Your lips are like a scarlet thread: in describing the young woman’s lips, we may ask where the emphasis lies. Is it on the redness of the lips? Or are they apparently thin like thread? In the previous examples it is the color that is the center of attention, not the objects themselves. Applying that principle here we conclude that it is the redness of her lips that is in focus, not how thin they are. Scarlet is a bright red color. Whether she has painted her lips or whether they are naturally red is not known. In some cultures red lips may not be a particular sign of beauty. If this is the case we can qualify the word to make the point: “Your lips are as lovely as a scarlet thread.” Thread can refer to a strip of cloth or ribbon, not only to fine thread. If the figure of thread or “ribbon” is not meaningful, then this image can be omitted: “Your lips are a lovely red.”

Your mouth is lovely: we move from a particular part of the mouth (lips) and a particular color (scarlet) to the more general terms mouth and lovely. The Hebrew phrase translated in Revised Standard Version as mouth (literally “from your words”) occurs only here but comes from a common root for “speak.” For this reason some versions emphasize the woman’s speech rather than her mouth (Good News Translation “when you speak,” King James Version “your speech,” New English Bible and Jerusalem Bible “your words”). In the context of the wasf, however, it is probably correct to treat the word as mouth rather than the more abstract “your speech,” because the focus throughout this passage is on the physical attributes of the young woman.

For lovely see comments on “comely” in 1.5, 10 There is a significant wordplay here. The Hebrew word for mouth can also mean “desert,” while the word for lovely can mean “an inhabited area.” Throughout the poem the woman’s lips are seen as a place of refreshment. Thus there is a possible double meaning, with the young man comparing his lover to an oasis in the middle of a desert. Again this kind of double meaning will be impossible to convey, unless it is included in a footnote.

For translation we suggest:

• Your lips are like a scarlet ribbon,
And your mouth, so beautiful.

It is possible that in some languages it would be too repetitive to speak of both the lips and the mouth. If this is the case another alternative will have to be found:

• Your mouth is red like scarlet thread
And, oh, so very beautiful!

Your cheeks are like halves of a pomegranate: scholars disagree about how to translate the Hebrew word rendered as cheeks. The term actually describes the thin part of the skull, the “temple” (see Judges 4.21; 5.26). King James Version follows this sense. New English Bible “your parted lips” is far from the original, we believe, and should not be followed. However, since most of the young woman’s temple would be hidden either by her hair or her veil, and in view of the comparison with the pomegranate, it seems that cheeks is a reasonable translation.

Like halves of a pomegranate: the pomegranate is a thick-skinned fruit that grows on a shrub-like tree. The comparison here raises the question as to which part of the fruit is in the young man’s mind as he describes his beloved. The exterior of the fruit is red, so he may be referring to her “red cheeks.” If it is the interior of the fruit, as some suggest, then it brings to mind an image of blotchy and unclear skin, which is quite unattractive. Thus we disagree with the translation “slice” for Revised Standard Version halves. The more likely point of comparison is with the rounded and rosy exterior of the fruit. In many cultures around the world, rosy or full cheeks are a sign of health and beauty. Where pomegranate is not known we may perhaps refer to a “red apple” or simply say “your full rosy cheeks.” This is better than Good News Translation “your cheeks glow.”

Behind your veil: see comments on verse 1. If the veil covered the lower half of the face, then the young woman’s cheeks were not fully exposed.

For translation we can say “Beneath your veil your cheeks are rosy like a pomegranate.” However, in view of preferences shown by other translations, it may be necessary to add a footnote drawing the readers’ attention to the problem in the interpretation.

Though it may not be so obvious in the Revised Standard Version translation, the Hebrew lines are well balanced and show grammatically parallel clauses:
Like a ribbon of scarlet,
your lips

• and from your mouth so lovely
Like a half pomegranate,
your cheeks

• and from behind your veil

The translator may be able to follow the Hebrew parallelism, thus preserving the literary flavor of the original.

Quoted with permission from Ogden, Graham S. and Zogbo, Lynell. A Handbook on the Book of Song of Songs. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1998. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .