How Beautiful You Are

The man answers the woman with admiration. His first comparison is unusual to modern ears: he says she is like a mare among Pharaoh's chariots. The point is not that he mistakes her for an animal. In the world of royal chariots, one striking mare among a team could turn the whole display into commotion. He sees her as impossible to overlook.

He moves from her presence to her adornment. Her cheeks are beautiful with ornaments, and her neck with strings of jewels. The daughters of Jerusalem answer that they will make ornaments of gold with silver beads. The scene is full of fragrance, jewelry, color, and shared delight. Admiration is not grudging. It comes freely and is spoken where others can hear it.

The woman then returns to her own experience. While the king was at his table, her perfume spread its fragrance. She compares the man she loves to myrrh resting close to her, and to henna blossoms from En-gedi. These are intimate images of nearness and memory. A scent can bring a person close even before the person speaks.

The exchange becomes mutual. He calls her beautiful, and she calls him handsome and delightful. They describe the grass as their bed and the beams of their house as cedars, with fragrant firs for rafters. The poem is not trying to give a building plan. It is letting affection make the surrounding world feel rich and safe.

What matters is the movement between the speakers. One person praises, the other receives and answers, and neither voice disappears. The language is lavish because ordinary speech sometimes feels too small for gratitude toward a beloved. Healthy love does not require pretending that admiration is unnecessary. It learns to say what it sees.