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The king says to the Shulammite woman

“You are so beautiful, my love!
    So beautiful!
    Your eyes behind your veil are like doves.
Your hair flows like a flock of black goats
    coming down from the hills of Gilead.
Your teeth are as clean as a flock of sheep.
    Their wool has just been clipped.
    They have just come up from being washed.
Each of your teeth has its twin.
    Not one of them is alone.
Your lips are like a bright red ribbon.
    Your mouth is so lovely.
Your cheeks behind your veil
    are like the halves of a pomegranate.
Your neck is strong and beautiful like the tower of David.
    That tower is built with rows of stones.
A thousand shields are hanging on it.
    All of them belong to mighty soldiers.
Your breasts are lovely.
    They are like two young antelopes
    that eat among the lilies.
I will go to the mountain of myrrh.
    I’ll go to the hill of incense.
I’ll stay there until the day begins
    and the shadows fade away.
Every part of you is so beautiful, my love.
    There is no flaw in you.

“Come with me from Lebanon, my bride.
    Come with me from Lebanon.
Come down from the top of Mount Amana.
    Come down from the top of Senir.
    Come to me from the peak of Mount Hermon.
Leave the dens where the lions live.
    Leave the places in the mountains where the leopards stay.
My bride, you have stolen my heart
    with one glance of your eyes.
My sister, you have stolen my heart
    with one jewel in your necklace.
10 My bride, your love is so delightful.
    My sister, your love makes me happier than wine does.
    Your perfume smells better than any spice.
11 Your lips are as sweet as honey, my bride.
    Milk and honey are under your tongue.
    Your clothes smell like the cedar trees in Lebanon.
12 My bride, you are like a garden that is locked up.
    My sister, you are like a spring of water that has a fence around it.
    You are like a fountain that is sealed up.
13 You are like trees whose branches are loaded
    with pomegranates, fine fruits, henna and nard,
14     with nard and saffron, cane and cinnamon.
You are like every kind of incense tree.
    You have myrrh, aloes
    and all the finest spices.
15 You are like a fountain in a garden.
    You are like a well of flowing water
    streaming down from Lebanon.”

The woman says

16 “Wake up, north wind!
    Come, south wind!
Blow on my garden.
    Then its sweet smell will spread everywhere.
Let my love come into his garden.
    Let him taste its fine fruits.”

He

How beautiful you are, my darling!
    Oh, how beautiful!
    Your eyes behind your veil(A) are doves.(B)
Your hair is like a flock of goats
    descending from the hills of Gilead.(C)
Your teeth are like a flock of sheep just shorn,
    coming up from the washing.
Each has its twin;
    not one of them is alone.(D)
Your lips are like a scarlet ribbon;
    your mouth(E) is lovely.(F)
Your temples behind your veil
    are like the halves of a pomegranate.(G)
Your neck is like the tower(H) of David,
    built with courses of stone[a];
on it hang a thousand shields,(I)
    all of them shields of warriors.
Your breasts(J) are like two fawns,
    like twin fawns of a gazelle(K)
    that browse among the lilies.(L)
Until the day breaks
    and the shadows flee,(M)
I will go to the mountain of myrrh(N)
    and to the hill of incense.
You are altogether beautiful,(O) my darling;
    there is no flaw(P) in you.

Come with me from Lebanon, my bride,(Q)
    come with me from Lebanon.
Descend from the crest of Amana,
    from the top of Senir,(R) the summit of Hermon,(S)
from the lions’ dens
    and the mountain haunts of leopards.
You have stolen my heart, my sister, my bride;(T)
    you have stolen my heart
with one glance of your eyes,
    with one jewel of your necklace.(U)
10 How delightful(V) is your love(W), my sister, my bride!
    How much more pleasing is your love than wine,(X)
and the fragrance of your perfume(Y)
    more than any spice!
11 Your lips drop sweetness as the honeycomb, my bride;
    milk and honey are under your tongue.(Z)
The fragrance of your garments
    is like the fragrance of Lebanon.(AA)
12 You are a garden(AB) locked up, my sister, my bride;(AC)
    you are a spring enclosed, a sealed fountain.(AD)
13 Your plants are an orchard of pomegranates(AE)
    with choice fruits,
    with henna(AF) and nard,
14     nard and saffron,
    calamus and cinnamon,(AG)
    with every kind of incense tree,
    with myrrh(AH) and aloes(AI)
    and all the finest spices.(AJ)
15 You are[b] a garden(AK) fountain,(AL)
    a well of flowing water
    streaming down from Lebanon.

She

16 Awake, north wind,
    and come, south wind!
Blow on my garden,(AM)
    that its fragrance(AN) may spread everywhere.
Let my beloved(AO) come into his garden
    and taste its choice fruits.(AP)

Footnotes

  1. Song of Songs 4:4 The meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.
  2. Song of Songs 4:15 Or I am (spoken by She)