Song of Solomon 4
1 Behold, you [are] beautiful, my friend, behold, you [are] beautiful, Your eyes [are] doves behind your veil, Your hair as a row of the goats that have shone from Mount Gilead,
My darling, you are beautiful, you are very beautiful! Underneath your veil, your eyes are [as gentle as] [MET] doves. Your [long black] hair [moves from side to side] like [SIM] a flock of [black] goats moving down the slopes of Gilead Mountain.
2 Your teeth as a row of the shorn ones that have come up from the washing, For all of them are forming twins, And a bereaved one is not among them.
Your teeth are [very white] like [SIM] a flock of sheep [whose wool] has [just] been (shorn/cut off) and that have come up from being washed [in a stream]. You have all of your teeth; none of them is missing.
3 As a thread of scarlet [are] your lips, And your speech [is] lovely, As the work of the pomegranate [is] your temple behind your veil,
Your lips are like [SIM] a scarlet ribbon, and your mouth is lovely. Beneath your veil, your [round, rosy/red] cheeks are like [SIM] the halves of a pomegranate.
4 As the Tower of David [is] your neck, built for an armory, The chief of the shields are hung on it, All shields of the mighty.
Your [long] neck is [beautiful] like [SIM] the tower of [King] David that was built using layers/rows of stone. [The ornaments on your necklaces are like] 1,000 [HYP] shields that are hanging [on the walls of a tower]; each one belongs to a warrior.
5 Your two breasts [are] as two fawns, Twins of a roe, that are feeding among lilies.
Your breasts are [as beautiful] [SIM] as two (fawns/young gazelles) that eat [grass] among lilies.
6 Until the day breaks forth, And the shadows have fled away, I go for myself to the mountain of myrrh, And to the hill of frankincense.
Until dawn [tomorrow morning] and the nighttime shadows/darkness disappear, I will [lie close to your breasts] that are [like] [MET] hills that are covered with incense [DOU].
7 You [are] all beautiful, my friend, And there is not a blemish in you. Come from Lebanon, O spouse,
My darling, you are completely beautiful; your body is perfectly [formed]!
8 Come from Lebanon, come in. Look from the top of Amana, From the top of Shenir and Hermon, From the habitations of lions, From the mountains of leopards.
My bride, [it is as though you are in] [MET] Lebanon [far away, where I cannot reach you]; come back to me. [It is as though you are inaccessible] [MET] on the top of Hermon Mountain or the nearby peaks. Come from where the lions have their dens and where the leopards live on the mountains.
9 You have emboldened me, my sister-spouse, Emboldened me with one of your eyes, With one chain of your neck.
My bride [DOU], you who are dearer to me than my sister, you have captured my affection [IDM] by only once quickly looking at me, and by one [strand of] jewels in your necklace.
10 How beautiful have been your loves, my sister-spouse, How much better have been your loves than wine, And the fragrance of your perfumes than all spices.
My bride, your love for me is delightful! It more delightful than wine! And the fragrance of your perfume is more pleasing than any spice!
11 Your lips drop honey, O spouse, Honey and milk [are] under your tongue, And the fragrance of your garments [Is] as the fragrance of Lebanon.
Being kissed by you is [as enjoyable as eating] [MTY] honey; your kisses are as sweet as milk [mixed with] honey. The aroma of your clothes is like [SIM] the aroma of [cedar trees in] Lebanon.
12 A garden shut up [is] my sister-spouse, A spring shut up—a fountain sealed.
My bride, [you who are dearer to me than] [MET] my sister, you are [like] [MET] a garden that is locked [in order that other men cannot enter it]; [you are like] [MET] a spring or a fountain that is covered [in order that others may not drink from it].
13 Your shoots a paradise of pomegranates, With precious fruits,
You are [like] [MET] an orchard of pomegranate trees full of delicious fruit, and plenty of [plants that produce] henna and nard [spices],
14 Cypresses with nard—nard and saffron, Cane and cinnamon, With all trees of frankincense, Myrrh and aloes, with all chief spices.
and saffron and calamus and cinnamon and many other kinds of incense, and myrrh and aloes and many [other] fine spices.
15 A fount of gardens, a well of living waters, And flowings from Lebanon!
[You are like] [MET] a fountain in a garden, [like] [MET] a spring of clear water that flows [down] from [the mountains of] Lebanon.
16 Awake, O north wind, and come, O south, Cause my garden to breathe forth, its spices let flow, Let my beloved come to his garden, And eat its pleasant fruits!
[I want] the north wind and the south wind to come, and blow on my garden, [in order that] the fragrance [of the spices will] spread through the air. [Similarly], I want the one who loves me to come and enjoy [cuddling up to me] [like] [MET, EUP] someone comes into a garden and enjoys eating the fruit [that grows there].
