Solomon Admires His Bride

1Groom to Bride: How beautiful you are, my love, how beautiful you are! Your eyes are those of a dove, except for what is hidden within. Your hair is like flocks of goats, which ascend along the mountain of Gilead.

2Your teeth are like flocks of shorn sheep, which ascend from the washing, each one with its identical twin, and not one among them is barren.

3Your lips are like a scarlet ribbon, and your eloquence is sweetness. Like a piece of pomegranate, so are your cheeks, except for what is hidden within.

4Your neck is like the tower of David, which was built with ramparts: a thousand shields are hanging from it, all the armor of the strong.

5Your two breasts are like two young does, twins that pasture among the lilies.

6Until the day rises and the shadows decline, I will go to the mountain of myrrh and to the hill of frankincense.

7You are totally beautiful, my love, and there is no blemish in you.

8Advance from Lebanon, my spouse, advance from Lebanon, advance. You shall be crowned at the head of Amana, near the summit of Senir and Hermon, by the dens of lions, by the mountains of leopards.

9You have wounded my heart, my sister, my spouse. You have wounded my heart with one look of your eyes, and with one lock of hair on your neck.

10How beautiful are your breasts, my sister, my spouse! Your breasts are more beautiful than wine, and the fragrance of your ointments is above all aromatic oils.

11Your lips, my spouse, are a dripping honeycomb; honey and milk are under your tongue. And the fragrance of your garments is like the odor of frankincense.

12An enclosed garden is my sister, my spouse: an enclosed garden, a sealed fountain.

13You send forth a paradise of pomegranates along with the fruits of the orchard: Cypress grapes, with aromatic oil;

14aromatic oil and saffron; sweet cane and cinnamon, with all the trees of Lebanon; myrrh and aloe, with all the best ointments.

15The fountain of the gardens is a well of living waters, which flow forcefully from Lebanon.

16Rise up, north wind, and advance, south wind. Send a breeze through my garden, and carry its aromatic scents.