4
The Bridegroom Praises the Bride
The Beloved
Behold, you are fair!
You have dove’s eyes behind your veil.
Your hair is like a ⚓flock of goats,
Going down from Mount Gilead.
2⚓Your teeth are like a flock of shorn sheep
Which have come up from the washing,
Every one of which bears twins,
And none is barren among them.
3Your lips are like a strand of scarlet,
And your mouth is lovely.
⚓Your temples behind your veil
Are like a piece of pomegranate.
4⚓Your neck is like the tower of David,
Built ⚓for an armory,
On which hang a thousand bucklers,
All shields of mighty men.
5⚓Your two breasts are like two fawns,
Twins of a gazelle,
Which feed among the lilies.
6⚓Until the day breaks
And the shadows flee away,
I will go my way to the mountain of myrrh
And to the hill of frankincense.
7⚓You are all fair, my love,
And there is no spot in you.
8Come with me from Lebanon, my spouse,
With me from Lebanon.
Look from the top of Amana,
From the top of Senir ⚓and Hermon,
From the lions’ dens,
From the mountains of the leopards.
9You have ravished my heart,
My sister, my spouse;
You have ravished my heart
With one look of your eyes,
With one link of your necklace.
10How fair is your love,
My sister, my spouse!
⚓How much better than wine is your love,
And the scent of your perfumes
Than all spices!
11Your lips, O my spouse,
Drip as the honeycomb;
⚓Honey and milk are under your tongue;
And the fragrance of your garments
Is⚓like the fragrance of Lebanon.
12A garden enclosed
Is my sister, my spouse,
A spring shut up,
A fountain sealed.
13Your plants are an orchard of pomegranates
With pleasant fruits,
Fragrant henna with spikenard,
14Spikenard and saffron,
Calamus and cinnamon,
With all trees of frankincense,
Myrrh and aloes,
With all the chief spices—
15A fountain of gardens,
A well of ⚓living waters,
And streams from Lebanon.
16Awake, O north wind,
And come, O south!
Blow upon my garden,
That its spices may flow out.
⚓Let my beloved come to his garden
And eat its pleasant ⚓fruits.
4
1How beautiful you are, my darling!
Oh, how beautiful!
Your eyes behind your veil are doves.
Your hair is like a flock of goats
descending from the hills of Gilead.
2Your teeth are like a flock of sheep just shorn,
coming up from the washing.
Each has its twin;
not one of them is alone.
3Your lips are like a scarlet ribbon;
your mouth is lovely.
Your temples behind your veil
are like the halves of a pomegranate.
4Your neck is like the tower of David,
built with courses of stone⚓ ;
on it hang a thousand shields,
all of them shields of warriors.
5Your breasts are like two fawns,
like twin fawns of a gazelle
that browse among the lilies.
6Until the day breaks
and the shadows flee,
I will go to the mountain of myrrh
and to the hill of incense.
7You are altogether beautiful, my darling;
there is no flaw in you.
8Come with me from Lebanon, my bride,
come with me from Lebanon.
Descend from the crest of Amana,
from the top of Senir, the summit of Hermon,
from the lions’ dens
and the mountain haunts of leopards.
9You have stolen my heart, my sister, my bride;
you have stolen my heart
with one glance of your eyes,
with one jewel of your necklace.
10How delightful is your love, my sister, my bride!
How much more pleasing is your love than wine,
and the fragrance of your perfume
more than any spice!
11Your lips drop sweetness as the honeycomb, my bride;
milk and honey are under your tongue.
The fragrance of your garments
is like the fragrance of Lebanon.
12You are a garden locked up, my sister, my bride;
you are a spring enclosed, a sealed fountain.
13Your plants are an orchard of pomegranates
with choice fruits,
with henna and nard,
14nard and saffron,
calamus and cinnamon,
with every kind of incense tree,
with myrrh and aloes
and all the finest spices.
15You are⚓ a garden fountain,
a well of flowing water
streaming down from Lebanon.
16Awake, north wind,
and come, south wind!
Blow on my garden,
that its fragrance may spread everywhere.
Let my beloved come into his garden
and taste its choice fruits.