Song of Solomon 3:6-5:1

English Standard Version

Solomon Arrives for the Wedding

⁶^(A)What is that coming up from the wilderness
    like ^(B)columns of smoke,
perfumed with ^(C)myrrh and frankincense,
    with all the fragrant powders of a merchant?
⁷Behold, it is the litter^[a] of Solomon!
Around it are ^(D)sixty ^(E)mighty men,
    some of the mighty men of Israel,
⁸all of them wearing swords
    and expert in war,
each with his ^(F)sword at his thigh,
    against ^(G)terror by night.
⁹King Solomon made himself a carriage^[b]
    from the wood of Lebanon.
¹⁰He made its posts of silver,
    its back of gold, its seat of purple;
its interior was inlaid with love
    by ^(H)the daughters of Jerusalem.
¹¹Go out, O ^(I)daughters of Zion,
    and look upon King Solomon,
with the crown with which his mother crowned him
    on ^(J)the day of his wedding,
    on the day of the gladness of his heart.

Solomon Admires His Bride's Beauty

He

4 Behold, ^(K)you are beautiful, my love,
    behold, you are beautiful!
^(L)Your eyes are doves
    ^(M)behind your veil.
^(N)Your hair is like a flock of goats
    leaping down ^(O)the slopes of Gilead.
²Your ^(P)teeth are like a flock of shorn ewes
    that have come up from the washing,
all of which bear twins,
    and not one among them has lost its young.
³Your lips are like ^(Q)a scarlet thread,
    and your mouth is ^(R)lovely.
Your ^(S)cheeks are like halves of a pomegranate
    ^(T)behind your veil.
⁴Your ^(U)neck is like the tower of David,
    built in ^(V)rows of stone;^[c]
on it ^(W)hang a thousand shields,
    all of ^(X)them shields of warriors.
⁵Your ^(Y)two breasts are like two ^(Z)fawns,
    twins of a gazelle,
    that ^(AA)graze among the lilies.
⁶^(AB)Until the day breathes
    and the shadows flee,
I will go away to the mountain of ^(AC)myrrh
    and the hill of ^(AD)frankincense.
⁷^(AE)You are altogether beautiful, my love;
    there is no ^(AF)flaw in you.
⁸^(AG)Come with me from ^(AH)Lebanon, my ^(AI)bride;
    come with me from ^(AJ)Lebanon.
Depart^[d] from the peak of Amana,
    from the peak of ^(AK)Senir and ^(AL)Hermon,
from the dens of lions,
    from the mountains of leopards.

⁹You have captivated my heart, my ^(AM)sister, my bride;
    you have captivated my heart with one glance of your eyes,
    with one ^(AN)jewel of your necklace.
¹⁰How beautiful is your love, my ^(AO)sister, my bride!
    How much ^(AP)better is your love than wine,
    and ^(AQ)the fragrance of your oils than any spice!
¹¹Your ^(AR)lips drip nectar, my bride;
    ^(AS)honey and milk are under your tongue;
    the fragrance of your garments is ^(AT)like the fragrance of ^(AU)Lebanon.
¹²A garden locked is my ^(AV)sister, my bride,
    a spring locked, ^(AW)a fountain ^(AX)sealed.
¹³Your shoots are ^(AY)an orchard of pomegranates
    with all ^(AZ)choicest fruits,
    ^(BA)henna with ^(BB)nard,
¹⁴nard and saffron, ^(BC)calamus and ^(BD)cinnamon,
    with all trees of ^(BE)frankincense,
^(BF)myrrh and ^(BG)aloes,
    with all ^(BH)choice spices—
¹⁵a garden fountain, a well of ^(BI)living water,
    and flowing streams from ^(BJ)Lebanon.

¹⁶Awake, O north wind,
and come, O south wind!
Blow upon my ^(BK)garden,
let its spices flow.

Together in the Garden of Love

She

^(BL)Let my beloved come to his ^(BM)garden,
and eat its ^(BN)choicest fruits.

He

5 I ^(BO)came to my garden, my ^(BP)sister, my bride,
    I gathered my ^(BQ)myrrh with my spice,
    I ate my ^(BR)honeycomb with my honey,
    I ^(BS)drank my wine with my milk.