Song of Songs 7New International Version (NIV)
7 [a]How beautiful your sandaled feet,
O prince’s daughter!
Your graceful legs are like jewels,
the work of an artist’s hands.
2 Your navel is a rounded goblet
that never lacks blended wine.
Your waist is a mound of wheat
encircled by lilies.
3 Your breasts are like two fawns,
like twin fawns of a gazelle.
4 Your neck is like an ivory tower.
Your eyes are the pools of Heshbon
by the gate of Bath Rabbim.
Your nose is like the tower of Lebanon
looking toward Damascus.
5 Your head crowns you like Mount Carmel.
Your hair is like royal tapestry;
the king is held captive by its tresses.
6 How beautiful you are and how pleasing,
my love, with your delights!
7 Your stature is like that of the palm,
and your breasts like clusters of fruit.
8 I said, “I will climb the palm tree;
I will take hold of its fruit.”
May your breasts be like clusters of grapes on the vine,
the fragrance of your breath like apples,
9 and your mouth like the best wine.
O prince’s daughter!
Your graceful legs are like jewels,
the work of an artist’s hands.
2 Your navel is a rounded goblet
that never lacks blended wine.
Your waist is a mound of wheat
encircled by lilies.
3 Your breasts are like two fawns,
like twin fawns of a gazelle.
4 Your neck is like an ivory tower.
Your eyes are the pools of Heshbon
by the gate of Bath Rabbim.
Your nose is like the tower of Lebanon
looking toward Damascus.
5 Your head crowns you like Mount Carmel.
Your hair is like royal tapestry;
the king is held captive by its tresses.
6 How beautiful you are and how pleasing,
my love, with your delights!
7 Your stature is like that of the palm,
and your breasts like clusters of fruit.
8 I said, “I will climb the palm tree;
I will take hold of its fruit.”
May your breasts be like clusters of grapes on the vine,
the fragrance of your breath like apples,
9 and your mouth like the best wine.
She
May the wine go straight to my beloved,
flowing gently over lips and teeth.[b]
10 I belong to my beloved,
and his desire is for me.
11 Come, my beloved, let us go to the countryside,
let us spend the night in the villages.[c]
12 Let us go early to the vineyards
to see if the vines have budded,
if their blossoms have opened,
and if the pomegranates are in bloom—
there I will give you my love.
13 The mandrakes send out their fragrance,
and at our door is every delicacy,
both new and old,
that I have stored up for you, my beloved.
flowing gently over lips and teeth.[b]
10 I belong to my beloved,
and his desire is for me.
11 Come, my beloved, let us go to the countryside,
let us spend the night in the villages.[c]
12 Let us go early to the vineyards
to see if the vines have budded,
if their blossoms have opened,
and if the pomegranates are in bloom—
there I will give you my love.
13 The mandrakes send out their fragrance,
and at our door is every delicacy,
both new and old,
that I have stored up for you, my beloved.
Footnotes:
- Song of Songs 7:1 In Hebrew texts 7:1-13 is numbered 7:2-14.
- Song of Songs 7:9 Septuagint, Aquila, Vulgate and Syriac; Hebrew lips of sleepers
- Song of Songs 7:11 Or the henna bushes
The beauty of this literature are the various interpretations that stem from it. I find it rather ironic considering how this was written with such an intimate tone-yet intimacy was shunned by some religions such as Christianity. This piece does not quite get old as one can read it in modern times and apply it to a variety of situations. The sense of love for spirituality can be taken from this piece; as surrendering to a higher power can be depicted although, I do find it rather odd to think of God talking about my nose and breasts.
ReplyDeleteI find this excerpt to be a beautiful depiction of the connection between human sexuality and spirituality. In a world that constantly tries to separate the two, I find that our sexuality and this need for intimacy can bring us closer to God if we use both in union.
ReplyDeleteI find this piece of literature to be very eye opening, in the sense that it in my opinion it draws the line between intimacy and sexuality, while at the same time stressing spirituality and its connection with love.
ReplyDeleteThis piece of poetry can be interpreted in so many varieties. This can be seen as a married couple and their loves, the love of God, or of sexuality. But I believe this piece of literature refers to new love, the love that might be forbidden as they must head to the vineyard but nonetheless a love that is beginning to "bloom" and start anew.
ReplyDeleteDerek Burgos
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Loved this piece! One of my favorite things about songs and poetry is that there are so many different ways to interpret them. It is truly up to the individual who is reading. Enjoyed this post.
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I really enjoyed this poem! I love how he analyzed and beautified a woman's body, comparing her body parts to wondrous parts of nature, such as lilies grapes and flowers. I thought it was very sweet and passionate and again, really loved it.
ReplyDeletei like the poem, I really had to read it twice to understand better, the way the womans body is descibed, sexuality and intimacy comes together from the hand
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