1 H ow fair you are, my love, how very fair! Your eyes behind your veil of those of a dove; your hair of a flock of goats which one sees trailing down Mount Gilead.

“How beautiful you are, my love! How beautiful you are! Your eyes are like doves behind your face-covering. Your hair is like a flock of goats coming down from Mount Gilead.

2 Y our teeth are like a flock of shorn ewes which have come up from the washing, of which all are in pairs, and none is missing among them.

Your teeth are like a flock of sheep that have just had their wool cut and have come up from their washing. All have given birth to two lambs, and not one among them has lost her young.

3 Y our lips are like a thread of scarlet, and your mouth is lovely. Your cheeks are like halves of a pomegranate behind your veil.

Your lips are like a bright red string. Your mouth is beautiful. The sides of your face are like a piece of a pomegranate under your covering.

4 Y our neck is like the tower of David, built for an arsenal, whereon hang a thousand bucklers, all of them shields of warriors.

Your neck is like the tower of David, built with beauty. On it hang a thousand battle-coverings, the coverings of men of war.

5 Y our two breasts are like two fawns, like twins of a gazelle that feed among the lilies.

Your two breasts are like two young deer, the two young ones of a gazelle, that eat among the lilies.

6 U ntil the day breaks and the shadows flee away, I will get to the mountain of myrrh and the hill of frankincense.

Until the morning comes and the shadows hurry away, I will go to the mountain of perfume plants, to the hill of special perfume.

7 O my love, how beautiful you are! There is no flaw in you!

“You are all beautiful, my love. You are perfect.

8 C ome away with me from Lebanon, my bride, come with me from Lebanon. Depart from the top of Amana, from the peak of Senir and Hermon, from the lions’ dens, from the mountains of the leopards.

Come with me from Lebanon, my bride. May you come with me from Lebanon. Travel down from the top of Amana, from the top of Senir and Hermon, from the homes of lions, from the mountain homes of leopards.

9 Y ou have ravished my heart and given me courage, my sister, my bride; you have ravished my heart and given me courage with one look from your eyes, with one jewel of your necklace.

You have made my heart beat faster, my sister, my bride. You have made my heart beat faster with one look from your eyes, with one piece of the beautiful chain around your neck.

10 H ow beautiful is your love, my sister, my bride! How much better is your love than wine! And the fragrance of your ointments than all spices!

How beautiful is your love, my sister, my bride! How much better is your love than wine, and the sweet smell of your oils than all kinds of spices!

11 Y our lips, O my bride, drop honey as the honeycomb; honey and milk are under your tongue. And the odor of your garments is like the odor of Lebanon.

Honey comes from your lips, my bride. Honey and milk are under your tongue. And the sweet smell of your clothing is like the smell of Lebanon.

12 A garden enclosed and barred is my sister, my bride—a spring shut up, a fountain sealed.

A garden closed and locked is my sister, my bride, a garden shut up and covered over.

13 Y our shoots are an orchard of pomegranates or a paradise with precious fruits, henna with spikenard plants,

Your young branches are a garden of pomegranates with all the best fruits, henna with nard plants.

14 S pikenard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense, myrrh, and aloes, with all the chief spices.

There is nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon, with all the trees of frankincense, myrrh and aloes, with all the best spices.

15 Y ou are a fountain in a garden, a well of living waters, and flowing streams from Lebanon.

You are a garden well, a well of flowing water, and rivers coming from Lebanon.” The Woman

16 O h, I pray that the north wind and the south wind may blow upon my garden, that its spices may flow out. Let my beloved come into his garden and eat its choicest fruits.

“Wake up, O north wind! Come, south wind! Blow upon my garden so the sweet smells will spread far. May my loved one come into his garden and eat its best fruits.”