What a Beautiful Bride
He Speaks:
1 My darling, you are lovely,
so very lovely—
as you look through your veil,
your eyes are those of a dove.
Your hair tosses about
as gracefully as goats
coming down from Gilead.
2 Your teeth are whiter
than sheep freshly washed;
they match perfectly,
not one is missing.
3 Your lips are crimson cords,
your mouth is shapely;
behind your veil are hidden
beautiful rosy cheeks.
4 Your neck is more graceful
than the tower of David,
decorated with thousands
of warriors' shields.
5 Your breasts are perfect;
they are twin deer
feeding among lilies.
6 I will hasten to those hills
sprinkled with sweet perfume
and stay there till sunrise.
7 My darling, you are lovely
in every way.
8 My bride, together
we will leave Lebanon!
We will say goodbye
to the peaks of Mount Amana,
Senir, and Hermon,
where lions and leopards
live in the caves.
9 My bride, my very own,
you have stolen my heart!
With one glance from your eyes
and the glow of your necklace,
you have stolen my heart.
10 Your love is sweeter than wine;
the smell of your perfume
is more fragrant than spices.
11 Your lips are a honeycomb;
milk and honey
flow from your tongue.
Your dress has the aroma
of cedar trees from Lebanon.
12 My bride, my very own,
you are a garden, a fountain
closed off to all others.
13 Your arms are vines,
covered with delicious fruits
and all sorts of spices—
henna, nard, 14 saffron,
calamus, cinnamon,
frankincense, myrrh, and aloes
—all the finest spices.
15 You are a spring in the garden,
a fountain of pure water,
and a refreshing stream
from Mount Lebanon.
She Speaks:
16 Let the north wind blow,
the south wind too!
Let them spread the aroma
of my garden,
so the one I love
may enter and taste
its delicious fruits.
1 Bona, wakanaka nthu wangu
tjidzobona, wakanaka!
Mukati kwe lusire mesho awo anonga njiba,
mavudzi awo anonga ngubi ye mbudzi,
dzidelukila pasi mu mituthu ye Giliyadi.
2 Meno awo matjena se pkhwizi hadzi dzadwa pa tesegwa,
dzadwa pa ngudziwa,
dzose dzakazwala mabili,
kusina yafigwa ne mwana.
3 Milomo iyo inonga thali shaba,
ne nlomo uwo umbuya kwazo.
Mukati kwe lusire matama awo i mbabi dze pomegiranate.
4 Ntshibha uwo unonga thungamakole ya Dafite,
yakabakigwa zwibhayano,
pakalembeledziwa tjiwulu (1 000) tje zwiviko,
zose zwili zwiviko zwe babhayani.
5 Mazhamu awo bubili gwawo i phalana mbili,
mabili e phala dzinofula pana maluba matjena.
6 Kuswikila zhuba limila
ne mitutshi itizha,
ndowotizhila ku dombo le mira
ne ku duthu le motsha.
7 Umbuyanana kwazo, tjido tjangu,
akuna ndodwa ne itoyi mukuli.
8 Bhuda nami mu Lebanoni, nlongo wangu;
bhuda nami mu Lebanoni.
Idwa pezhugwi kwe matombo e Amana,
pezhugwi kwe Seniri ne Hemoni,
bhuda mu makuwu e shumba,
ne matombo e ngwe.
9 Watola moyo wangu, hazwadzi yangu, nlongo wangu,
watola moyo wangu ne kundilinga kang'ompela nge mesho awo,
ne ndalama ing'ompela imu tjida tjimu ntshibha uwo.
10 Ludo gugo gozipa seni, hazwadzi yangu, nlongo wangu!
Ludo gugo gopinda nkumbi we zhambi,
ne nnhuwo we zwizholo zwizo unopinda we zwipayisi.
11 Milomo iyo inodothesa butji, nlongo wangu;
butji ne nkaka zwikusi kwe lulimi gugo,
nnhuwo we zwiambalo zwizo unonga nnhuwo we Lebanoni.
12 Nnda wakakombeledziwa ndiwe hazwadzi yangu, nlongo wangu
nnda wakazhaliligwa, tshime lakashoshiwa.
13 Thabi dzidzo dzonga nnda we pomegiranate
una mitjelo yakanaka, ye hena ina nadi,
14 nadi ne safuroni, kalamusi ne sinamoni,
ne miti yose ye motsha,
ne mira ne makonde,
kose ne zwipayisi zose zwakanaka,
15 nsenya umu nnda, tshime le vula inotjila,
ne mikuku inowunga idwa ku Lebanoni.
16 Muka iwe phepo yeku bunandzwa,
nawe buya, phepo yeku burwa!
Hwuhwudza mu nnda wangu,
kuti zwawo zwinonuhwilila zwibhudile patjena.
Tjido tje moyo wangu ngatjizhe mu nnda uwe,
kuzha kuwoja mitjelo ye zwakakola.