Old Testament · Poetry

Song of Solomon 4

You Are Beautiful

You are altogether beautiful, my love; there is no flaw in you. A garden locked, a spring sealed — the language of desire and exclusivity.

King James Version BSB KJV
Read the commentary What this chapter means, the background behind it, and why it still matters

1Behold, 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.

2Thy 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.

3Thy lips are like a thread of scarlet, and thy speech is comely: thy temples are like a piece of a pomegranate within thy locks.

4Thy neck is like the tower of David builded for an armoury, whereon there hang a thousand bucklers, all shields of mighty men.

5Thy two breasts are like two young roes that are twins, which feed among the lilies.

6Until the day break, and the shadows flee away, I will get me to the mountain of myrrh, and to the hill of frankincense.

7Thou art all fair, my love; there is no spot in thee.

8Come 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.

9Thou hast ravished my heart, my sister, my spouse; thou hast ravished my heart with one of thine eyes, with one chain of thy neck.

10How 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!

11Thy 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.

12A garden inclosed is my sister, my spouse; a spring shut up, a fountain sealed.

13Thy plants are an orchard of pomegranates, with pleasant fruits; camphire, with spikenard,

14Spikenard and saffron; calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense; myrrh and aloes, with all the chief spices:

15A fountain of gardens, a well of living waters, and streams from Lebanon.

16Awake, 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.

Commentary

Song of Solomon 4, explained

What Song of Solomon 4 is saying

The lover delivers an elaborate wasf (descriptive praise poem) cataloguing the beloved's beauty from head to waist: eyes like doves, hair like goats descending Gilead, teeth like shorn ewes, lips like scarlet thread, neck like the tower of David. He calls her 'a garden locked, a fountain sealed' and invites the winds to carry her fragrance.

The background behind it

The wasf form is well-attested in ancient Near Eastern love poetry. The comparisons, while exotic to modern ears, praised beauty through associations with power, abundance, and the natural world. The 'garden locked' metaphor celebrates sexual exclusivity within committed love.

Themes running underneath

The lover's detailed attention to the beloved's body celebrates embodied beauty without shame. The garden metaphor operates on multiple levels—paradise restored, exclusive intimacy, and fertility. The beloved is praised not generically but with specific, attentive observation.

Why it still matters

The lover's detailed praise models what genuine romantic attention looks like: specific, unhurried, and delighting in the particular. It counters both objectification and prudishness about physical beauty.

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Scripture text: King James Version — public domain.

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