Young Women of Jerusalem

9Why is your lover better than all others,

O woman of rare beauty?

What makes your lover so special

that we must promise this?

Young Woman

10My lover is dark and dazzling,

better than ten thousand others!

11His head is finest gold,

his wavy hair is black as a raven.

12His eyes sparkle like doves

beside springs of water;

they are set like jewels

washed in milk.

13His cheeks are like gardens of spices

giving off fragrance.

His lips are like lilies,

perfumed with myrrh.

14His arms are like rounded bars of gold,

set with beryl.

His body is like bright ivory,

glowing with lapis lazuli.

15His legs are like marble pillars

set in sockets of finest gold.

His posture is stately,

like the noble cedars of Lebanon.

16His mouth is sweetness itself;

he is desirable in every way.

Such, O women of Jerusalem,

is my lover, my friend.