spoke.
I ^(BH)searched for him but I did not find him;
I ^(BI)called him but he did not answer me.
⁷The ^(BJ)watchmen who make the rounds in the city found me,
They struck me and wounded me;
The guards of the walls took my shawl away from me.
⁸^(BK)Swear to me, you daughters of Jerusalem,
If you find my beloved,
As to what you will tell him:
For ^(BL)I am lovesick.”

The Chorus

⁹“^[n]What kind of beloved is your beloved,
O ^(BM)most beautiful among women?
^[o]What kind of beloved is your beloved,
That you make us swear in this way?”

Admiration by the Bride

The Bride

¹⁰“My beloved is dazzling and ^[p]^(BN)reddish,
^(BO)Outstanding among ten thousand.
¹¹His head is like gold, pure gold;
His ^(BP)locks are like clusters of dates
And black as a raven.
¹²His ^(BQ)eyes are like doves
Beside streams of water,
Bathed in milk,
And perched in their ^(BR)setting.
¹³His cheeks are like a ^(BS)bed of balsam,
^[q]Banks of herbal spices;
His lips are ^(BT)lilies
^(BU)Dripping with drops of myrrh.
¹⁴His hands are rods of gold
Set with ^(BV)topaz;
His abdomen is panels of ivory
Covered with ^[r]^(BW)sapphires.
¹⁵His thighs are pillars of alabaster
Set on pedestals of pure gold;
His appearance is like ^(BX)Lebanon,
Choice as the ^(BY)cedars.
¹⁶His ^[s]^(BZ)mouth is full of sweetness.
And he is wholly ^(CA)desirable.
This is my beloved and this is my friend,
You daughters of Jerusalem.”