His cheeks are like beds of spice, towers of perfume. His lips are like lilies, dripping with flowing myrrh.
Parallel translations
- WEB His cheeks are like a bed of spices with towers of perfumes. His lips are like lilies, dropping liquid myrrh.
- KJV His cheeks are as a bed of spices, as sweet flowers: his lips like lilies, dropping sweet smelling myrrh.
- NKJV His cheeks are like a bed of spices, Banks of scented herbs. His lips are lilies, Dripping liquid myrrh.
- NASB “His cheeks are like a bed of balsam, Banks of herbal spices; His lips are lilies Dripping with drops of myrrh.
- NLT His cheeks are like gardens of spices giving off fragrance. His lips are like lilies, perfumed with myrrh.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
His cheeks and lips are fragrant and pleasant, like beds of spices and lilies dripping with myrrh. His presence and his words are sweet and welcome.
Overview
Spices and myrrh evoke costly fragrance, and lilies suggest beauty and refreshment. The picture is of a beloved whose face and speech are delightful to be near. Many readers see here an echo of the believer's experience of Christ, whose words are gracious and whose name is 'as ointment poured forth' (1:3).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- Song 1:10Your cheeks are beautiful with ornaments, your neck with strings of jewels.
- Song 2:1I am a rose of Sharon, a lily of the valley.
- Song 6:2My beloved has gone down to his garden, to the beds of spices, to pasture his flock in the gardens and to gather lilies.
- Song 4:11Your lips, my bride, drip sweetness like the honeycomb; honey and milk are under your tongue, and the fragrance of your garments is like the aroma of Lebanon.
- Isa 50:6I offered My back to those who struck Me, and My cheeks to those who tore out My beard. I did not hide My face from scorn and spittle.
- Luke 4:22All spoke well of Him and marveled at the gracious words that came from His lips. “Isn’t this the son of Joseph?” they asked.
- Ps 4:6–7Many ask, “Who can show us the good?” Shine the light of Your face upon us, O LORD.
- Ps 89:15Blessed are those who know the joyful sound, who walk, O LORD, in the light of Your presence.
- Ps 27:4One thing I have asked of the LORD; this is what I desire: to dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the LORD and seek Him in His temple.
- Ps 45:2You are the most handsome of men; grace has anointed your lips, since God has blessed you forever.
- Rev 21:23And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, because the glory of God illuminates the city, and the Lamb is its lamp.
- Song 5:5I rose up to open for my beloved. My hands dripped with myrrh, my fingers with flowing myrrh on the handles of the bolt.
- Song 3:6Who is this coming up from the wilderness like a column of smoke, scented with myrrh and frankincense from all the spices of the merchant?
- Isa 50:4The Lord GOD has given Me the tongue of discipleship, to sustain the weary with a word. He awakens Me morning by morning; He awakens My ear to listen as a disciple.
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
The poetry of covenant love between bride and bridegroom pictures, at its highest, the love of Christ for his church — the Bridegroom who gave himself for his bride.
How Song of Songs 5:13 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.