SNG 4:7 Parallel Verse View

Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible—click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed as a tool for doing comparisons of different translations—the older translations are further down the page (so you can read up from the bottom to trace the English translation history). The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible—please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.

Text critical issues=none Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

Key: red:negative.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the OET-RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).

BrLXX Ὅλη καλὴ εἶ πλησίον μου, καὶ μῶμος οὐκ ἔστιν ἐν σοί.
(Holaʸ kalaʸ ei plaʸsion mou, kai mōmos ouk estin en soi. )

UST My dear one, you are completely beautiful;
⇔ your body is perfectly formed and has no blemish!

OEB No OEB SNG book available

CSB You are absolutely beautiful, my darling; there is no imperfection in you.

NLT You are altogether beautiful, my darling, beautiful in every way.

NIV You are altogether beautiful, my darling; there is no flaw in you.

CEV My darling, you are lovely in every way.

ESV You are altogether beautiful, my love; there is no flaw in you.

NASB “You are altogether beautiful, my darling, And there is no blemish in you.

LSB “You are altogether beautiful, my darling, And there is no blemish in you.

WEBBE ⇔ You are all beautiful, my love.
⇔ There is no spot in you.

WMBB (Same as above)

MSG ^(6-7)The sweet, fragrant curves of your body,
  the soft, spiced contours of your flesh
Invite me, and I come. I stay
  until dawn breathes its light and night slips away.
You’re beautiful from head to toe, my dear love,
  beautiful beyond compare, absolutely flawless.

NET You are altogether beautiful, my darling!
⇔ There is no blemish in you!

LSV You [are] all beautiful, my friend,
And there is not a blemish in you. Come from Lebanon, O spouse,

FBV You are incredibly beautiful, my darling—you are absolutely flawless!

T4T My darling, you are completely beautiful;
⇔ your body is perfectly formed!

LEB • You are completely beautiful, my beloved! You are flawless ![fn]

4:? Literally “There is no flaw in you!”

NRSV You are altogether beautiful, my love; there is no flaw in you.

NKJV You are all fair, my love, And there is no spot in you.

NAB You are beautiful in every way, my friend, there is no flaw in you!

BBE You are all fair, my love; there is no mark on you.

Moff You are all fair, my dear,
⇔ you are spotless.
¶ 

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

ASV ⇔ Thou art all fair, my love;
⇔ And there is no spot in thee.

DRA Thou art all fair, O my love, and there is not a spot in thee.

YLT Thou [art] all fair, my friend, And a blemish there is not in thee. Come from Lebanon, O spouse,

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

RV Thou art all fair, my love; and there is no spot in thee.
(Thou/You art all fair, my love; and there is no spot in thee/you. )

SLT All of thee beautiful, my friend, and no blemish in thee.

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

KJB-1769 Thou art all fair, my love; there is no spot in thee.
(Thou/You art all fair, my love; there is no spot in thee/you. )

KJB-1611 Thou art all faire, my loue, there is no spot in thee.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from punctuation)

Bshps Thou art all fayre (O my loue) and no spot is there in thee.
(Thou/You art all fair (Oh my love) and no spot is there in thee/you.)

Gnva Thou art all faire, my loue, and there is no spot in thee.
(Thou/You art all fair, my love, and there is no spot in thee/you. )

Cvdl Thou art all fayre (o my loue) & no spott is there in the.
(Thou/You art all fair (o my love) and no spot is there in them.)

Wycl My frendesse, thou art al faire, and no wem is in thee.
(My friends, thou/you art all fair, and no spot/blemish is in thee/you.)

Luth Du bist allerdinge schön, meine Freundin, und ist kein Flecken an dir.
(You(sg) are however beautiful, my girlfriend, and is no/not stains at/to you/to_you(sg).)

ClVg Tota pulchra es, amica mea, et macula non est in te.[fn]
(The_whole beautiful you_are, girlfriend my, and blemish/stain not/no it_is in/into/on you(sg). )

4.7 Tota pulchra es. Non solum in electioribus membris, quæ enumeravi, sed etiam in illis qui pusilli et fragiles videntur.

4.7 The_whole beautiful you_are. Not/No only in/into/on chosenoribus members, which enumeravi, but also in/into/on to_them who/which pusilli and fragiles they_seem.

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 3:6–5:1: The man and woman married and the man praised her

In 3:6 a new section begins. The author indicates this by several obvious changes from (3:1–5):

The scene changes from a nighttime dream to a public daytime event.
There is a change of speaker.
The search theme in the preceding verses changes to a wedding theme in this section.
The mood changes from anxious searching to joyful celebration.

In this section the author describes the couple’s wedding day. The section has several parts:

3:6–11 The man and woman came to their wedding in a grand procession

4:1–15 The man described his beautiful bride

4:16–5:1 The man and woman consummated their marriage

Paragraph 4:1–7 The man told his bride how beautiful she is

In 4:1–7 the man used figures of speech to tell his bride how beautiful and majestic she was.Bergant (page 42) explains the two aspects of the description in this way: “It is a descriptive song that uses metaphors and similes both representationally (highlighting physical similarity) and presentationally (eliciting an emotional response).” This type of physical description of one’s beloved is called a “wasf” (an Arabic word). It was a common type of poetry in the ancient Near East. Such figures of speech were common in the love poetry of nearby cultures. The man also describes his bride in 6:4–10 and 7:1–9. In one example (5:10–16) the woman describes the man. He first praised her eyes and hair, then he praised her mouth, lips, and teeth. He described her temples and neck and then her breasts. Paragraph 4:1–7 begins and ends with similar statements that summarize her beauty:

:1 How beautiful you are, my darling—

how very beautiful!

