New International Version NIV
Young's Literal Translation YLT
1 How beautiful you are, my darling! Oh, how beautiful! Your eyes behind your veil are doves. Your hair is like a flock of goats descending from the hills of Gilead.
1
Lo, thou [art] fair, my friend, lo, thou [art] fair, Thine eyes [are] doves behind thy veil, Thy hair as a row of the goats That have shone from mount Gilead,
2 Your teeth are like a flock of sheep just shorn, coming up from the washing. Each has its twin; not one of them is alone.
2
Thy teeth as a row of the shorn ones That have come up from the washing, For all of them are forming twins, And a bereaved one is not among them.
3 Your lips are like a scarlet ribbon; your mouth is lovely. Your temples behind your veil are like the halves of a pomegranate.
3
As a thread of scarlet [are] thy lips, And thy speech [is] comely, As the work of the pomegranate [is] thy temple behind thy veil,
4 Your neck is like the tower of David, built with courses of stone ; on it hang a thousand shields, all of them shields of warriors.
4
As the tower of David [is] thy neck, built for an armoury, The chief of the shields are hung on it, All shields of the mighty.
5 Your breasts are like two fawns, like twin fawns of a gazelle that browse among the lilies.
5
Thy two breasts [are] as two fawns, Twins of a roe, that are feeding among lilies.
6 Until the day breaks and the shadows flee, I will go to the mountain of myrrh and to the hill of incense.
6
Till the day doth break forth, And the shadows have fled away, I will get me unto the mountain of myrrh, And unto the hill of frankincense.
7 You are altogether beautiful, my darling; there is no flaw in you.
7
Thou [art] all fair, my friend, And a blemish there is not in thee. Come from Lebanon, O spouse,
8 Come with me from Lebanon, my bride, come with me from Lebanon. Descend from the crest of Amana, from the top of Senir, the summit of Hermon, from the lions’ dens and the mountain haunts of leopards.
8
Come from Lebanon, come thou in. Look from the top of Amana, From the top of Shenir and Hermon, From the habitations of lions, From the mountains of leopards.
9 You have stolen my heart, my sister, my bride; you have stolen my heart with one glance of your eyes, with one jewel of your necklace.
9
Thou hast emboldened me, my sister-spouse, Emboldened me with one of thine eyes, With one chain of thy neck.
10 How delightful is your love, my sister, my bride! How much more pleasing is your love than wine, and the fragrance of your perfume more than any spice!
10
How wonderful have been thy loves, my sister-spouse, How much better have been thy loves than wine, And the fragrance of thy perfumes than all spices.
11 Your lips drop sweetness as the honeycomb, my bride; milk and honey are under your tongue. The fragrance of your garments is like the fragrance of Lebanon.
11
Thy lips drop honey, O spouse, Honey and milk [are] under thy tongue, And the fragrance of thy garments [Is] as the fragrance of Lebanon.
12 You are a garden locked up, my sister, my bride; you are a spring enclosed, a sealed fountain.
12
A garden shut up [is] my sister-spouse, A spring shut up -- a fountain sealed.
13 Your plants are an orchard of pomegranates with choice fruits, with henna and nard,
13
Thy shoots a paradise of pomegranates, With precious fruits,
14 nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon, with every kind of incense tree, with myrrh and aloes and all the finest spices.
14
Cypresses with nard -- nard and saffron, Cane and cinnamon, With all trees of frankincense, Myrrh and aloes, with all chief spices.
15 You are a garden fountain, a well of flowing water streaming down from Lebanon.
15
A fount of gardens, a well of living waters, And flowings from Lebanon!
16 Awake, north wind, and come, south wind! Blow on my garden, that its fragrance may spread everywhere. Let my beloved come into his garden and taste its choice fruits.
16
Awake, O north wind, and come, O south, Cause my garden to breathe forth, its spices let flow, Let my beloved come to his garden, And eat its pleasant fruits!
Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NIV) are from THE HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica. All rights reserved worldwide.
Young's Literal Translation is in the public domain.