Song of Solomon 6:4-10
Lexham English Bible
Solomon’s Praise of His Beloved
4 You are beautiful, my beloved, as Tirzah,
lovely as Jerusalem,
overwhelming as an army with banners.[a]
5 Turn away your eyes from before me,
for they overwhelm me.
Your hair is like a flock of the goats
that moves down from Gilead.
6 Your teeth are like a flock of the ewes
that have come up from the washing,
all of them bearing twins,
and there is none bereaved among them.
7 Your cheeks behind[b] your veil
are like halves of a pomegranate.
The Maiden’s Beauty Is without Peer
8 Sixty queens there are, eighty concubines,
and maidens beyond number.
9 My dove, she is the one;[c][d]
my perfect, she is the only one;[e][f]
she is the favorite of[g][h] her mother who bore her.
Maidens see her and consider her fortunate;[i]
queens and concubines praise her:
10 “Who is this that looks down like the dawn,
beautiful as the moon,
bright as the sun,[j][k]
overwhelming as an army with banners?”[l]
Footnotes
- Song of Solomon 6:4 Literally “terrible as the bannered ones”
- Song of Solomon 6:7 Literally “from behind”
- Song of Solomon 6:9 Literally “she is one”
- Song of Solomon 6:9 The term “one” functions here as an adjective of quality: “unique, singular, the only one”
- Song of Solomon 6:9 Literally “she is one”
- Song of Solomon 6:9 Or “the only daughter of her mother.” Although the latter option is permissible, the term is used elsewhere of the heir as the favored child (e.g., Gen 22:2; Prov 4:3). This nuance is supported by the parallel term “favorite”
- Song of Solomon 6:9 Or “she is the pure one.” Since there are two Hebrew terms spelled the same way, some relate this to the adjective that means “pure.” Others relate it to the verb that means “to choose, select.” The parallelism favors the latter
- Song of Solomon 6:9 Literally “the favorite for”
- Song of Solomon 6:9 Or “call her happy” or “call her blessed” or “bless her”
- Song of Solomon 6:10 Literally “pure as the glow”
- Song of Solomon 6:10 Or “bright as the heat of the sun.” The Hebrew term “glow” poetically refers to the bright rays of the sun (Psa 19:7; Isa 24:23; 30:26)
- Song of Solomon 6:10 Literally “terrible as the bannered ones”
Song of Solomon 6:4-10
Common English Bible
An overwhelming sight
[Man]
4 You are as beautiful, my dearest, as Tirzah,
as lovely as Jerusalem,
formidable as those lofty sights.
5 Turn your eyes away from me,
for they overwhelm me!
Your hair is like a flock of goats
as they stream down from Gilead.
6 Your teeth are like a flock of ewes
as they come up from the washing pool—
all of them perfectly matched,
not one of them lacks its twin.
7 Like a slice of pomegranate is the curve of your face
behind the veil of your hair.
8 There may be sixty queens
and eighty secondary wives,
young women beyond counting,
9 but my dove, my perfect one, is one of a kind.
To her mother she’s the only one,
radiant to the one who bore her.
Young women see her and declare her fortunate;
queens and secondary wives praise her.
10 Who is this, gazing down like the morning star,
beautiful as the full moon,
radiant as the sun,
formidable as those lofty sights?
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