Chapter 4

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

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

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

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

Thy two breasts are as two fawns, Twins of a roe, that are feeding among lilies.

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

Thou art all fair, my friend, And a blemish there is not in thee. Come from Lebanon, O spouse,

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

Thou hast emboldened me, my sister-spouse, Emboldened me with one of thine eyes, With one chain of thy neck.

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

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

A garden shut up is my sister-spouse, A spring shut up -- a fountain sealed.

13

Thy shoots a paradise of pomegranates, With precious fruits,

14

Cypresses with nard -- nard and saffron, Cane and cinnamon, With all trees of frankincense, Myrrh and aloes, with all chief spices.

15

A fount of gardens, a well of living waters, And flowings from Lebanon!

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!