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
International Standard Version
The Lover
4 You are beautiful, my darling, like Tirzah,[a]
lovely like Jerusalem,
as awesome as an army with banners.
5 Turn your eyes from me,
for they excite me.[b]
Your hair is like a flock of goats
coming down from Mt. Gilead.
6 Your teeth are like a flock of ewes
coming up from being washed.[c]
All of them are twins,
not one has lost[d] her young.
7 Your temple[e] behind your veil
is like a slice of pomegranate.
8 There are sixty queens and eighty mistresses,[f]
and too many young women to count,
9 but my dove, my perfect one, is unique.
She’s unique to her mother,
she’s pure to the one who gave birth to her.
Young women see her and call her blessed,
queens and mistresses praise her.
The Young Women
10 Who is this who appears like the dawn,
beautiful as the moon,
bright as the sun,
awesome as an army with banners?
Footnotes
- Song of Solomon 6:4 I.e. a prominent city in the northern kingdom of Israel
- Song of Solomon 6:5 Or overwhelm me
- Song of Solomon 6:6 Lit. from washing
- Song of Solomon 6:6 Lit. been bereaved of; i.e. her teeth match
- Song of Solomon 6:7 Or brow
- Song of Solomon 6:8 Or concubines; i.e. secondary wives
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