Solomon Admires His Bride

The Bridegroom

1Behold, you are beautiful, my darling,

behold, you are beautiful!

Your eyes are doves

behind your veil;

your hair is like a flock of the goats

streaming down from Mount Gilead.

2Your teeth are like a flock shorn,

having come up from the washing,

all of which have twins,

and there is not a bereaved one among them.

3Like a thread of scarlet are your lips,

and your mouth is lovely.

Like the halves of the pomegranate is your temple,

behind your veil.

4Like the tower of David is your neck,

built with rows of stones;

a thousand shields hang on it,

all the shields of the mighty ones.

5Your two breasts are like two fawns,

twins of a gazelle, grazing among the lilies.

6Until the day breathes, and the shadows flee,

I will go my way

to the mountain of myrrh, and to

the hill of frankincense.

7All of you is beautiful, my darling,

and there is not a blemish on you.

8Come with me from Lebanon, my bride,

with me from Lebanon!

Descend† from the top of Amana,

from the top of Senir and Hermon,

from the dens of the lions,

from the mountains of the leopards.

9You have captured my heart,

my sister, my bride;

you have captured my heart with one of your eyes,

with one jewel of your neck.

10How beautiful is your love,

my sister, my bride!

How much better is your love than wine,

and the scent of your oils than all spices!

11Your lips drip with nectar,

my bride;

honey and milk are under your tongue,

and the fragrance of your garments

is like the fragrance of Lebanon.

12A garden locked up is my sister, my bride—

a spring locked up, a fountain sealed.

13Your shoots are an orchard of pomegranates,

with the choicest of fruits, henna with nard,

14nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon,

with all trees of frankincense,

myrrh and aloes,

with all the finest spices,

15a fountain of gardens,

a well of living water,†

and flowing down from Lebanon.

The Bride

16Awake, north wind,

and come, south wind!

Breathe on my garden,

that its spices may flow out.

Let my beloved come to his garden,

and eat the fruit of its excellencies.