What does the chapter actually say?
Identify the explicit claims before importing later doctrine or assumptions.
SONG OF SOLOMON • CHAPTER 4
Song of Solomon 4
Erotic love poetry, desire, beauty, longing, mutual attraction, separation, and reunion.
READ THE CHAPTER
Song of Solomon 4
WORLD ENGLISH BIBLE
The complete biblical text below is stored on this website.
You do not need to leave The Bible for Smart People to read it.
1
Behold, you are beautiful, my love.
Behold, you are beautiful.
Your eyes are like doves behind your veil.
Your hair is as a flock of goats,
that descend from Mount Gilead.
Behold, you are beautiful.
Your eyes are like doves behind your veil.
Your hair is as a flock of goats,
that descend from Mount Gilead.
2
Your teeth are like a newly shorn flock,
which have come up from the washing,
where every one of them has twins.
None is bereaved among them.
which have come up from the washing,
where every one of them has twins.
None is bereaved among them.
3
Your lips are like scarlet thread.
Your mouth is lovely.
Your temples are like a piece of a pomegranate behind your veil.
Your mouth is lovely.
Your temples are like a piece of a pomegranate behind your veil.
4
Your neck is like David’s tower built for an armory,
on which a thousand shields hang,
all the shields of the mighty men.
on which a thousand shields hang,
all the shields of the mighty men.
5
Your two breasts are like two fawns
that are twins of a roe,
which feed among the lilies.
that are twins of a roe,
which feed among the lilies.
6
Until the day is cool, and the shadows flee away,
I will go to the mountain of myrrh,
to the hill of frankincense.
I will go to the mountain of myrrh,
to the hill of frankincense.
7
You are all beautiful, my love.
There is no spot in you.
There is no spot in you.
8
Come with me from Lebanon, my bride,
with me from Lebanon.
Look from the top of Amana,
from the top of Senir and Hermon,
from the lions’ dens,
from the mountains of the leopards.
with me from Lebanon.
Look from the top of Amana,
from the top of Senir and Hermon,
from the lions’ dens,
from the mountains of the leopards.
9
You have ravished my heart, my sister, my bride.
You have ravished my heart with one of your eyes,
with one chain of your neck.
You have ravished my heart with one of your eyes,
with one chain of your neck.
10
How beautiful is your love, my sister, my bride!
How much better is your love than wine,
the fragrance of your perfumes than all kinds of spices!
How much better is your love than wine,
the fragrance of your perfumes than all kinds of spices!
11
Your lips, my bride, drip like the honeycomb.
Honey and milk are under your tongue.
The smell of your garments is like the smell of Lebanon.
Honey and milk are under your tongue.
The smell of your garments is like the smell of Lebanon.
12
My sister, my bride, is a locked up garden;
a locked up spring,
a sealed fountain.
a locked up spring,
a sealed fountain.
13
Your shoots are an orchard of pomegranates, with precious fruits,
henna with spikenard plants,
henna with spikenard plants,
14
spikenard and saffron,
calamus and cinnamon, with every kind of incense tree;
myrrh and aloes, with all the best spices,
calamus and cinnamon, with every kind of incense tree;
myrrh and aloes, with all the best spices,
15
a fountain of gardens,
a well of living waters,
flowing streams from Lebanon.
a well of living waters,
flowing streams from Lebanon.
16
Awake, north wind, and come, you south!
Blow on my garden, that its spices may flow out.
Let my beloved come into his garden,
and taste his precious fruits.
Blow on my garden, that its spices may flow out.
Let my beloved come into his garden,
and taste his precious fruits.
POETRY
Where this chapter fits
Song of Solomon belongs to Israel's wisdom/poetic tradition, where literary form matters as much as historical setting.
Chapter numbers were added long after the biblical books were written.
Read this chapter together with what comes immediately before and after it.
ANCIENT TEXT, MODERN QUESTIONS
Historical claims should be compared with historical evidence.
Scientific claims should be compared with science.
Moral claims should be examined morally.
Theological claims require theological and philosophical argument.
QUESTIONS WORTH ASKING
Don't skip the hard parts.
What kind of literature is this?
Narrative, poetry, prophecy, law, letters, wisdom, and apocalypse communicate differently.
What historical evidence matters?
Ask whether names, places, institutions, events, customs, and chronology can be independently investigated.
What are the strongest competing interpretations?
Compare serious Jewish, Christian, academic, and skeptical readings rather than caricatures.
CONTINUE THE INVESTIGATION
You've reached the member analysis.
You can keep reading every Bible chapter on this site for free.
Membership unlocks the deeper analysis, historical context, competing interpretations, perspectives, and conclusion.
WANT TO KEEP READING FOR FREE?
Continue to Song of Solomon 5
The complete biblical text of the next chapter is free to read.
You only need membership when you want the deeper analysis and side-by-side investigation.
READ NEXT CHAPTER FREEUNLOCK THE ANALYSIS
Already a member?
Sign in to continue →