Song of Songs 7:1-7
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!
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.
Song of Songs 7:1-7
New International Version
7 [a]How beautiful your sandaled feet,
O prince’s(A) daughter!
Your graceful legs are like jewels,
the work of an artist’s hands.
2 Your navel is a rounded goblet
that never lacks blended wine.
Your waist is a mound of wheat
encircled by lilies.
3 Your breasts(B) are like two fawns,
like twin fawns of a gazelle.
4 Your neck is like an ivory tower.(C)
Your eyes are the pools of Heshbon(D)
by the gate of Bath Rabbim.
Your nose is like the tower of Lebanon(E)
looking toward Damascus.
5 Your head crowns you like Mount Carmel.(F)
Your hair is like royal tapestry;
the king is held captive by its tresses.
6 How beautiful(G) you are and how pleasing,
my love, with your delights!(H)
7 Your stature is like that of the palm,
and your breasts(I) like clusters of fruit.
Footnotes
- Song of Songs 7:1 In Hebrew texts 7:1-13 is numbered 7:2-14.
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