OET interlinear SNG 1:15

Section 1:2–2:7: The woman and man admired each other

In Section 1:2–2:7, the woman and man praised each other, and they became more confident that they loved each other. In the introduction (1:2–4) the woman spoke about her desire for the man. Then she spoke of her humble life working in the family vineyard (1:5–6), and she seemed to question whether she was worthy for him to love her. Then he praised her, and she praised him. When she spoke at the end of the section (2:3–6), she felt secure that he loved her.

In this section, the woman used several comparisons to speak of her feelings about the man. She spoke as though he were a shepherd (1:7–8) or a king (1:4; 1:12), implying that he was like a shepherd or king to her in certain ways. He was also like a bag of myrrh (1:13), henna blossoms (1:14), and an apple tree (2:3–4) to her. The woman compared herself to “a rose of Sharon,” and “a lily of the valleys” (2:1). The man compared her to “a mare of Pharaoh’s chariots” (1:9). The Notes will discuss the meaning of each of these comparisons as it occurs in its section.

Lines 1:2–4 are the introduction to Section 1:2–2:7. In these lines, the poet summarizes the Song’s message and introduces its main characters: the woman, the man, and a group of young women. In the Song the woman spoke more often than the man spoke. After the title (1:1), she began the Song by saying that she wanted him to kiss her. She referred to him only as “him” or “you.” In Hebrew poetry, the authors do not introduce their characters as they do in stories, but in some languages it may be more natural to introduce them and identify them. Some ways to do this are:

• Provide headings to identify the characters. Some headings may apply only to a verse or part of a verse. For example:

  1:4e The Woman commented about the young women of Jerusalem You may need to use a different form the first time a character is introduced. For example:

  1:2–4b A woman speaks to the man she loves

• Use a speech introducer in the first part of the verse. If you use this option, you may want to indicate in some way that the speech introducer is not in the text itself. For example:

  1:4e (The woman said to her beloved,) “Rightly do they love you.”

  1:2a [There were a certain woman and man. She said to/about him,] “Let him kiss me…

Choose an option that fits your situation, and use it consistently throughout the book. You should also decide how you will refer to the speakers in the headings. Some ways to do that are:

woman, man, women (GNT)

beloved, lover, friends (NIV)

bride, groom, companions (REB)

she, he, others (ESV)

The woman often referred to the man as “my beloved” (RSV), and she also called him “the one whom my soul loves,” “the king,” and “my friend.” The man often referred to her as “my love” and also as “fairest among women,” “my dove,” “my sister,” “my bride,” and “queenly maiden.”

How beautiful you are, my darling!

• Oh, you^(sing) are beautiful, my dearest,

• How lovely you^(sing) are, my darling!

• My dearest, you^(sing) are so beautiful,

Oh, how very beautiful!

• oh, you^(sing) are beautiful!

• You^(sing) are truly gorgeous/lovely!

• you^(sing) are so very beautiful!

Your eyes are like doves.

• Your^(sing) eyes are doves.

• Your^(sing) eyes are as gentle as doves.

• Your^(sing) eyes are gentle, yes, as gentle and beautiful as doves.

General Comment on 1:15

In some languages you may want to use parallel phrases to translate 1:15c, just as in 1:15a–b. For example:

^15aHow beautiful you are, my darling!

^15bOh how very beautiful!

^15cYour eyes are like doves,

yes, just like doves.