Song of Solomon 3:5-5:1

English Standard Version

⁵^(A)I adjure you, ^(B)O daughters of Jerusalem,
^(C)by the gazelles or the does of the field,
that you not stir up or awaken love
until it pleases.

Solomon Arrives for the Wedding

⁶^(D)What is that coming up from the wilderness
    like ^(E)columns of smoke,
perfumed with ^(F)myrrh and frankincense,
    with all the fragrant powders of a merchant?
⁷Behold, it is the litter^[a] of Solomon!
Around it are ^(G)sixty ^(H)mighty men,
    some of the mighty men of Israel,
⁸all of them wearing swords
    and expert in war,
each with his ^(I)sword at his thigh,
    against ^(J)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 ^(K)the daughters of Jerusalem.
¹¹Go out, O ^(L)daughters of Zion,
    and look upon King Solomon,
with the crown with which his mother crowned him
    on ^(M)the day of his wedding,
    on the day of the gladness of his heart.

Solomon Admires His Bride's Beauty

He

4 Behold, ^(N)you are beautiful, my love,
    behold, you are beautiful!
^(O)Your eyes are doves
    ^(P)behind your veil.
^(Q)Your hair is like a flock of goats
    leaping down ^(R)the slopes of Gilead.
²Your ^(S)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 ^(T)a scarlet thread,
    and your mouth is ^(U)lovely.
Your ^(V)cheeks are like halves of a pomegranate
    ^(W)behind your veil.
⁴Your ^(X)neck is like the tower of David,
    built in ^(Y)rows of stone;^[c]
on it ^(Z)hang a thousand shields,
    all of ^(AA)them shields of warriors.
⁵Your ^(AB)two breasts are like two ^(AC)fawns,
    twins of a gazelle,
    that ^(AD)graze among the lilies.
⁶^(AE)Until the day breathes
    and the shadows flee,
I will go away to the mountain of ^(AF)myrrh
    and the hill of ^(AG)frankincense.
⁷^(AH)You are altogether beautiful, my love;
    there is no ^(AI)flaw in you.
⁸^(AJ)Come with me from ^(AK)Lebanon, my ^(AL)bride;
    come with me from ^(AM)Lebanon.
Depart^[d] from the peak of Amana,
    from the peak of ^(AN)Senir and ^(AO)Hermon,
from the dens of lions,
    from the mountains of leopards.

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

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

Together in the Garden of Love

She

^(BO)Let my beloved come to his ^(BP)garden,
and eat its ^(BQ)choicest fruits.

He

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