Song of Songs, chapter 4

What a Beautiful Bride

My darling, you are lovely, so very lovely—

as you look through your veil,

your eyes are those of a dove.

Your hairO tosses about as gracefully as goats

coming down from Gilead.

² CYour teeth are whiter than sheep freshly washed;

they match perfectly, not one is missing.

³Your lips are crimson cords, your mouth is shapely;

behind your veil are hidden beautiful rosy cheeksO.*

⁴Your neck is more graceful than the tower of DavidO,

decorated with thousands of warriors' shields.

⁵Your breasts are perfect;

they are twin deer feeding among lilies.

⁶I will hasten to those hillsI sprinkled with sweet perfume

and stay there till sunrise.

⁷My darling, you are lovely in every way.

⁸My bride, together we will leave Lebanon!

We will say goodbye to the peaks

of Mount Amana, Senir, and HermonG,

where lions and leopards live in the caves.

⁹ CMy bride, my very own, you have stolen my heart!

With one glance from your eyes

and the glow of your necklace,

you have stolen my heart.

¹⁰Your love is sweeter than wine;

the smell of your perfume

is more fragrant than spicesO.

¹¹Your lips are a honeycomb;

milk and honey flow from your tongue.

Your dress has the aroma of cedar trees from LebanonO.

¹² CMy bride, my very own, you are a garden,

a fountain closed off to all others.

¹³Your arms* are vines, covered with delicious fruits

and all sorts of spices—

henna, nard, ¹⁴saffron, calamus, cinnamon,

frankincense, myrrh, and aloes—

all the finest spices.

¹⁵You are a spring in the garden, a fountain of pure water,

and a refreshing stream from Mount LebanonG.

¹⁶Let the north wind blow, the south wind too!

Let them spread the aroma of my gardenO,

so the one I love may enter

and taste its delicious fruits.