Catholic Commentary on Song of Songs 4

"You are altogether beautiful, my darling; there is no flaw in you." (Song of Songs 4:7)

The Bridegroom Praises His Bride

The beloved speaks his admiration: your eyes behind your veil are doves. Your hair is like a flock of goats descending from the hills of Gilead. Your teeth are like a flock of sheep just shorn. Your lips are like a scarlet ribbon. Your temples behind your veil are like the halves of a pomegranate. Your neck is like the tower of David, built with courses of stone. Your two breasts are like two fawns, like twin fawns of a gazelle that browse among the lilies. You are altogether beautiful, my darling; there is no flaw in you. You have stolen my heart, my sister, my bride; you have stolen my heart with one glance of your eyes. How delightful is your love, my sister, my bride! How much more pleasing is your love than wine, and the fragrance of your perfume more than any spice. A garden locked is my sister, my bride; a garden locked, a spring enclosed, a sealed fountain.

The Catechism identifies the bridegroom's gaze on the bride's beauty as the image of God's loving gaze on the soul he has created and redeemed: you are altogether beautiful, my darling, is the word God speaks over every soul made in his image (CCC 2500).

Living the Word

Brothers and sisters, you are altogether beautiful, my darling; there is no flaw in you. This is the word of the bridegroom over the bride, and the word of God over the soul redeemed by his Son. Let it land. Receive it without qualification. God who looks at you through Christ sees no flaw. You are altogether beautiful in his sight.

Prayer

Lord God, let your word over us be received: you are altogether beautiful; there is no flaw in you. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

4
Solomon Admires His Bride
The Bridegroom
 
1 How beautiful you are, my darling-
how very beautiful!
Your eyes are like doves
behind your veil.
Your hair is like a flock of goats
streaming down Mount Gilead.
2 Your teeth are like a flock of newly shorn sheep
coming up from the washing;
each has its twin,
and not one of them is lost.
3 Your lips are like a scarlet ribbon,
and your mouth is lovely.
Your brow behind your veil
is like a slice of pomegranate.
4 Your neck is like the tower of David,
built with rows of stones;
on it hang a thousand shields,
all of them shields of warriors.
5 Your breasts are like two fawns,
twins of a gazelle grazing among the lilies.
 
6 Before the day breaks and the shadows flee,
I will make my way
to the mountain of myrrh
and to the hill of frankincense.
7 You are altogether beautiful, my darling;
in you there is no flaw.
 
8 Come with me from Lebanon, my bride,
come with me from Lebanon!
Descend * 4:8 Or Look down from the peak of Amana,
from the summits of Senir and Hermon,
from the dens of the lions,
from the mountains of the leopards.
9 You have captured my heart,
my sister, my bride;
you have stolen my heart with one glance of your eyes,
with one jewel of your neck.
10 How delightful is your love,
my sister, my bride!
Your love is much better than wine,
and the fragrance of your perfume than all spices.
11 Your 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.
 
12 My sister, my bride, you are a garden locked up,
a spring enclosed, a fountain sealed.
13 Your branches are an orchard of pomegranates
with the choicest of fruits, with henna and nard,
14 with nard and saffron, with calamus and cinnamon,
with every kind of frankincense tree,
with myrrh and aloes,
with all the finest spices.
15 You are a garden spring,
a well of fresh water † 4:15 Or flowing water or living water
flowing down from Lebanon.
The Bride
 
16 Awake, O north wind,
and come, O south wind.
Breathe on my garden
and spread the fragrance of its spices.
Let my beloved come into his garden
and taste its choicest fruits.

*4:8 4:8 Or Look down

†4:15 4:15 Or flowing water or living water

Public Domain