7:1KJV How beautiful are thy feet with shoes, O prince’s daughter! the joints of thy thighs are like jewels, the work of the hands of a cunning workman.
B:E Project How graceful your feet look in their sandals, noble one! The curve of your hips is like a piece of fine jewellery, shaped by a master craftsman's hands.
Context: The bridegroom begins a loving, head-to-toe (here, foot-to-head) celebration of his bride's beauty, addressing her with the honouring title "prince's daughter" — a mark of dignity, not literal royalty.
Meaning: This is admiration, not objectification: within a committed relationship, he delights in her whole self, comparing her graceful form to the finest craftsmanship he knows. The point isn't a checklist of features but awe — treating the person he loves as a marvel worth honouring, not something to feel embarrassed about.
Lesson: I want you to see the person you love the way this bridegroom sees her — as someone worth genuinely admiring for who they are, not measured against anyone else. Give real honour to the people you love; noticing and naming what makes them them is a gift, not flattery.
See Also: Genesis 2:23-25 — the first man delights in the first woman with no shame between them, the same unembarrassed wonder seen here. Proverbs 5:18-19 — a husband urged to rejoice in his wife's body and presence lifelong.
7:2KJV Thy navel is like a round goblet, which wanteth not liquor: thy belly is like an heap of wheat set about with lilies.
B:E Project Your navel is like a perfectly rounded cup, never empty of wine; your waist is like a mound of golden wheat, bordered with lilies.
Context: The bridegroom continues his praise-poem, moving from her feet upward to her torso, using images of abundance and natural beauty.
Meaning: A goblet that's never empty means overflowing plenty; a heap of wheat evokes harvest, richness and life-giving nourishment; lilies add delicate elegance around it. Together the images say she is a source of abundance and delight — nothing lacking, nothing shameful, only richness worth celebrating.
Lesson: I don't want you to treat a body — yours or your partner's — as something to hide or apologise for. Within faithful, committed love, delight in one another is meant to be full and generous, like a table set with plenty, not a source of guilt.
See Also: Proverbs 5:19 — a wife's presence described as something to be satisfied and delighted in continually, the same generous tone as here.
7:3KJV Thy two breasts are like two young roes that are twins.
B:E Project Your breasts are like a pair of twin young gazelles, graceful and perfectly matched.
Context: The bridegroom continues his physical praise, reusing a gentle animal image he had already used earlier in the poem (4:5) — young gazelles suggest softness, grace and lively beauty.
Meaning: Gazelles were the ancient world's picture of graceful, gentle vitality, so the comparison praises symmetry, softness and life. That this exact image reappears later in the poem shows continued, attentive delight rather than a single passing compliment.
Lesson: Love that lasts keeps noticing and keeps saying so. I'm not asking for grand gestures every day — just don't let appreciation for someone go unspoken because you said it once already. Genuine desire stays alive when it's voiced again and again.
See Also: Song of Solomon 4:5 — the identical image used earlier, showing his admiration is consistent, not a one-off.
7:4KJV Thy neck is as a tower of ivory; thine eyes like the fishpools in Heshbon, by the gate of Bathrabbim: thy nose is as the tower of Lebanon which looketh toward Damascus.
B:E Project Your neck is elegant, like a tower carved from ivory; your eyes are deep and clear, like the pools at Heshbon near the city gate; your face has a fine, dignified profile, like the tower of Lebanon looking out towards Damascus.
Context: The bridegroom continues upward — neck, eyes, and the line of her face — reaching for the grandest landmarks he knows to describe her.
Meaning: Ivory towers, famous clear pools, and an imposing mountain watchtower were the marvels of that world. Using them says this isn't only physical prettiness — she carries a calm, regal presence, a bearing that commands genuine respect, not just attention.
Lesson: Love the whole person, not just the surface. When I look at someone, I look at their bearing, their dignity, the quiet strength in how they carry themselves — and that's worth noticing and naming in the people you love too, not only their appearance.