:7 You are altogether beautiful, my darling;

there is no flaw in you.

Cultures have different ideas about what is beautiful. In some cultures the figures of speech that the man used to describe the woman may seem strange or insulting, but in his culture, they were powerful ways to praise her. Sometimes they described the man’s feelings about her instead of describing her appearance. For example, in 4:4 the man compared the woman’s neck (or her necklaces) to the tower of King David. Her neck did not look like the tower, but to him she seemed as majestic as that tower where warriors’ shields hung to represent their power.

Standards for respectful speech and actions in the Song

In 4:1–7 the man often referred to the woman’s body. In most cultures certain parts of the body are “private” or “sexual,” and those parts should not be uncovered in public. In some cultures, women must be covered from the waist to the ankles.In some cultures certain references may embarrass people who read or hear them. It may not be modest to mention a woman’s breasts or her belly or navel (as in some verses of the Song). Other cultures have different standards. Scholars are not sure about the specific standards in Israel when the Song was written, but the Song does not violate the standards of modesty in the OT. Two facts about the Song may help to indicate the standards of modesty in Israel’s culture in OT times:

The Song refers to parts of the female body more than 40 times, but only three of these mention areas below the waist.Two of these references are to the feet, which were usually uncovered. The other is to “rounded thighs” in 7:1. It probably refers to the general shape of the thighs, which may be obvious even when a woman is fully clothed. This may imply that the area below the waist was the “private” area, which must be covered in public.
In 8:8–10 both the woman and her brothers spoke casually about her breasts. This probably indicates that in that culture a woman did not always cover her breasts. For example, it was common to breast-feed babies openly (as in 8:1 and other OT verses).

These two facts imply that the author described the woman’s body in a more modest way than some scholars assume. When the man described the woman’s beauty (as in 4:1–7 and 7:1–9), he did it in a proper way. He did not describe “private sexual” parts. In some languages it may be helpful to include a footnote to explain that cultures have different standards of what is proper, decent, and respectful. Translate in a way that does not violate your culture’s standards.

4:7

This verse is similar to 4:1, and it ends the inclusio, which began there. In 4:1 the man said in a general but emphatic way, “You are beautiful” In 4:7, he elaborated on “you are beautiful” by saying “You are altogether beautiful” and “in you there is no flaw.”

After the man described her in 4:1–6, he concluded that she was perfect. The two lines, 4:7a and 4:7b, have a similar meaning, but 4:7b intensifies 4:7a by adding “no flaw.”

4:7a

You are altogether beautiful, my darling;

You are altogether beautiful, my beloved.
My darling, you are lovely in every way, (CEV)

You are altogether beautiful, my darling: The Hebrew phrase that the BSB translates as You are altogether beautiful is more literally, “all of you is beautiful.” It indicates that the man considered the woman to be beautiful in every way. He probably referred specifically to physical beauty here. He implied that all of the woman’s physical characteristics were beautiful. Some other ways to translate this phrase are:

Every part of you is fair, my darling… (NJPS)

This phrase summarizes the woman’s beautiful features, which the man described specifically in 4:1–6. It may also imply good character qualities. For example, in 4:1 the phrase your eyes are like doves may refer to the woman’s gentleness or modesty. In 4:4, her neck being like a tower may imply noble character. In 4:5 the comparison of her breasts to fawns may imply “innocence” or “life-giving energy.”There is uncertainty about the meaning of much of the imagery. But there seems to be more going on than mere physical description. Again, this draws on Dianne Bergant’s distinction between the representational (physical description) and presentational (less tangible descriptions that focus on the emotional aspects and character qualities). Commentators prior to the 20^th century tended to see much more description of the woman’s character than present day commentators who see mostly the physical. But both are likely involved.

beautiful: The Hebrew word that the BSB translates as beautiful in this verse is the same word that it translates as “beautiful” in 4:1.yap̄hah It is helpful to translate this word in the same way in both 4:1 and 4:7 to make it clear that these verses are an inclusio. They indicate the beginning and end of a unit in the Song.

my darling: The phrase my darling also occurs in 4:1, and you may translate it in the same way here. See the note on 4:1a–b.

4:7b

in you there is no flaw.

There is nothing imperfect about you.
you are perfect!

in you there is no flaw: The phrase in you there is no flaw has a similar meaning to 4:7a, but it is stated in a negative way. It indicates that the woman was completely beautiful, and each of her features was beautiful. There was nothing about her that was not lovely, and none of her features reduced her beauty. Some other ways to translate this meaning are:

There is no blemish/fault in you.

beautiful without a flaw. (REB)

beautiful in every way. (NLT)

General Comment on 4:7

The two clauses in this verse are parallel and have almost the same meaning. The repetition of the meaning makes it more emphatic. It indicates that the woman is wonderful in every way. Some ways to translate this meaning are:

Use two statements with the same meaning. For example:
How beautiful you are, my love; how perfect you are! (GNT)
Use one emphatic statement. For example:
My darling, you are lovely in every way. (CEV)

Parallel SNG 4:7

Section 3:6–5:1: The man and woman married and the man praised her

Paragraph 4:1–7 The man told his bride how beautiful she is

4:7

4:7a

4:7b

General Comment on 4:7