Song 4 | HCSB | STEP | M : How beautiful you are, my darling . How very beautiful ! Behind your veil , your eyes are doves . Your hair is like a flock of goats streaming down Mount Gilead .

Song of Solomon 4

1 M : How beautiful you are, my darling.

How very beautiful!
Behind your veil,
your eyes are doves. ^a
Your hair is like a flock of goats
streaming down Mount Gilead. ^b
2 Your teeth are like a flock of newly shorn sheep
coming up from washing,
each one having a twin,
and not one missing. ^{▼▼Lit and no one bereaved among them
,} ^d
3 Your lips are like a scarlet cord, ^e
and your mouth ^{▼▼Or speech} is lovely.
Behind your veil,
your brow ^{▼▼Or temple, or cheek, or lips} is like a slice of pomegranate. ^h
4 Your neck is like the tower of David, ⁱ
constructed in layers.
A thousand bucklers are hung on it –
all of them shields of warriors. ^{▼▼Perhaps describing the woman’s necklace}
5 Your breasts are like two fawns,
twins of a gazelle, ^k that feed among the lilies.
6 Before the day breaks ^{▼▼Lit breathes}
and the shadows flee, ^m
I will make my way to the mountain of myrrh
and the hill of frankincense. ⁿ
7 You are absolutely beautiful, ^o my darling,
with no imperfection in you.

8 Come with me from Lebanon, ^{▼▼In Hb, the word for Lebanon is similar to “frankincense” in Sg 4:6,14,15.
,} ^q my bride ^r –
with me from Lebanon!
Descend from the peak of Amana,
from the summit of Senir and Hermon, ^s
from the dens of the lions,
from the mountains of the leopards.
9 You have captured my heart, ^t my sister, ^{▼▼A term of endearment
,} ^v my bride.
You have captured my heart with one glance of your eyes,
with one jewel of your necklace.
10 How delightful your love is, my sister, my bride.
Your love is much better than wine, ^w
and the fragrance of your perfume than any balsam.
11 Your lips drip sweetness like the honeycomb, my bride. ^x
Honey and milk ^y are under your tongue.
The fragrance of your garments is like the fragrance of Lebanon.

12 My sister, my bride, you are a locked garden –
a locked garden ^{▼▼Some Hb mss read locked fountain} and a sealed spring. ^aa
13 Your branches are a paradise ^{▼▼Or park, or orchard} of pomegranates
with choicest fruits, ^ac
henna with nard –
14 nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon, ^ad
with all the trees of frankincense, ^ae
myrrh and aloes, ^af
with all the best spices.
15 You are a garden spring,
a well of flowing water ^ag
streaming from Lebanon.

16 W : Awaken, ^ah north wind –
come, south wind.
Blow on my garden,
and spread the fragrance of its spices.
Let my love come to his garden
and eat its choicest fruits. ^ai