4:11a

Your lips, my bride, drip sweetness like the honeycomb: The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as drip has several meanings. Here it means “to drip” or “to drop.” Literally, it indicates that sweet nectar dripped from the bride’s lips. Figuratively, it indicates that the bride’s kisses were very sweet. Some other ways to translate the meaning are:

Your lips are as sweet as nectar, my bride. (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
The taste of honey is on your lips, my darling; (Good News Translation)

Your lips, my bride, drip sweetness: The phrase Your lips…drip sweetness is a metaphor that describes how “sweet” the bride’s kisses are. The man meant that her kisses gave him great pleasure. Some ways to translate the metaphor are:

• Keep the metaphor. For example:

My bride, your lips drip honey (New Century Version)
-or-
Your lips are a honeycomb (Contemporary English Version)

• Use a simile. For example:

Your lips, my bride, are as sweet as honey. (New Living Translation (1996))
-or-
Your lips taste like honey

• Translate the meaning without a figure of speech. For example:

Your lips/kisses are wonderfully sweet.

Your lips: The phrase Your lips is probably a figure of speech that uses lips to represent kisses. Some ways to translate this figure of speech are:

When I kiss you
-or-
Your lips/kisses

my bride: For information on how to translate my bride, see the notes on 4:8a–b.

drip sweetness: The words drip sweetness are a figure of speech. Since the woman’s “lips” refer figuratively to kisses here, the phrase drip sweetness indicates that the woman’s kisses gave the man great pleasure

sweetness: The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as sweetness refers specifically to “honey” or to a “honeycomb.” It does not refer to the nectar of flowers. However, if honey is unknown in your area, you may use a word that refers to the nectar of flowers.

4:11b

This part of the verse is parallel to 4:11a and has a similar meaning.

honey and milk are under your tongue: The phrase honey and milk are under your tongue is a metaphor. It indicates that the woman’s mouth was delightful. As with “lips” in 4:11a, the phrase under your tongue refers to the sweetness and pleasure that the woman’s kisses gave the man. It probably does not refer to her sweet speech, and it does not indicate that she was literally holding honey and milk in her mouth.

Honey and milk were luxury items. Here they imply that the woman’s love was an experience of luxurious delight.

Some ways to translate the metaphor are:

• Use a metaphor. For example:

Your tongue is milk and honey for me. (Good News Translation)

• Use a simile. For example:

Your mouth is as delightful as milk and honey.
-or-
Your tongue is like milk and honey.

• Translate the meaning more directly. For example:

Your mouth is full of delights.

Translate the meaning in a natural way in your language.

honey and milk: In other parts of the OT the phrase “milk and honey” was used to describe the land of Israel as a fruitful place with abundant food. Here in the Song the word order is changed to honey and milk. These terms were also used in other love poetry of the Near East to express the joy and beauty of love. See the preceding note for translation examples.

honey: The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as honey is a general word that refers to sweet substances. These substances can be added to food to make it sweeter. These sweeteners include bees’ honey from honeycombs as well as date or grape syrups. Use an appropriate word in your language.

4:11c

the fragrance of your garments is like the aroma of Lebanon: Here the man compared the fragrance of the woman’s clothing to the pleasant scent of the region of Lebanon. Lebanon was famous for its cedar trees, so some scholars think the fragrance refers to the fragrance of the cedar trees. Others think that it refers more generally to the many pleasing scents of Lebanon.

Some ways to translate this clause are:

• Use a general way in your language to refer to a pleasant smell. For example:

Your clothes smell sweet/good like ⌊the region of⌋ Lebanon.

• Use a more specific comparison that refers to the mountains or cedars of Lebanon. For example:

Your clothes smell like the cedars of Lebanon. (New Century Version)
-or-
The scent of your clothing is like that of the mountains and the cedars of Lebanon.

Choose a comparison that is pleasing in your language.

Lebanon: The land of Lebanon represented what was beautiful and fragrant. It was especially famous for its fragrant cedar trees. Refer to the notes on Lebanon in 4:8a–b and 4:8b for more information. It is important to notice the fragrance theme that is prominent throughout the Song.

garments: The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as garments refers in general to clothing. It is good to use a general term in your language. For example:

clothing
-or-
clothes

like the aroma of Lebanon: The region of Lebanon is mentioned several times in 4:8–15. It forms a poetic Lebanon theme that helps give unity to lines 4:8–15. Here in 4:11 it forms an inclusio with 4:8, where the man said to the woman, “Come with me from Lebanon.” In 4:11, the man implied that the woman figuratively came from Lebanon, and she still smelled like that wonderful place.

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