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What a Beautiful Bride

He Speaks:

My darling, you are lovely,
    so very lovely—
as you look through your veil,
    your eyes are those of a dove.
Your hair tosses about
as gracefully as goats
    coming down from Gilead.
Your teeth are whiter
    than sheep freshly washed;
they match perfectly,
    not one is missing.
Your lips are crimson cords,
    your mouth is shapely;
behind your veil are hidden
    beautiful rosy cheeks.[a]
Your neck is more graceful
    than the tower of David,
decorated with thousands
    of warriors' shields.

Your breasts are perfect;
they are twin deer
    feeding among lilies.
I will hasten to those hills
sprinkled with sweet perfume
    and stay there till sunrise.
My darling, you are lovely
    in every way.
My bride, together
    we will leave Lebanon!
We will say goodbye
to the peaks of Mount Amana,
    Senir, and Hermon,
where lions and leopards
    live in the caves.

My bride, my very own,
    you have stolen my heart!
With one glance from your eyes
and the glow of your necklace,
    you have stolen my heart.
10 Your love is sweeter than wine;
the smell of your perfume
    is more fragrant than spices.
11 Your lips are a honeycomb;
milk and honey
    flow from your tongue.
Your dress has the aroma
    of cedar trees from Lebanon.

12 My bride, my very own,
you are a garden, a fountain
    closed off to all others.
13 Your arms[b] are vines,
covered with delicious fruits
    and all sorts of spices—
henna, nard, 14 saffron,
    calamus, cinnamon,
frankincense, myrrh, and aloes
    —all the finest spices.
15 You are a spring in the garden,
    a fountain of pure water,
and a refreshing stream
    from Mount Lebanon.

She Speaks:

16 Let the north wind blow,
    the south wind too!
Let them spread the aroma
    of my garden,
so the one I love
may enter and taste
    its delicious fruits.

Footnotes

  1. 4.3 beautiful rosy cheeks: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  2. 4.13 Your arms: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.

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