Back to all lyrics
Artwork for A Garden Enclosed

Song of Solomon 4:1-16

A Garden Enclosed

Lyrics · Song of Solomon

A Garden Enclosed

Song of Solomon 4:1-16

Lyrics

About this song

About this song

This song belongs to the Song of Solomon collection. One recording is available to play here, with the complete lyrics below.

Bible book
Song of Solomon
Collection
Song of Solomon
Musical styles
World Music
How beautiful you are, my love; Your eyes are gentle behind the veil. Your hair falls down like goats along the mountain; Your smile is ordered, bright and whole. Your lips are scarlet, and your speech is lovely; Your neck stands strong like David's tower. Two young fawns are resting among lilies; Every part of you is fair. You are altogether beautiful, my love; There is no stain within my sight. Come away from Lebanon and danger; You have captured all my heart. Your love is better than the finest wine, Your fragrance sweeter than the richest spice. Honey and milk are resting on your tongue; Your garments carry Lebanon. You are a garden enclosed and guarded, A spring made pure, a fountain sealed, An orchard filled with fruit and perfume, With saffron, cinnamon, myrrh, and living streams. Awake, north wind; come, south wind; Breathe across the garden and release its fragrance. Let my beloved enter what is his And taste the fruit that love has brought to fullness.

Named in this songDavid

About the passage

Song of Solomon 4: Praise becomes an invitation into the garden

Song Of Solomon 4 turns sustained praise into an invitation. The woman is described through a moving sequence of doves, goats, washed sheep, scarlet, pomegranate, a fortified tower, and young roes. Each comparison contributes a quality without pretending to be a literal measurement of the person being praised. Fragrance then expands into mountains of myrrh and frankincense, while Lebanon, lions, and leopards make the imagined distance both beautiful and dangerous. The speaker finally admits that the praise has reversed its own advantage: one glance is enough to captivate him. Wine, honey, milk, spice, and the scent of Lebanon measure the effect of her presence. The chapter closes with the enclosed garden, at once protected and overflowing. Crucially, the woman answers the description herself, calls the winds over her garden, and invites the beloved to enter.

Study Song of Solomon 4 in depth