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by Bible or other Sacred Texts
Translation by Bible or other Sacred Texts

Quam pulchra es, amica mea! quam pulchra...
Language: Latin 
1  Quam pulchra es, amica mea! quam pulchra es!
   Oculi tui columbarum,
   absque eo quod intrinsecus latet.
   Capilli tui sicut greges caprarum
   quæ ascenderunt de monte Galaad.
2  Dentes tui sicut greges tonsarum
   quæ ascenderunt de lavacro;
   omnes gemellis fœtibus,
   et sterilis non est inter eas.
3  Sicut vitta coccinea labia tua,
   et eloquium tuum dulce.
   Sicut fragmen mali punici, ita genæ tuæ,
   absque eo quod intrinsecus latet.
4  Sicut turris David collum tuum,
   quæ ædificata est cum propugnaculis;
   mille clypei pendant ex ea,
   omnis armatura fortium.
5  Duo ubera tua sicut duo hinnuli,
   capreæ gemelli, qui pascuntur in liliis.
6  Donec aspiret dies, et inclinentur umbræ,
   vadam ad montem myrrhæ, et ad collem thuris.
7  Tota pulchra es, amica mea,
   et macula non est in te.
8  Veni de Libano, sponsa mea:
   veni de Libano, veni, coronaberis:
   de capite Amana, de vertice Sanir et Hermon,
   de cubilibus leonum, de montibus pardorum.
9  Vulnerasti cor meum, soror mea, sponsa;
   vulnerasti cor meum in uno oculorum tuorum,
   et in uno crine colli tui.
10 Quam pulchræ sunt mammæ tuæ, soror mea sponsa!
   pulchriora sunt ubera tua vino,
   et odor unguentorum tuorum super omnia aromata.
11 Favus distillans labia tua, sponsa;
   mel et lac sub lingua tua:
   et odor vestimentorum tuorum sicut odor thuris.
12 Hortus conclusus soror mea, sponsa,
   hortus conclusus, fons signatus.
13 Emissiones tuæ paradisus malorum punicorum,
   cum pomorum fructibus, cypri cum nardo.
14 Nardus et crocus, fistula et cinnamomum,
   cum universis lignis Libani;
   myrrha et aloë, cum omnibus primis unguentis.
15 Fons hortorum, puteus aquarum viventium,
   quæ fluunt impetu de Libano.
16 Surge, aquilo, et veni, auster:
   perfla hortum meum, et fluant aromata illius.

Available sung texts: (what is this?)

•   G. Palestrina 

G. Palestrina sets lines 9-10

About the headline (FAQ)

See also Trevor Weston's Who is This.

See also Daniel-Lesur's Dialogue.


Text Authorship:

  • by Bible or other Sacred Texts , appears in Canticum Canticorum Salomonis (Song of Songs of Solomon), no. 4 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

    [ None yet in the database ]


The text above (or a part of it) is used in the following settings:
  • by Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (1525?6 - 1594), "Osculetur me osculo oris sui" [ chorus ], motet
      • View the full text. [sung text checked 1 time]

Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:

  • Also set in English, a translation by Bible or other Sacred Texts [an adaptation] ; composed by Gary Bachlund.
      • Go to the text.
  • Also set in English, a translation by Bible or other Sacred Texts , no title, appears in Song of Songs of Solomon / Canticle of Canticles (KJV), no. 4 ; composed by Howard Skempton.
      • Go to the text.
  • Also set in French (Français), a translation by Bible or other Sacred Texts [an adaptation] ; composed by Jean-Yves Daniel-Lesur.
      • Go to the text.
  • Also set in Latin, [adaptation] ; composed by Maurice Duruflé.
      • Go to the text.
  • Also set in Latin, [adaptation] ; composed by Heinrich Isaac, John Plummer, Nikolaus Schapfl.
      • Go to the text.
  • Also set in Latin, [adaptation] ; composed by Anton Bruckner.
      • Go to the text.

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2010-12-03
Line count: 47
Word count: 276

Behold, thou art fair, my love
Language: English  after the Latin 
1  Behold, thou art fair, my love; 
   behold, thou art fair; 
   thou hast doves' eyes within thy locks: 
   thy hair is as a flock of goats, 
   that appear from mount Gilead.
2  Thy teeth are like a flock of sheep 
   that are even shorn, which came up from the washing; 
   whereof every one bear twins, 
   and none is barren among them.
3  Thy lips are like a thread of scarlet, 
   and thy speech is comely: 
   thy temples are like a piece of a pomegranate 
   within thy locks.
4  Thy neck is like the tower of David 
   builded for an armoury, 
   whereon there hang a thousand bucklers, 
   all shields of mighty men.
5  Thy two breasts are like two young roes that are twins, 
   which feed among the lilies.
6  Until the day break, and the shadows flee away, 
   I will get me to the mountain of myrrh, and to the hill of frankincense.
7  Thou art all fair, my love; 
   there is no spot in thee.
8  Come with me from Lebanon, my spouse, 
   with me from Lebanon: look from the top of Amana, 
   from the top of Shenir and Hermon, 
   from the lions' dens, from the mountains of the leopards.
9  Thou hast ravished my heart, my sister, my spouse; 
   thou hast ravished my heart with one of thine eyes,
   with one chain of thy neck.
10 How fair is thy love, my sister, my spouse! 
   how much better is thy love than wine! 
   and the smell of thine ointments than all spices!
11 Thy lips, O my spouse, drop as the honeycomb: 
   honey and milk are under thy tongue; 
   and the smell of thy garments is like the smell of Lebanon.
12 A garden inclosed is my sister, my spouse; 
   a spring shut up, a fountain sealed.
13 Thy plants are an orchard of pomegranates, 
   with pleasant fruits; camphire, with spikenard,
14 Spikenard and saffron; calamus and cinnamon,  
   with all trees of frankincense; 
   myrrh and aloes, with all the chief spices:
15 A fountain of gardens, a well of living waters, 
   and streams from Lebanon.
16 Awake, O north wind; and come, thou south; 
   blow upon my garden, that the spices thereof may flow out. 
   Let my beloved come into his garden, and eat his pleasant fruits.

Available sung texts:   ← What is this?

•   H. Skempton 

H. Skempton sets line 10

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

  • by Bible or other Sacred Texts , no title, appears in Song of Songs of Solomon / Canticle of Canticles (KJV), no. 4 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

Based on:

  • a text in Latin by Bible or other Sacred Texts , appears in Canticum Canticorum Salomonis (Song of Songs of Solomon), no. 4
    • Go to the text page.

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

  • by Howard Skempton (b. 1947), "How fair is thy love", first performed 2002, line 10 [ SATB chorus a cappella ], from Rise up, my love, no. 2 [sung text checked 1 time]

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2014-11-06
Line count: 48
Word count: 379

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This website began in 1995 as a personal project by Emily Ezust, who has been working on it full-time without a salary since 2008. Our research has never had any government or institutional funding, so if you found the information here useful, please consider making a donation. Your help is greatly appreciated!
–Emily Ezust, Founder

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