See Also: Proverbs 31:25 — a woman "clothed with strength and honour," the same praise of dignity alongside beauty.
7:5KJV Thine head upon thee is like Carmel, and the hair of thine head like purple; the king is held in the galleries.
B:E Project Your head is held high, like Mount Carmel, and your hair is rich and dark, almost the deep colour of royal purple dye — even a king is held captive by you.
Context: The bridegroom (a king, traditionally identified with Solomon in this poem) compares her to a noble mountain and to the rarest, most expensive dye of the ancient world, then admits he himself is captivated by her.
Meaning: Purple dye came from crushed shellfish and cost a fortune — comparing her hair to it signals rare, exceptional value. That a powerful king openly calls himself "captured" is the striking part: genuine love makes even the powerful vulnerable, humble, and devoted rather than domineering.
Lesson: Real love isn't about who holds power over whom. I want you to see that being willing to be moved, undone, even "captured" by love for someone is a strength, not a weakness — status and control matter far less than honest devotion.
See Also: none directly parallel; the point stands on its own within the poem.
7:6KJV How fair and how pleasant art thou, O love, for delights!
B:E Project How beautiful you are, how delightful — my love, so full of pleasure!
Context: The bridegroom pauses his detailed description with a joyful outburst of pure delight, addressing her simply as "love."
Meaning: He openly names pleasure and delight as good things, without embarrassment. For a modern reader who assumes ancient religious texts are uniformly prudish, this is a striking, refreshing moment: shared delight between a committed couple is treated here as something wholesome to celebrate aloud, not hide.
Lesson: Don't let shame creep into joy that belongs to you. When love brings you genuine pleasure and delight within a faithful relationship, that's not something to apologise for — say it out loud, the way this poem does.
See Also: Proverbs 5:19 — urging a husband to "be thou ravished always with her love," the same unashamed embrace of delight.
7:7KJV This thy stature is like to a palm tree, and thy breasts to clusters of grapes.
B:E Project Your figure stands tall and graceful like a palm tree, and your breasts are like clusters of grapes.
Context: The bridegroom moves to a fresh image, comparing her whole form to a tall date-palm and her breasts to grape clusters, tying her back into the vineyard and orchard imagery running through the book.
Meaning: Palm trees were tall, elegant and prized for their fruit and shade; grape clusters evoke ripeness, sweetness and festivity. Together they picture her as a source of natural abundance and joy — something worth reaching for, not merely admired from a distance.
Lesson: Anticipation and longing for someone you love and are committed to is healthy, not something to feel guilty about. I'd rather you feel that desire honestly than pretend it isn't there.
See Also: Psalm 128:3 — a wife pictured as "a fruitful vine," a similar image of flourishing abundance within marriage.
7:8KJV I said, I will go up to the palm tree, I will take hold of the boughs thereof: now also thy breasts shall be as clusters of the vine, and the smell of thy nose like apples;
B:E Project I said, I will climb the palm tree and take hold of its branches. Let your breasts be like clusters of grapes, and the scent of your breath like apples.
Context: The bridegroom voices his desire directly, continuing the palm and vine imagery into a picture of physical closeness, and noting the sweetness of her breath.
Meaning: This is a tender, direct expression of physical desire and the wish to be close to a beloved spouse. The Bible doesn't shy away here from naming that wanting closeness with the person you love is good, not something to be embarrassed about.
Lesson: Speak your desire honestly to the person you're committed to, rather than burying it out of awkwardness. Tenderness expressed plainly deepens intimacy far more than desire left unsaid.
See Also: Genesis 2:24 — husband and wife becoming "one flesh," the foundation this closeness is built on.
7:9KJV And the roof of thy mouth like the best wine for my beloved, that goeth down sweetly, causing the lips of those that are asleep to speak.
B:E Project And your kisses are like the finest wine to me, flowing smoothly, delighting even those half-asleep to speak with pleasure.
Context: The bridegroom closes his description with the sweetness of her kiss, likening it to the finest wine — the fitting climax of his praise before she takes over speaking.
