New International Reader s Version - NIrV - 1996
Song of Solomon 7
1
The king says to the Shulammite woman, "You are like a prince's daughter. Your feet in sandals are so beautiful. Your graceful legs are like jewels. The hands of a skilled worker must have shaped them.
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2
Your navel is like a round bowl that always has mixed wine in it. Your waist is like a mound of wheat that is surrounded by lilies.
4
Your neck is smooth and beautiful like an ivory tower. Your eyes are like the pools of Heshbon by the gate of Bath Rabbim. Your nose is like the towering mountains of Lebanon that face the city of Damascus.
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📍 Bath-rabbim
5
Your head is like a crown on you. It is as beautiful as Mount Carmel. Your hair is as smooth as purple silk. I am captured by your flowing curls.
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8
I said, 'I will climb the palm tree. I'll take hold of its fruit.' May your breasts be as sweet as the fruit on the vine. May your breath smell like the tastiest apples.
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9
May your lips be like the finest wine." The woman says, "May my wine go straight to you, my love. May it flow gently over our lips as we sleep.
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12
Let's go out to the vineyards early. Let's go and see if the vines have budded. Let's find out whether their flowers have opened. Let's see if the pomegranate trees are blooming. I'll make love to you in the vineyards.
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Summary of Song of Solomon 7
Song of Solomon 7 is a concentrated celebration of romantic admiration, physical beauty, mutual desire, and the joy of being together.
The beloved describes the woman in a long series of poetic images, moving from her feet and legs to her body, eyes, neck, head, hair, and overall appearance, with comparisons to precious materials, towers, pools, mountains, wine, wheat, lilies, and palm trees.
The purpose is not to provide a literal physical inventory but to communicate how completely captivated he is by her beauty and how naturally his admiration moves from one feature to another.
The imagery repeatedly combines beauty with abundance, strength, fertility, elegance, and richness, presenting the woman as someone whose presence is both attractive and life-giving.
The description then develops into an expression of desire, with the palm tree becoming a metaphor for the woman's beauty and the fruit representing the pleasure of intimacy.
Importantly, the woman's response shows that the relationship is mutual: she declares that she belongs to her beloved and that his desire is directed toward her, turning the chapter from simple admiration into an affirmation of mutual belonging and trust.
She then invites him to leave the city with her and go into the countryside, where they can enjoy the vineyards, flowers, fragrance, and developing fruit together, allowing the natural world to become a setting for their relationship.
The repeated references to vines, blossoms, fruit, and stored produce reinforce the idea that love is something living and fruitful, capable of growing and producing joy when it is cared for.
The chapter therefore presents romantic love not as distant or abstract but as something experienced through presence, attraction, companionship, affection, and shared enjoyment.
It also emphasizes that genuine desire is mutual rather than one-sided, with both lovers expressing their attraction and willingly moving toward one another.
Overall, Song of Solomon 7 portrays love as beautiful, abundant, confident, intimate, and joyful, while its agricultural imagery suggests that a healthy relationship, like a vineyard or garden, develops through time and produces something valuable when it is cultivated and enjoyed together.
The beloved describes the woman in a long series of poetic images, moving from her feet and legs to her body, eyes, neck, head, hair, and overall appearance, with comparisons to precious materials, towers, pools, mountains, wine, wheat, lilies, and palm trees.
The purpose is not to provide a literal physical inventory but to communicate how completely captivated he is by her beauty and how naturally his admiration moves from one feature to another.
The imagery repeatedly combines beauty with abundance, strength, fertility, elegance, and richness, presenting the woman as someone whose presence is both attractive and life-giving.
The description then develops into an expression of desire, with the palm tree becoming a metaphor for the woman's beauty and the fruit representing the pleasure of intimacy.
Importantly, the woman's response shows that the relationship is mutual: she declares that she belongs to her beloved and that his desire is directed toward her, turning the chapter from simple admiration into an affirmation of mutual belonging and trust.
She then invites him to leave the city with her and go into the countryside, where they can enjoy the vineyards, flowers, fragrance, and developing fruit together, allowing the natural world to become a setting for their relationship.
The repeated references to vines, blossoms, fruit, and stored produce reinforce the idea that love is something living and fruitful, capable of growing and producing joy when it is cared for.
The chapter therefore presents romantic love not as distant or abstract but as something experienced through presence, attraction, companionship, affection, and shared enjoyment.
It also emphasizes that genuine desire is mutual rather than one-sided, with both lovers expressing their attraction and willingly moving toward one another.
Overall, Song of Solomon 7 portrays love as beautiful, abundant, confident, intimate, and joyful, while its agricultural imagery suggests that a healthy relationship, like a vineyard or garden, develops through time and produces something valuable when it is cultivated and enjoyed together.