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13 [a] Turn, turn,[b] O Shulammite![c]
    Turn, turn[d] so that we may look upon you!
Why do you look upon the Shulammite
    as at a dance of the two armies?

Solomon’s Praise of His Dancing Maiden

How beautiful are your feet in sandals,
    O royal princess![e]
The curves of your thighs[f] are like jewels,[g]
    the work of the hands of a craftsman.
Your navel is a round wine-mixing bowl[h]
    that does not lack mixed[i] wine!
Your belly is a heap of wheat
    encircled with lilies.
Your two breasts are like two fawns,
    twins of a gazelle.
Your neck is like a tower of ivory;
    your eyes are pools in Heshbon at the gate of Beth Rabbim.
Your nose is like the tower of Lebanon
    looking out over Damascus.[j]
Your head crowns you like Carmel;[k][l]
    the flowing locks of your head are like purple tapestry;[m]
        a king is held captive in the tresses!
How beautiful you are and how pleasant,
    O loved one in the delights!

Footnotes

  1. Song of Solomon 6:13 Song of Songs 6:13–7:13 in the English Bible is 7:1–14 in the Hebrew Bible
  2. Song of Solomon 6:13 Or “Return, return …!”
  3. Song of Solomon 6:13 Or “O perfect one,” “O peaceful one,” “O bride.” Many interpreters take this moniker as suggesting the maiden was from the village of Shulem (alternately called Shunem)
  4. Song of Solomon 6:13 Or “Return, return …!”
  5. Song of Solomon 7:1 Or “O daughter of leader”
  6. Song of Solomon 7:1 Literally “thigh”
  7. Song of Solomon 7:1 Literally “ornaments”
  8. Song of Solomon 7:2 Literally “a bowl of the roundness”
  9. Song of Solomon 7:2 Or “blended”
  10. Song of Solomon 7:4 Literally “looking out over the face of Damascus”
  11. Song of Solomon 7:5 Literally “Your head is on you like the Carmel”
  12. Song of Solomon 7:5 Because of its height and fertility, Mount Carmel is often associated with royalty
  13. Song of Solomon 7:5 Literally “the purple”

Young Women of Jerusalem

13 [a]Return, return to us, O maid of Shulam.
    Come back, come back, that we may see you again.

Young Man

Why do you stare at this young woman of Shulam,
    as she moves so gracefully between two lines of dancers?[b]

[c]How beautiful are your sandaled feet,
    O queenly maiden.
Your rounded thighs are like jewels,
    the work of a skilled craftsman.
Your navel is perfectly formed
    like a goblet filled with mixed wine.
Between your thighs lies a mound of wheat
    bordered with lilies.
Your breasts are like two fawns,
    twin fawns of a gazelle.
Your neck is as beautiful as an ivory tower.
Your eyes are like the sparkling pools in Heshbon
    by the gate of Bath-rabbim.
Your nose is as fine as the tower of Lebanon
    overlooking Damascus.
Your head is as majestic as Mount Carmel,
    and the sheen of your hair radiates royalty.
    The king is held captive by its tresses.
Oh, how beautiful you are!
    How pleasing, my love, how full of delights!

Footnotes

  1. 6:13a Verse 6:13 is numbered 7:1 in Hebrew text.
  2. 6:13b Or as you would at the movements of two armies? or as you would at the dance of Mahanaim? The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
  3. 7:1 Verses 7:1-13 are numbered 7:2-14 in Hebrew text.