SNG 4:9 Interlinear View

4:9 OSHB variant note: ב/אחד: (x-qere) ’בְּ/אַחַ֣ת’: lemma_b/259 morph_HR/Acfsa id_22zCS בְּ/אַחַ֣ת

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 4:8–15 The man called his bride from Lebanon; and compared her to a private garden

In these lines the man continued to use figurative language to praise his bride (4:8–15). First, he spoke to her as if he and she were in Lebanon. Lebanon is a region north of Israel. It is far from Jerusalem (Zion), where they celebrated their wedding. In Lebanon the rugged mountains and wild animals make it dangerous for people to travel. The man calling the woman from Lebanon symbolizes that he thought the woman was wonderful and mysterious (like Lebanon), but perhaps she was reluctant to fully surrender herself to him. She seemed beyond his reach, as though she was up in the mountains, guarded by wild animals. Because he loved her, he was gentle as he wooed her, preparing her to surrender herself to him.

As you translate these lines, it is important to remember that the author used figurative language. The woman was not actually in Lebanon, and the man did not refer to a real journey from there. The garden descriptions in 4:12–15 are also figurative. They do not describe an actual garden.

Several poetic themes help to unify 4:8–15 and 4:16–5:1:

Lebanon (4:8, 11, 15): In the OT, Lebanon is often portrayed as a remote, beautiful, and fragrant place with mountains and cedar forests. (For example, see Psalm 72:16; Isaiah 35:2; 60:13; and Hosea 14:5–7.)
fragrances (4:10–11, 13–14, 16, 5:1, and maybe implied in 4:8)Lebanon was especially known for its fragrant cedar trees. So fragrance is probably implied in 4:8.
tastes (4:10–11, 13–14, 16, 5:1)
the garden metaphor (especially in focus in 4:12–5:1)

The context of 4:8–5:1, as well as 3:6–4:7, is probably the day of the couple’s wedding. In 5:1, the women of Jerusalem encouraged them to consummate their love as husband and wife.

4:9a

You have captured my heart, my sister, my bride;

You have captured my heart, my treasure, my bride. (NLT)
My bride, you have overcome/thrilled me. You are my dear one,

You have captured my heart: The Hebrew word that the BSB translates as captured my heart is more literally “you heart-ed me” (the word “heart” is used as a verb). The word can have different meanings in different contexts. Here it describes a person who is overcome by strong feelings of love. It may imply that the man felt physically weak when he looked at the woman because of the intense love and excitement he felt.

Languages have different ways to describe a lover who feels overcome by his feelings for his beloved. Consider whether your language has an idiom or figure of speech to describe this. Some other ways to translate 4:9 are:

I am helpless to stop feeling this love for you. When you look at me for one moment or if I see one bead from your necklace, I feel overcome with love.

When you glance at me, I feel weak with feelings of love. I am overcome with love just by seeing one of your necklaces.

In many languages there are idioms to describe this feeling. It combines both helplessness and pleasure. The woman also described that type of feeling in 2:5c where she said, I am sick with love. Her love was so strong that she could describe it as a type of pleasurable “sickness.”

my sister: The term my sister is used in a figurative way here to express affection. The woman was not literally his sister or other relative, but she was as dear to him as a sister. This type of figurative usage was common in the man’s culture at that time. In some languages it gives a wrong meaning for the man to call the woman his sister. If that is true in your language, some options for translation are:

Substitute a different term for sister. For example:
my treasure (NLT)
my very own (CEV)
my love
Use a simile. For example:
My bride, you are as dear to me as a sister.
Use only the term my bride and add an expression of affection. For example:
My beloved bride

In some languages it may be necessary to put the phrase “my sister, my bride” at the beginning of 4:10. For example:

My sister, my bride, how wonderful is your love!

my bride: For a discussion of my bride, see 4:8a–b.