Meaning: Wine represented the highest quality pleasure and celebration in that culture, so comparing her kiss to it says intimacy with her is the finest, most satisfying thing he knows — a joyful, sensory conclusion to his tribute to her.
Lesson: Don't rush past the small intimacies of love — a kiss, a shared word, a quiet moment. I want you to actually savour them; they're not lesser than the big romantic gestures, they're often where love is most real.
See Also: none directly parallel; this caps the bridegroom's speech within the poem itself.
7:10KJV I am my beloved’s, and his desire is toward me.
B:E Project I belong to my beloved, and his desire is for me.
Context: The woman now speaks, echoing an earlier line (6:3) but with a telling shift — here she highlights that his desire is actively directed towards her, showing their longing is fully mutual.
Meaning: Earlier in the poem she said "my beloved is mine, and I am his" (2:16); here the emphasis moves to being desired. Mutual, reciprocated wanting — not one person merely possessing the other — is the picture of healthy love the poem builds towards.
Lesson: Feeling genuinely wanted by someone who loves you matters — it's not vanity to want that, it's part of what makes a relationship healthy. Look for love that goes both ways, and be the kind of person whose desire for another is just as evident as theirs for you.
See Also: Song of Solomon 2:16 and 6:3 — earlier versions of this refrain, showing the relationship's growing mutuality across the poem.
7:11KJV Come, my beloved, let us go forth into the field; let us lodge in the villages.
B:E Project Come, my beloved, let's go out into the countryside; let's spend the night among the villages.
Context: The woman now takes the initiative, inviting her beloved away on a romantic getaway into nature — she proposes the plan herself.
Meaning: She is the active initiator here, planning where they'll go together. For an ancient text, this is a notably equal picture of love: a confident woman inviting intimacy on her own terms rather than simply waiting to be pursued.
Lesson: Love isn't only something you receive — it's something both people actively build and pursue. Don't be afraid to be the one who makes the plan, makes the space, and reaches out first.
See Also: none directly parallel; this stands as the poem's own picture of mutual initiative.
7:12KJV Let us get up early to the vineyards; let us see if the vine flourish, whether the tender grape appear, and the pomegranates bud forth: there will I give thee my loves.
B:E Project Let's rise early and go to the vineyards; let's see if the vines are budding, if the young grapes are opening, if the pomegranates are in bloom — there I will give you my love.
Context: The woman continues planning their time away together in the vineyards, promising that amid nature's spring renewal she will give herself to him fully.
Meaning: Budding vines and blossoming pomegranates evoke new growth and fertility — an unhurried, natural setting for intimacy. She openly, willingly promises her love, again as an active partner rather than a passive one.
Lesson: Make space in ordinary life for real closeness — a quiet morning, a walk, unhurried time together — rather than always rushing. Intimacy tends to grow in the moments you actually make room for it.
See Also: none directly parallel; the vineyard imagery is native to this poem.
7:13KJV The mandrakes give a smell, and at our gates are all manner of pleasant fruits, new and old, which I have laid up for thee, O my beloved.
B:E Project The mandrake plants are giving off their fragrance, and at our door is every kind of delicious fruit, both new and stored from before, which I have kept especially for you, my beloved.
Context: The woman closes the exchange, describing the fragrant, abundant setting she has prepared and declaring she has saved up delights — both fresh and long-treasured — specifically for him.
Meaning: Mandrakes were linked in the ancient world with fertility and love (see Genesis 30). "New and old" suggests she offers both spontaneous delight and long-kept devotion — she hasn't just fallen into this love, she has faithfully treasured it for him over time.
Lesson: Faithfulness isn't only about a single passionate moment — it's about what you keep and nurture for someone over time. Treasure both the new joys and the long-held devotion you have for the person you're committed to.
See Also: Genesis 30:14-16 — mandrakes used as a fertility and love token, the same association drawn on here. Proverbs 5:15-19 — faithful, exclusive love pictured as drinking only from "thine own cistern."