Through My Bible Yr 02 – November 24

Through My Bible – November 24

Song of Songs 3:6 – 5:1 (EHV)

See series: Through My Bible

⁶ Who is this woman coming up from the wilderness
like columns of smoke,
perfumed with myrrh and with incense,
made from all the fragrant powders of the merchant?

⁷ Look! It’s Solomon’s own carriage. ^[1]
Sixty warriors surround it,
the most heroic of Israel,
⁸ all of them wearing a sword,
all trained for battle,
each man with his sword at his side,
ready for the terrors of the night.

⁹ This palanquin ^[2] King Solomon made for himself
    out of wood from Lebanon.
¹⁰ Its posts he made of silver.
Its base he made of gold.
Its seat was upholstered with purple.
Its interior was inlaid with love ^[3]
    by the daughters of Jerusalem.

¹¹ Come out, you daughters of Zion,
and look at King Solomon wearing the crown,
the crown with which his mother crowned him
    on the day of his wedding,
    on the day his heart rejoiced.

Song of Songs 4

¹ Look at you. You are beautiful, my darling!
Look at you. You are beautiful!
Your eyes are doves behind your veil.
Your hair is like a flock of goats
which flows down from Mount Gilead.
² Your teeth are like a flock,
ready to be sheared,
which comes up from the washing.
Each is a twin. Not one of them is left by itself.
³ Your lips are like a scarlet ribbon.
Your mouth is lovely.
Your cheeks behind your veil
are like the halves of a pomegranate.
⁴ Like the tower of David,
your neck is adorned with rows of stones. ^[4]
A thousand shields hang on it,
all of them the equipment of warriors.
⁵ Your two breasts are like two fawns,
twins of a gazelle, that browse among the lilies.

⁶ Until the day breathes and the shadows flee,
I will go to the mountain of myrrh,
and to the hill of incense.

⁷ You are altogether beautiful, my darling.
There is no flaw in you.

⁸ Come with me from Lebanon, my bride.
With me from Lebanon, come.
Descend from the top of Amana,
from the top of Senir and Hermon,
from the lions’ dens,
and from the mountains of the leopards.

⁹ You have stirred my heart, my sister, my bride.
You have stirred my heart
    with one, just one of your eyes,
    with one jewel of your necklace.

¹⁰ How delightful it is to experience your love,
    my sister, my bride!
How much better is your love than wine,
and the fragrance of your perfume than any spice!
¹¹ Your lips drip like a honeycomb, my bride.
Honey and milk are under your tongue.
The fragrance of your garments
    is like the fragrance of Lebanon.

¹² You are an enclosed garden, my sister, my bride.
You are an enclosed spring, ^[5] a sealed fountain.

¹³ Your plants are an orchard,
pomegranates with other choice fruits,
henna with nard,
¹⁴ nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon,
with every kind of incense tree,
myrrh and aloes, with all the finest spices.
¹⁵ You are a garden fountain,
a well of water flowing and streaming down from Lebanon.

¹⁶ Arise, north wind! Come, south wind!
Blow on my garden, so that its spices spread abroad.
Let my lover come into his garden,
and eat its choice fruits.

Song of Songs 5

¹ I have come into my garden, my sister, my bride.
I have gathered my myrrh with my spice.
I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey.
I have drunk my wine with my milk.

Eat, friends! Drink!
Be intoxicated with love!

Footnotes

1. Song of Songs 3:7 Carriage here does not refer to a wheeled vehicle but to a portable chair or couch carried by porters.
2. Song of Songs 3:9 A palanquin is a fancy chair or couch on which a dignitary is carried. The Hebrew word is as exotic as palanquin is.
3. Song of Songs 3:10 Or perhaps the term refers to a type of leather.
4. Song of Songs 4:4 Or adorned with elegance. The meaning is uncertain.
5. Song of Songs 4:12 The meaning of the word gal translated spring is uncertain. The parallelism with fountain supports the translation spring.
6. Song of Songs 5:1 The identity of the speaker and addressees is uncertain. Perhaps the man is speaking to some bystanders.