4:9b

you have stolen my heart

You have captivated my heart (ESV)
and you so easily overcome/thrill me

you have stolen my heart: This phrase in 4:9b exactly repeats the phrase from 4:9a. The repetition adds emphasis, as 4:8b adds emphasis to 4:8a. It emphasizes that the woman has caused the man to be overcome by strong feelings of love. For more information, see the note on 4:8a–b. You could these two phrases in the same way, or emphasize this meaning in a natural way in your language. For example:

you truly have captured my heart

4:9c

with one glance of your eyes,

with a single glance from your eyes, (GW)
just by looking at me once.

4:9c–d

with one glance of your eyes, with one jewel of your neck: In Hebrew the phrase with one glance of your eyes is literally “with one from your eyes.” It probably refers to when the woman looked briefly at him. Even when the woman looked at him only for a moment, he felt intense love. This implies that a longer gaze could totally overpower him. The Song has already mentioned the beauty of the woman’s dove-like eyes (1:15 and 4:1). For translation examples, see the note on 4:9a.

4:9d

with one jewel of your neck.

by a single bead of your necklace. (NLT96)
You delight/thrill me when I see just the single jewel around your neck.

with one jewel of your neck: This phrase means that the woman wears a jewel on her neck, in the form of jewelry like a necklace or pendant. This phrase adds information to the phrase “You have captured my heart.” In some languages it is natural to repeat the phrase here. For example:

with one jewel of your neck, you have captured my heart.

There is a figure of speech here that intensifies the impact (as in 4:9c–d). It implies that if just one jewel on her neck was enough to ravish his heart, seeing all of her beauty totally overpowered him.

one jewel of your neck: The Hebrew word that the BSB translates as jewel is singular. This singular form occurs only here in the OT. (The plural form occurs in two other verses in the OT and refers to objects that hang around a person’s neck.) Most English versions translate the meaning “one jewel/bead.” For example:

a single bead of your necklace (NLT96)

However, if necklaces with more than one strand are common in your culture, then “one strand” is also acceptable.

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / infostructure

לִבַּבְתִּ֖⁠נִי אֲחֹתִ֣⁠י כַלָּ֑ה לִבַּבְתִּ֨י⁠נִי֙

you,have_stolen_my_heart my_sister_of,my bride you,have_stolen_my_heart

If it would be more natural in your language, you could change the order of these phrases. If it would be helpful to your readers, you could also add the word “yes” to show that the phrase You have enchanted my heart is repeated in order to add emphasis. Alternate translation: [My sister, my bride; you have enchanted my heart. Yes, you have enchanted my heart]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom

לִבַּבְתִּ֖⁠נִי & לִבַּבְתִּ֨י⁠נִי֙

you,have_stolen_my_heart & you,have_stolen_my_heart

The phrase translated as You have enchanted my heart is an idiom which could mean: (1) to steal or capture a person’s heart. In Jewish thinking, the heart was the center of a person’s thinking. This phrase probably also meant that he was so in love that he could not think clearly. If this phrase does not have that meaning in your language, you could use a comparable phrase from your language that does have that meaning, or you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [You have captured my heart … you have captured my heart] or [It is as though you have captured my heart … it is as though you have captured my heart] or [You have made me feel so in love with you that it is as if I have lost my mind … you have made me feel so in love with you that it is as if I have lost my mind] (2) the woman had made the man’s heart beat faster. Alternate translation: [You have caused my heart to beat fast … you have caused my heart to beat fast] (3) that the woman had encouraged the man’s heart. Alternate translation: [You have encouraged my heart … you have encouraged my heart] or [You have given me heart … you have given me heart]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

אֲחֹתִ֣⁠י

my_sister_of,my

Here the man is speaking of the woman as if she were his sister. This is a term of endearment which expresses affection, close companionship, and a deep emotional bond between the lovers. The woman is not actually his sister. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a different term of endearment or state the meaning plainly.

OET-LV English word order (‘Reverse’ interlinear)

4:9 OSHB variant note: ב/אחד: (x-qere) ’בְּ/אַחַ֣ת’: lemma_b/259 morph_HR/Acfsa id_22zCS בְּ/אַחַ֣ת

Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.

Acknowledgements: The Hebrew text, lemmas, and morphology are all thanks to the OSHB and some of the glosses are from Macula Hebrew.

OET interlinear SNG 4:9

Hebrew word order