| English Standard Version | Holman Christian Standard Bible |
| 1Behold, you are beautiful, my love, behold, you are beautiful! Your eyes are doves behind your veil. Your hair is like a flock of goats leaping down the slopes of Gilead. | 1M How beautiful you are, my darling. How very beautiful! Behind your veil, your eyes are doves. Your hair is like a flock of goats streaming down Mount Gilead. |
| 2Your 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. | 2Your teeth are like a flock of newly shorn sheep coming up from washing, each one having a twin, and not one missing. |
| 3Your lips are like a scarlet thread, and your mouth is lovely. Your cheeks are like halves of a pomegranate behind your veil. | 3Your lips are like a scarlet cord, and your mouth is lovely. Behind your veil, your brow is like a slice of pomegranate. |
| 4Your neck is like the tower of David, built in rows of stone; on it hang a thousand shields, all of them shields of warriors. | 4Your neck is like the tower of David, constructed in layers. A thousand bucklers are hung on it-- all of them shields of warriors. |
| 5Your two breasts are like two fawns, twins of a gazelle, that graze among the lilies. | 5Your breasts are like two fawns, twins of a gazelle, that feed among the lilies. |
| 6Until the day breathes and the shadows flee, I will go away to the mountain of myrrh and the hill of frankincense. | 6Before the day breaks and the shadows flee, I will make my way to the mountain of myrrh and the hill of frankincense. |
| 7You are altogether beautiful, my love; there is no flaw in you. | 7You are absolutely beautiful, my darling, with no imperfection in you. |
| 8Come with me from Lebanon, my bride; come with me from Lebanon. Depart from the peak of Amana, from the peak of Senir and Hermon, from the dens of lions, from the mountains of leopards. | 8Come with me from Lebanon, my bride-- with me from Lebanon! Descend from the peak of Amana, from the summit of Senir and Hermon, from the dens of the lions, from the mountains of the leopards. |
| 9You have captivated my heart, my sister, my bride; you have captivated my heart with one glance of your eyes, with one jewel of your necklace. | 9You have captured my heart, my sister, my bride. You have captured my heart with one glance of your eyes, with one jewel of your necklace. |
| 10How beautiful is your love, my sister, my bride! How much better is your love than wine, and the fragrance of your oils than any spice! | 10How delightful your love is, my sister, my bride. Your love is much better than wine, and the fragrance of your perfume than any balsam. |
| 11Your lips drip nectar, my bride; honey and milk are under your tongue; the fragrance of your garments is like the fragrance of Lebanon. | 11Your lips drip sweetness like the honeycomb, my bride. Honey and milk are under your tongue. The fragrance of your garments is like the fragrance of Lebanon. |
| 12A garden locked is my sister, my bride, a spring locked, a fountain sealed. | 12My sister, my bride, you are a locked garden-- a locked garden and a sealed spring. |
| 13Your shoots are an orchard of pomegranates with all choicest fruits, henna with nard, | 13Your branches are a paradise of pomegranates with choicest fruits, henna with nard-- |
| 14nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense, myrrh and aloes, with all choice spices— | 14nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon, with all the trees of frankincense, myrrh and aloes, with all the best spices. |
| 15a garden fountain, a well of living water, and flowing streams from Lebanon. | 15You are a garden spring, a well of flowing water streaming from Lebanon. W |
| 16Awake, O north wind, and come, O south wind! Blow upon my garden, let its spices flow. Let my beloved come to his garden, and eat its choicest fruits. | 16Awaken, north wind-- come, south wind. Blow on my garden, and spread the fragrance of its spices. Let my love come to his garden and eat its choicest fruits. |
|
