Song of Solomon 4:3 (DRB)

Passage

Thy lips are as a scarlet lace: and thy speech sweet. Thy cheeks are as a piece of a pomegranate, besides that which lieth hid within.

Nearby Context

Song of Solomon 4:1 How beautiful art thou, my love, how beautiful art thou! thy eyes are doves' eyes, besides what is hid within. Thy hair is as flocks of goats, which come up from mount Galaad.

Song of Solomon 4:2 Thy teeth as flocks of sheep, that are shorn, which come up from the washing, all with twins, and there is none barren among them.

Song of Solomon 4:3 Thy lips are as a scarlet lace: and thy speech sweet. Thy cheeks are as a piece of a pomegranate, besides that which lieth hid within.

Song of Solomon 4:4 Thy neck, is as the tower of David, which is built with bulwarks: a thousand bucklers hang upon it, all the armour of valiant men.

Song of Solomon 4:5 Thy two breasts like two young roes that are twins, which feed among the lilies.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "lips", "scarlet", "lace", "speech", "sweet", "cheeks", "piece", and "pomegranate". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "lips" and "scarlet", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 2's "Thy teeth as flocks of sheep that..." into verse 4's "Thy neck is as the tower of...", so "lips" and "scarlet" belong inside that flow. In Song of Solomon context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "lips" and "scarlet" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.