Song of Solomon 7
Common English Bible
7 How graceful are your sandaled feet,
willing woman!
The smooth curves of your thighs—like fine jewelry,
the work of an artist’s hands!
2 Your navel, cupped like the full moon—
may it never lack spiced wine!
Your belly is a mound of winnowed wheat
edged with lilies.
3 Your two breasts are like two fawns,
twins of a gazelle doe;
4 your neck, like a tower of ivory;
your eyes, pools in Heshbon,
by the gate of that lordly city.[a]
Your profile is like the tower of Lebanon,
looking out toward Damascus.
5 Your head crowns you like Mount Carmel,
and your hair, braided in royal purple—
a king is bound by the tresses!
6 You are so beautiful, so lovely—
my love, delightful one![b]
7 Your stately form resembles a date palm,
and your breasts are like clustered fruit.
8 I say, “I will climb the palm tree;
I will hold its fruit!”
May your breasts be now
like grape clusters,
and the scent of your breath like apples!
9 Your palate is like excellent wine . . .
[Woman]
. . . flowing smoothly for my love,
gliding through the lips and teeth.[c]
10 I belong to my lover,
and his longing is only for me.
The ripeness of love
[Woman]
11 Come, my love:
Let’s go out to the field
and rest all night among the flowering henna.
12 Let’s set out early for the vineyards.
We will see if the vines have budded
and the blossoms opened,
see if the pomegranates have bloomed.
There I’ll give my loving to you.
13 The mandrakes give off their scent,
and at our doorways is every delicacy—
fresh or ripened—
my love, I have kept them hidden for you.
Footnotes
- Song of Solomon 7:4 Or by the gate of Bath-rabbim
- Song of Solomon 7:6 With Syr and Aquila daughter of delights; MT love in delights or love with every charm
- Song of Solomon 7:9 LXX, Syr, Vulg; MT through the lips of those who sleep; Heb uncertain
Song of Solomon 7
New King James Version
Expressions of Praise
The Beloved
7 How beautiful are your feet in sandals,
(A)O prince’s daughter!
The curves of your thighs are like jewels,
The work of the hands of a skillful workman.
2 Your navel is a rounded goblet;
It lacks no [a]blended beverage.
Your waist is a heap of wheat
Set about with lilies.
3 (B)Your two breasts are like two fawns,
Twins of a gazelle.
4 (C)Your neck is like an ivory tower,
Your eyes like the pools in Heshbon
By the gate of Bath Rabbim.
Your nose is like the tower of Lebanon
Which looks toward Damascus.
5 Your head crowns you like Mount Carmel,
And the hair of your head is like purple;
A king is held captive by your tresses.
6 How fair and how pleasant you are,
O love, with your delights!
7 This stature of yours is like a palm tree,
And your breasts like its clusters.
8 I said, “I will go up to the palm tree,
I will take hold of its branches.”
Let now your breasts be like clusters of the vine,
The fragrance of your [b]breath like apples,
9 And the roof of your mouth like the best wine.
The Shulamite
The wine goes down smoothly for my beloved,
[c]Moving gently the [d]lips of sleepers.
10 (D)I am my beloved’s,
And (E)his desire is toward me.
11 Come, my beloved,
Let us go forth to the field;
Let us lodge in the villages.
12 Let us get up early to the vineyards;
Let us (F)see if the vine has budded,
Whether the grape blossoms are open,
And the pomegranates are in bloom.
There I will give you my love.
13 The (G)mandrakes give off a fragrance,
And at our gates (H)are pleasant fruits,
All manner, new and old,
Which I have laid up for you, my beloved.
Footnotes
- Song of Solomon 7:2 Lit. mixed or spiced drink
- Song of Solomon 7:8 Lit. nose
- Song of Solomon 7:9 Gliding over
- Song of Solomon 7:9 LXX, Syr., Vg. lips and teeth.
Song of Songs 7
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 7
The Beauty of the Beloved
1 D? Turn, turn, O Shulammite![a]
turn, turn that we may gaze upon you!
W How can you gaze upon the Shulammite
as at the dance of the two camps?
2 M How beautiful are your feet in sandals,[b]
O noble daughter!
Your curving thighs like jewels,
the product of skilled hands.
3 Your valley,[c] a round bowl
that should never lack mixed wine.
Your belly, a mound of wheat,
encircled with lilies.
4 (A)Your breasts are like two fawns,
twins of a gazelle.
5 (B)Your neck like a tower of ivory;
your eyes, pools in Heshbon
by the gate of Bath-rabbim.
Your nose like the tower of Lebanon
that looks toward Damascus.[d]
6 Your head rises upon you like Carmel;[e]
your hair is like purple;
a king is caught in its locks.
Love’s Desires
7 How beautiful you are, how fair,
my love, daughter of delights!
8 Your very form resembles a date-palm,[f]
and your breasts, clusters.
9 I thought, “Let me climb the date-palm!
Let me take hold of its branches!
Let your breasts be like clusters of the vine
and the fragrance of your breath like apples,
10 And your mouth like the best wine—
Wthat flows down smoothly for my lover,
gliding[g] over my lips and teeth.
11 (C)I belong to my lover,[h]
his yearning is for me.
12 Come, my lover! Let us go out to the fields,
let us pass the night among the henna.
13 (D)Let us go early to the vineyards, and see
if the vines are in bloom,
If the buds have opened,
if the pomegranates have blossomed;
There will I give you my love.
14 The mandrakes[i] give forth fragrance,
and over our doors are all choice fruits;
Fruits both fresh and dried, my lover,
have I kept in store for you.
Footnotes
- 7:1 Shulammite: the woman is so designated because she is considered to be from Shulam (or Shunem) in the plain of Esdraelon (cf. 1 Kgs 1:3), or because the name may mean “the peaceful one,” and thus recall the name of Solomon. Turn: she is asked to face the speaker(s). How…: she refuses to be regarded as a spectacle (“the dance of the two camps” is unknown). Some interpret the episode as an invitation to her to dance.
- 7:2–6 Another description of the woman’s charms. Sandals: the woman’s sandaled foot was apparently considered quite seductive (Jdt 16:9). Noble: a possible connection to the enigmatic “prince” of 6:12. Curving…jewels: the meaning of these Hebrew words is not certain. Wine and wheat suggest fertility.
- 7:3 Valley: lit., navel; a discreet allusion to her sex.
- 7:5 The comparison emphasizes the stateliness of her neck, and the clarity of her eyes. Bath-rabbim: a proper name which occurs only here; there was a city of Rabbah northeast of Heshbon in Transjordan. Cf. Jer 49:3.
- 7:6 Carmel: a prominent set of cliffs overlooking the Mediterranean.
- 7:8–9 Date-palm: a figure of stateliness. The lover is eager to enjoy the possession of his beloved.
- 7:10 Gliding: the beloved interrupts her partner’s compliment by referring to the intoxication of their union. The translation rests on an emendation of the enigmatic “the lips of the sleepers.”
- 7:11–14 The woman’s answer assures him of her love, and invites him to return with her to the rural delights associated with their love (cf. also 6:11–12). Yearning: used only here and in Gn 3:16; 4:7. The dependency and subordination of woman to man presented as a consequence of sin in the Genesis story is here transcended in the mutuality of true love.
- 7:14 Mandrakes: herbs believed to have power to arouse love and promote fertility; cf. Gn 30:14–16.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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.