Song of Songs 4
New American Bible Revised Edition

The Beauty of the Woman

Ma,

1b How beautiful you are, my friend,

how beautiful you are!

Your eyes are doves

behind your veil.

Your hair is like a flock of goats

streaming down Mount Gilead.*

2Your teeth* are like a flock of ewes to be shorn,

that come up from the washing,

All of them big with twins,

none of them barren.

3Like a scarlet strand, your lips,

and your mouth—lovely!

Like pomegranate* halves, your cheeks

behind your veil.

4c Like a tower of David, your neck,

built in courses,

A thousand shields hanging upon it,

all the armor of warriors.*

5d Your breasts are like two fawns,

twins of a gazelle

feeding among the lilies.

6e Until the day grows cool

and the shadows flee,

I shall go to the mountain of myrrh,

to the hill of frankincense.*

7You are beautiful in every way, my friend,

there is no flaw in you!*

8With me from Lebanon, my bride!

With me from Lebanon, come!

Descend from the peak of Amana,

from the peak of Senir and Hermon,*

From the lairs of lions,

from the leopards’ heights.

9f You have ravished my heart, my sister,* my bride;

you have ravished my heart with one glance of your eyes,

with one bead of your necklace.

10g How beautiful is your love,

my sister, my bride,

How much better is your love than wine,

and the fragrance of your perfumes than any spice!

11Your lips drip honey,* my bride,

honey and milk are under your tongue;

And the fragrance of your garments

is like the fragrance of Lebanon.

The Lover’s Garden

Mh

12A garden enclosed, my sister, my bride,

a garden enclosed, a fountain sealed!*

13Your branches are a grove of pomegranates,

with fruits of choicest yield:

Henna with spikenard,

14spikenard and saffron,

Sweet cane and cinnamon,

with all kinds of frankincense;

Myrrh and aloes,

with all the finest spices;*

15A garden fountain, a well of living water,

streams flowing from Lebanon.

16Awake,* north wind!

Come, south wind!

Blow upon my garden

that its perfumes may spread abroad.

W

Let my lover come to his garden

and eat its fruits of choicest yield.


Book Introduction

Footnotes

Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.





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