Young Man

4You are beautiful, my darling,

like the lovely city of Tirzah.

Yes, as beautiful as Jerusalem,

as majestic as an army with billowing banners.

5Turn your eyes away,

for they overpower me.

Your hair falls in waves,

like a flock of goats winding down the slopes of Gilead.

6Your teeth are as white as sheep

that are freshly washed.

Your smile is flawless,

each tooth matched with its twin.*6:6 Hebrew Not one is missing; each has a twin.

7Your cheeks are like rosy pomegranates

behind your veil.

8Even among sixty queens

and eighty concubines

and countless young women,

9I would still choose my dove, my perfect one—

the favorite of her mother,

dearly loved by the one who bore her.

The young women see her and praise her;

even queens and royal concubines sing her praises:

10“Who is this, arising like the dawn,

as fair as the moon,

as bright as the sun,

as majestic as an army with billowing banners?”

Young Woman

11I went down to the grove of walnut trees

and out to the valley to see the new spring growth,

to see whether the grapevines had budded

or the pomegranates were in bloom.

12Before I realized it,

my strong desires had taken me to the chariot of a noble man.*6:12 Or to the royal chariots of my people, or to the chariots of Amminadab. The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.

Young Women of Jerusalem

13*6:13a Verse 6:13 is numbered 7:1 in Hebrew text.Return, return to us, O maid of Shulam.

Come back, come back, that we may see you again.

Young Man

Why do you stare at this young woman of Shulam,

as she moves so gracefully between two lines of dancers?*6:13b Or as you would at the movements of two armies? or as you would at the dance of Mahanaim? The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.

Song of Songs 7

1*7:1 Verses 7:1-13 are numbered 7:2-14 in Hebrew text.How beautiful are your sandaled feet,

O queenly maiden.

Your rounded thighs are like jewels,

the work of a skilled craftsman.

2Your navel is perfectly formed

like a goblet filled with mixed wine.

Between your thighs lies a mound of wheat

bordered with lilies.

3Your breasts are like two fawns,

twin fawns of a gazelle.

4Your neck is as beautiful as an ivory tower.

Your eyes are like the sparkling pools in Heshbon

by the gate of Bath-rabbim.

Your nose is as fine as the tower of Lebanon

overlooking Damascus.

5Your head is as majestic as Mount Carmel,

and the sheen of your hair radiates royalty.

The king is held captive by its tresses.

6Oh, how beautiful you are!

How pleasing, my love, how full of delights!

7You are slender like a palm tree,

and your breasts are like its clusters of fruit.

8I said, “I will climb the palm tree

and take hold of its fruit.”

May your breasts be like grape clusters,

and the fragrance of your breath like apples.

9May your kisses be as exciting as the best wine—

Young Woman

Yes, wine that goes down smoothly for my lover,

flowing gently over lips and teeth.*7:9 As in Greek and Syriac versions and Latin Vulgate; Hebrew reads over lips of sleepers.