Song of Songs 4 Christian Standard Bible Man 4 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. 2 Your teeth are like a flock of newly shorn sheep coming up from washing, each one bearing twins, and none has lost its young. 3 Your lips are like a scarlet cord, and your mouth is lovely. Behind your veil, your brow is like a slice of pomegranate. 4 Your neck is like the tower of David, constructed in layers. A thousand shields are hung on it-- all of them shields of warriors. 5 Your breasts are like two fawns, twins of a gazelle, that feed among the lilies. 6 Until the day breaks and the shadows flee, I will make my way to the mountain of myrrh and the hill of frankincense. 7 You are absolutely beautiful, my darling; there is no imperfection in you. 8 Come with me from Lebanon, my bride; come 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. 9 You 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. 10 How delightful your caresses are, my sister, my bride. Your caresses are much better than wine, and the fragrance of your perfume than any balsam. 11 Your 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. 12 My sister, my bride, you are a locked garden-- a locked garden and a sealed spring. 13 Your branches are a paradise of pomegranates with choicest fruits; henna with nard, 14 nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon, with all the trees of frankincense, myrrh and aloes, with all the best spices. 15 You are a garden spring, a well of flowing water streaming from Lebanon. Woman 16 Awaken, 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. Solomon professes all his reasons for loving the Woman and wanting to marry her. I think it's probably at this point that the marriage ceremony actually happens, because he talks about how her garden (her virginity) is locked up and she later invites him into her garden. She would only make that invitation once they were married. He also seems to say that he wants all of his kingdom to meet her. The tone of the poetry will change from this point from Solomon admiring the Woman from a distance to his enjoying the fruit of her garden and exploring her beauty up close as her husband. He's still passionately in love with her as a newlywed and still longs to learn everything about her. It's really important to understand this marriage has taken place before going on in the book because otherwise the things described later would be sinful, but they are completely okay within the bounds of marriage.
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Daniel WestfallI will mostly use this space for recording my "journal" from my daily devotions as I hope to encourage others to read the Bible along with me and to leave a legacy for others. Archives
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