| English Standard Version | New International Version |
| 1Behold, you are beautiful, my love, behold, you are beautiful! Your eyes are doves behind your veil. Your hair is like a flock of goats leaping down the slopes of Gilead. | 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 shorn ewes that have come up from the washing, all of which bear twins, and not one among them has lost its young. | 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 thread, and your mouth is lovely. Your cheeks are like halves of a pomegranate behind your veil. | 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 in rows of stone; on it hang a thousand shields, all of them shields of warriors. | 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 two breasts are like two fawns, twins of a gazelle, that graze among the lilies. | 5Your breasts are like two fawns, like twin fawns of a gazelle that browse among the lilies. |
| 6Until the day breathes and the shadows flee, I will go away to the mountain of myrrh and the hill of frankincense. | 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 love; there is no flaw in you. | 7You are altogether beautiful, my darling; there is no flaw in you. |
| 8Come with me from Lebanon, my bride; come with me from Lebanon. Depart from the peak of Amana, from the peak of Senir and Hermon, from the dens of lions, from the mountains of leopards. | 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 captivated my heart, my sister, my bride; you have captivated my heart with one glance of your eyes, with one jewel of your necklace. | 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 beautiful is your love, my sister, my bride! How much better is your love than wine, and the fragrance of your oils than any spice! | 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 drip nectar, my bride; honey and milk are under your tongue; the fragrance of your garments is like the fragrance of Lebanon. | 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. |
| 12A garden locked is my sister, my bride, a spring locked, a fountain sealed. | 12You are a garden locked up, my sister, my bride; you are a spring enclosed, a sealed fountain. |
| 13Your shoots are an orchard of pomegranates with all choicest fruits, henna with nard, | 13Your plants are an orchard of pomegranates with choice fruits, with henna and nard, |
| 14nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense, myrrh and aloes, with all choice spices— | 14nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon, with every kind of incense tree, with myrrh and aloes and all the finest spices. |
| 15a garden fountain, a well of living water, and flowing streams from Lebanon. | 15You are a garden fountain, a well of flowing water streaming down from Lebanon. |
| 16Awake, O north wind, and come, O south wind! Blow upon my garden, let its spices flow. Let my beloved come to his garden, and eat its choicest fruits. | 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. |
| ESV Text Edition: 2016. The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. The ESV® text has been reproduced in cooperation with and by permission of Good News Publishers. Unauthorized reproduction of this publication is prohibited. All rights reserved. | New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. |
|
