9 How is your beloved better than others, most beautiful of women? How is your beloved better than others, that you so charge us? 10 My beloved is radiant and ruddy, outstanding among ten thousand. 11 His head is purest gold; his hair is wavy and black as a raven. 12 His eyes are like doves by the water streams, washed in milk, mounted like jewels. 13 His cheeks are like beds of spice yielding perfume. His lips are like lilies dripping with myrrh. 14 His arms are rods of gold set with topaz. His body is like polished ivory decorated with lapis lazuli. 15 His legs are pillars of marble set on bases of pure gold. His appearance is like Lebanon, choice as its cedars. 16 His mouth is sweetness itself; he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved, this is my friend, daughters of Jerusalem.
9 What is thy beloved more than another beloved, O thou fairest among women? what is thy beloved more than another beloved, that thou dost so charge us? 10 My beloved is white and ruddy, the chiefest
9 What is your beloved more than another beloved, O most beautiful among women? What is your beloved more than another beloved, that you thus adjure us? 10 My beloved is radiant and ruddy, distinguished among ten thousand. 11 His head is the finest gold; his locks are wavy, black as a raven. 12 His eyes are like doves beside streams of water, bathed in milk, sitting beside a full pool.
9 What's so great about your lover, fair lady? What's so special about him that you beg for our help? 10 My dear lover glows with health - red-blooded, radiant! He's one in a million. There's no one quite like him! 11 My golden one, pure and untarnished, with raven black curls tumbling across his shoulders. 12 His eyes are like doves, soft and bright, but deep-set, brimming with meaning, like wells of water. 13 His face is rugged, his beard smells like sage, His voice, his words, warm and reassuring. 14 Fine muscles ripple beneath his skin, quiet and beautiful. His torso is the work of a sculptor, hard and smooth as ivory. 15 He stands tall, like a cedar, strong and deep-rooted, A rugged mountain of a man, aromatic with wood and stone. 16 His words are kisses, his kisses words. Everything about him delights me, thrills me through and through! That's my lover, that's my man, dear Jerusalem sisters.
9 The Daughters of Jerusalem What is your beloved More than another beloved, O fairest among women? What is your beloved More than another beloved, That you so charge us? 10 The Shulamite My beloved is white and ruddy, Chief among ten thousand. 11 His head is like the finest gold; His locks are wavy, And black as a raven. 12 His eyes are like doves By the rivers of waters, Washed with milk, And fitly set. 13 His cheeks are like a bed of spices, Banks of scented herbs. His lips are lilies, Dripping liquid myrrh. 14 His hands are rods of gold Set with beryl. His body is carved ivory Inlaid with sapphires. 15 His legs are pillars of marble Set on bases of fine gold. His countenance is like Lebanon, Excellent as the cedars. 16 His mouth is most sweet, Yes, he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved, And this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem!
9 Why is your lover better than all others, OÂ woman of rare beauty? What makes your lover so special that we must promise this? 10 My lover is dark and dazzling, better than ten thousand others! 11 His head is finest gold, his wavy hair is black as a raven. 12 His eyes sparkle like doves beside springs of water; they are set like jewels washed in milk. 13 His cheeks are like gardens of spices giving off fragrance. His lips are like lilies, perfumed with myrrh. 14 His arms are like rounded bars of gold, set with beryl. His body is like bright ivory, glowing with lapis lazuli. 15 His legs are like marble pillars set in sockets of finest gold. His posture is stately, like the noble cedars of Lebanon. 16 His mouth is sweetness itself; he is desirable in every way. Such, OÂ women of Jerusalem, is my lover, my friend.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Song of Solomon 5:9-16
Commentary on Song of Solomon 5:9-16
(Read Song of Solomon 5:9-16)
Even those who have little acquaintance with Christ, cannot but see amiable beauty in others who bear his image. There are hopes of those who begin to inquire concerning Christ and his perfections. Christians, who are well acquainted with Christ themselves, should do all they can to make others know something of him. Divine glory makes him truly lovely in the eyes of all who are enlightened to discern spiritual things. He is white in the spotless innocence of his life, ruddy in the bleeding sufferings he went through at his death. This description of the person of the Beloved, would form, in the figurative language of those times, a portrait of beauty of person and of grace of manners; but the aptness of some of the allusions may not appear to us. He shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all that believe. May his love constrain us to live to his glory.