Song of Solomon

How beautiful are thy feet with shoes, O prince’s daughter! the joints of thy thighs are like jewels, the work of the hands of a cunning workman.

1How beautiful your feet are in their sandals, daughter of a prince! The curves of your thighs are like jewels, shaped by a skilled craftsman's hands.

2Thy navel is like a round goblet, which wanteth not liquor: thy belly is like an heap of wheat set about with lilies.

2Your navel is like a round cup that is never empty of good wine. Your waist is like a mound of wheat ringed with lilies.

Note"Wanteth not liquor" in the KJV does not mean strong drink. "Want" meant lack, and "liquor" meant any drink, so the line says the cup is never empty of wine.

3Thy two breasts are like two young roes that are twins.

3Your two breasts are like two fawns, the twin young of a deer.

4Thy neck is as a tower of ivory; thine eyes like the fishpools in Heshbon, by the gate of Bathrabbim: thy nose is as the tower of Lebanon which looketh toward Damascus.

4Your neck is like a tower made of ivory. Your eyes are like the pools in Heshbon, beside the gate of Bath-rabbim. Your nose is like the tower of Lebanon that faces Damascus.

NoteHeshbon was a town east of the Jordan River known for its pools, and Bath-rabbim was one of its gates. The tower of Lebanon was a well-known landmark. These were real places the first readers could picture.

5Thine head upon thee is like Carmel, and the hair of thine head like purple; the king is held in the galleries.

5Your head rises above you like Mount Carmel, and your hair shines deep purple. The king is held captive by its long strands.

Note"The king is held in the galleries" sounds like a building, but the word means the flowing strands of her hair. He is caught by her hair, not by a room.

6How fair and how pleasant art thou, O love, for delights!

6How lovely you are, and how pleasant, my love, with all your delights!

7This thy stature is like to a palm tree, and thy breasts to clusters of grapes.

7You stand tall like a palm tree, and your breasts are like clusters of fruit.

8I said, I will go up to the palm tree, I will take hold of the boughs thereof: now also thy breasts shall be as clusters of the vine, and the smell of thy nose like apples;

8I said, "I will climb that palm tree and take hold of its branches." May your breasts be like clusters of grapes, and your breath smell like apples.

9And the roof of thy mouth like the best wine for my beloved, that goeth down sweetly, causing the lips of those that are asleep to speak.

9And may your mouth be like the finest wine. Let that wine go down smoothly for the one I love, moving even sleeping lips to speak.

10I am my beloved’s, and his desire is toward me.

10I belong to the one I love, and he longs for me.

11Come, my beloved, let us go forth into the field; let us lodge in the villages.

11Come, my love, let us go out to the countryside. Let us spend the night in the villages.

12Let us get up early to the vineyards; let us see if the vine flourish, whether the tender grape appear, and the pomegranates bud forth: there will I give thee my loves.

12Let us get up early and go to the vineyards. We will see if the vines have budded, if the young grapes have opened, and if the pomegranates are in bloom. There I will give you my love.

13The mandrakes give a smell, and at our gates are all manner of pleasant fruits, new and old, which I have laid up for thee, O my beloved.

13The mandrake plants give off their scent. At our door are all kinds of fine fruits, new and old, that I have saved for you, my love.

NoteA mandrake is a plant with a strong, sweet-smelling fruit.