< Song of Solomon 4 >
1 [[Lov.]] Behold, thou art fair, my love! behold, thou art fair! Thine eyes are doves behind thy veil; Thy locks are like a flock of goats Which lie down on mount Gilead;
How beautiful you are, my darling— how very beautiful! Your eyes are like doves behind your veil. Your hair is like a flock of goats streaming down Mount Gilead.
2 Thy teeth are like a flock of shorn sheep, Which come up from the washing-place, Of which every one beareth twins, And none is barren among them;
Your teeth are like a flock of newly shorn sheep coming up from the washing; each has its twin, and not one of them is lost.
3 Thy lips are like a thread of scarlet, And thy mouth comely; Thy cheeks are like a divided pomegranate behind thy veil;
Your lips are like a scarlet ribbon, and your mouth is lovely. Your brow behind your veil is like a slice of pomegranate.
4 Thy neck is like the tower of David, Built for an armory, In which there hang a thousand bucklers, All shields of mighty men;
Your neck is like the tower of David, built with rows of stones; on it hang a thousand shields, all of them shields of warriors.
5 Thy two breasts are like two young twin gazelles, That feed among the lilies.
Your breasts are like two fawns, twins of a gazelle grazing among the lilies.
6 When the day breathes, and the shadows flee away, I will betake me to the mountain of myrrh And the hill of frankincense.
Before the day breaks and the shadows flee, I will make my way to the mountain of myrrh and to the hill of frankincense.
7 Thou art all fair, my love; There is no spot in thee!
You are altogether beautiful, my darling; in you there is no flaw.
8 Come 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 dens of the lions, From the mountains of the leopards.
Come with me from Lebanon, my bride, come with me from Lebanon! Descend from the peak of Amana, from the summits of Senir and Hermon, from the dens of the lions, from the mountains of the leopards.
9 Thou hast taken captive my heart, my sister, my spouse; Thou hast taken captive my heart with one of thine eyes, With one chain of thy neck.
You have captured my heart, my sister, my bride; you have stolen my heart with one glance of your eyes, with one jewel of your neck.
10 How sweet is thy love, my sister, my spouse! How much more precious thy caresses than wine, And the fragrance of thy perfumes than all spices!
How delightful is your love, my sister, my bride! Your love is much better than wine, and the fragrance of your perfume than all spices.
11 Thy lips, O my spouse! drop the honeycomb; Honey and milk are under thy tongue, And the fragrance of thy garments is as the fragrance of Lebanon.
Your lips, my bride, drip sweetness like the honeycomb; honey and milk are under your tongue, and the fragrance of your garments is like the aroma of Lebanon.
12 A garden inclosed is my sister, my spouse; A spring shut up, a fountain sealed;
My sister, my bride, you are a garden locked up, a spring enclosed, a fountain sealed.
13 Thy plants are an orchard of pomegranates, with choicest fruits, Henna and spikenard,
Your branches are an orchard of pomegranates with the choicest of fruits, with henna and nard,
14 Spikenard and saffron, Sweet cane and cinnamon, With all trees of frankincense; Myrrh and aloes, With all the chief spices;
with nard and saffron, with calamus and cinnamon, with every kind of frankincense tree, with myrrh and aloes, with all the finest spices.
15 A fountain of the gardens, A well of living water, A stream that floweth from Lebanon!
You are a garden spring, a well of fresh water flowing down from Lebanon.
16 [[M.]] Awake, O north wind, and come, thou south! Blow upon my garden, That its spices may flow out! May my beloved come to his garden, And eat his pleasant fruits.
Awake, O north wind, and come, O south wind. Breathe on my garden and spread the fragrance of its spices. Let my beloved come into his garden and taste its choicest fruits.