The young man describes in more detail the thrill of being with his beloved. He again describes her mouth, but the description here goes far beyond the one in 4.3.

Your lips distil nectar must mean that her lips, which is to say, her kisses, are as sweet and as pleasant as nectar. Again there is a possibility that the word translated lips refers to what she says, but kisses is a much more likely interpretation in this context. Nectar may be rendered “honey” (Jerusalem Bible, New American Bible) or “honeycomb” (Revised English Bible). In describing the action here, it will probably be better to use a verb like “drip with” or “pour forth” rather than distil. The Hebrew expression is marked by repetition of the two sounds p and t. Good News Translation offers “the taste of honey is on your lips” and is a good model. In some languages it may be better to turn the metaphor into a simile, “Your lips taste as sweet as honey” or “Your kisses, I’ll compare them to honey!”

My bride: see notes on verse 8.

Honey and milk are under your tongue: these two substances represent sweetness and luxury, as they do in the descriptions of the land of Canaan (Exo 3.8; Pro 5.3-6; 24.13-14). The connection with the phrase under your tongue and the previous phrase about her lips indicate a reference to the young woman’s kisses and possibly also to what she says. This latter is a common meaning in the Egyptian love poems. How we translate honey and milk will depend on how we understand the phrase under your tongue. If this is a reference to kisses, we may say “wonderful,” “sweet,” or give the basis of comparison, “Your kisses are as sweet as milk and [or, mixed with] honey.” We can also draw out the point of the comparison in each element, “Your kisses are as smooth as milk, as sweet as honey.” If the reference is to the young woman’s words, again we must find appropriate terms: “When you talk, your words are as sweet as milk and honey.”

Translating literally is perhaps our best choice here. “Milk and honey” is a key phrase in the Old Testament, and its meaning may be readily understood. This verse also leads up to more hidden references to lovemaking, so a direct translation may preserve this feature and express the young man’s deep passion better than explanatory phrases.

The scent of your garments is like the scent of Lebanon: her clothes have an aroma that thrills him. The scent of Lebanon is an unusual phrase, since Lebanon is not normally associated with spices and aromatics but with timber. There is a suggestion that the cedar trees of Lebanon could be smelled some distance away; others suggest that the clothes may have been kept in a cedar chest and so had a pleasant smell about them. Another possible approach is to understand the Hebrew term lebonah as “frankincense,” a change that has some merit. On the other hand Lebanon is a keyword in this short unit. So we recommend following the standard rendering.

Revised Standard Version translates the Hebrew literally by repeating scent. This shows how rhythmic the Hebrew is at this point. Of course, if such repetition is not appreciated, it can be eliminated. For example, we can follow New International Version, “The fragrance of your garments is like that of Lebanon.”

In translation we can say:

• The scent of your clothes is like [the smell of] frankincense.

• Your garments have the fragrance of Lebanon’s cedar.

Taking the verse as a whole, we note that the first and second lines have much in common. Two different words are used in Hebrew to refer to honey, one referring to the honeycomb, and one to honey itself. While this is not repetitive in Hebrew, it may appear so in the translation. We can therefore combine these two lines if necessary, keeping the word “honey” in only one line:

• Oh, my bride, your lips are sweet.
Your kisses as smooth as milk,
As sweet as honey,
And the scent of your clothes
Like the scent of Lebanon.

Quoted with permission from Ogden, Graham S. and Zogbo, Lynell. A Handbook on the Book of Song of Songs. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1998. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .