The Man
1 What a magnificent young woman you are!
How beautiful are your feet in sandals.
The curve of your thighs
is like the work of an artist.
2 A bowl is there,
that never runs out of spiced wine.
A sheaf of wheat is there,
surrounded by lilies.
3 Your breasts are like twin deer,
like two gazelles.
4 Your neck is like a tower of ivory.
Your eyes are like the pools in the city of Heshbon,
near the gate of that great city.
Your nose is as lovely as the tower of Lebanon
that stands guard at Damascus.
5 Your head is held high like Mount Carmel.
Your braided hair shines like the finest satin;
its beauty7.5: beauty; Hebrew unclear. could hold a king captive.
6 How pretty you are, how beautiful;
how complete the delights of your love.
7 You are as graceful as a palm tree,
and your breasts are clusters of dates.
8 I will climb the palm tree
and pick its fruit.
To me your breasts are like bunches of grapes,
your breath like the fragrance of apples,
9 and your mouth like the finest wine.
The Woman
Then let the wine flow straight to my lover,
flowing over his lips and teeth.7.9: Some ancient translations lips and teeth; Hebrew lips of those who sleep.
10 I belong to my lover, and he desires me.
11 Come, darling, let’s go out to the countryside
and spend the night in the villages.7.11: villages; or fields.
12 We will get up early and look at the vines
to see whether they’ve started to grow,
whether the blossoms are opening
and the pomegranate trees are in bloom.
There I will give you my love.
13 You can smell the scent of mandrakes,
and all the pleasant fruits are near our door.
Darling, I have kept for you
the old delights and the new.