The Message Bible MSG
King James Version KJV
1 You're so beautiful, my darling, so beautiful, and your dove eyes are veiled By your hair as it flows and shimmers, like a flock of goats in the distance streaming down a hillside in the sunshine.
1
Behold, thou art fair, my love; behold, thou art fair; thou hast doves' eyes within thy locks: thy hair is as a flock of goats, that appear from mount Gilead.
2 Your smile is generous and full - expressive and strong and clean.
2
Thy teeth are like a flock of sheep that are even shorn, which came up from the washing; whereof every one bear twins, and none is barren among them.
3 Your lips are jewel red, your mouth elegant and inviting, your veiled cheeks soft and radiant.
3
Thy lips are like a thread of scarlet, and thy speech is comely: thy temples are like a piece of a pomegranate within thy locks.
4 The smooth, lithe lines of your neck command notice - all heads turn in awe and admiration!
4
Thy neck is like the tower of David builded for an armoury, whereon there hang a thousand bucklers, all shields of mighty men.
5 Your breasts are like fawns, twins of a gazelle, grazing among the first spring flowers.
5
Thy two breasts are like two young roes that are twins, which feed among the lilies.
6 The sweet, fragrant curves of your body, the soft, spiced contours of your flesh Invite me, and I come. I stay until dawn breathes its light and night slips away.
6
Until the day break, and the shadows flee away, I will get me to the mountain of myrrh, and to the hill of frankincense.
7 You're beautiful from head to toe, my dear love, beautiful beyond compare, absolutely flawless.
7
Thou art all fair, my love; there is no spot in thee.
8 Come with me from Lebanon, my bride. Leave Lebanon behind, and come. Leave your high mountain hideaway. Abandon your wilderness seclusion, Where you keep company with lions and panthers guard your safety.
8
Come with me from Lebanon, my spouse, with me from Lebanon: look from the top of Amana, from the top of Shenir and Hermon, from the lions' dens, from the mountains of the leopards.
9 You've captured my heart, dear friend. You looked at me, and I fell in love. One look my way and I was hopelessly in love!
9
Thou hast ravished my heart, my sister, my spouse; thou hast ravished my heart with one of thine eyes, with one chain of thy neck.
10 How beautiful your love, dear, dear friend - far more pleasing than a fine, rare wine, your fragrance more exotic than select spices.
10
How fair is thy love, my sister, my spouse! how much better is thy love than wine! and the smell of thine ointments than all spices!
11 The kisses of your lips are honey, my love, every syllable you speak a delicacy to savor. Your clothes smell like the wild outdoors, the ozone scent of high mountains.
11
Thy lips, O my spouse, drop as the honeycomb: honey and milk are under thy tongue; and the smell of thy garments is like the smell of Lebanon.
12 Dear lover and friend, you're a secret garden, a private and pure fountain.
12
A garden inclosed is my sister, my spouse; a spring shut up, a fountain sealed.
13 Body and soul, you are paradise, a whole orchard of succulent fruits - Ripe apricots and peaches, oranges and pears; Nut trees and cinnamon, and all scented woods;
13
Thy plants are an orchard of pomegranates, with pleasant fruits; camphire, with spikenard,
14 Mint and lavender, and all herbs aromatic;
14
Spikenard and saffron; calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense; myrrh and aloes, with all the chief spices:
15 A garden fountain, sparkling and splashing, fed by spring waters from the Lebanon mountains.
15
A fountain of gardens, a well of living waters, and streams from Lebanon.
16 Wake up, North Wind, get moving, South Wind! Breathe on my garden, fill the air with spice fragrance. Oh, let my lover enter his garden! Yes, let him eat the fine, ripe fruits.
16
Awake, O north wind; and come, thou south; blow upon my garden, that the spices thereof may flow out. Let my beloved come into his garden, and eat his pleasant fruits.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.
The King James Version is in the public domain.