The wedding dance

He speaks:

1You are a princess,

and your feet are graceful

in their sandals.

Your thighs are works of art,

each one a jewel;

2your navel is a wine glass

filled to overflowing.

Your body is full and slender

like a bundle of wheat

bound together by lilies.

3Your breasts are like twins

of a deer.

4Your neck is like ivory,

and your eyes sparkle

like the pools of Heshbon

by the gate of Bath-Rabbim.

Your nose is beautiful

like Mount Lebanon

above the city of Damascus.

5Your head is held high

like Mount Carmel;

your hair is so lovely

it holds a king prisoner.7.5 it…prisoner: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.

6You are beautiful,

so very desirable!

7You are tall and slender

like a palm tree,

and your breasts are full.

8I will climb that tree

and cling to its branches.

I will discover that your breasts

are clusters of grapes,

and that your breath

is the aroma of apples.

9Kissing you is more delicious

than drinking the finest wine.

How wonderful and tasty!7.9 How…tasty: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.

She speaks:

10My darling, I am yours,

and you desire me.

11Let's stroll through the fields

and sleep in the villages.

12At dawn let's slip out and see

if grapevines and fruit trees

are covered with blossoms.

When we are there,

I will give you my love.

13Perfume from the magic flower7.13 magic flower: The Hebrew text has “mandrake”, a plant that was thought to give sexual powers.

fills the air, my darling.

Right at our doorstep

I have stored up for you

all kinds of tasty fruits.