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Sng C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7 C8

Sng 6 V1 V2 V3 V4 V5 V6 V7 V8 V9 V10 V11 V13

OET interlinear SNG 6:12

◄ ← SNG 6:12 ↓ → ► ║ ©

Hebrew word order

    1. Hebrew word
    2. Hebrew lemma
    3. OET-LV words
    4. OET-RV words
    5. Strongs
    6. Role/Morphology
    7. Gloss
    8. CAPS codes
    9. OET tags
    10. OET word #
    1. לֹא
    2. 405673
    3. Not
    4. -
    5. 3808
    6. S-Tn
    7. not
    8. S
    9. Y-1014
    10. 283227
    1. יָדַעְתִּי
    2. 405674
    3. I knew
    4. -
    5. 3045
    6. V-Vqp1cs
    7. I_knew
    8. -
    9. Y-1014
    10. 283228
    1. נַפְשִׁ,י
    2. 405675,405676
    3. desire of my
    4. ≈desire
    5. 5315
    6. S-Ncbsc,Sp1cs
    7. desire_of,my
    8. -
    9. Y-1014
    10. 283229
    1. שָׂמַתְ,נִי
    2. 405677,405678
    3. it set me
    4. it
    6. VO-Vqp3fs,Sp1cs
    7. it,set_me
    8. -
    9. Y-1014
    10. 283230
    1. מַרְכְּבוֹת
    2. 405679
    3. the chariots of
    4. chariots
    5. 4818
    6. S-Ncfpc
    7. the_chariots_of
    8. -
    9. Y-1014
    10. 283231
    1. עַמִּ,י
    2. 405680,405681
    3. Ammi- -
    4. -
    6. S-Ncmsc,Sp1cs
    7. of_Ammi-,-
    8. -
    9. Y-1014
    10. 283232
    2. 405682
    3. -
    4. -
    6. -
    8. -
    9. -
    10. 283233
    2. 405683
    3. -
    4. -
    6. -x-maqqef
    8. -
    9. -
    10. 283234
    1. נָדִיב
    2. 405684
    3. of Ammi-
    4. -
    5. 5081
    6. S-Aamsa
    7. of_Ammi-
    8. -
    9. Y-1014
    10. 283235
    2. 405685
    3. -
    4. -
    6. -x-sof-pasuq
    8. -
    9. -
    10. 283236

OET (OET-LV) Not I_knew desire_of_my it_set_me the_chariots_of Ammi-_-[fn] of_Ammi-.

6:12 OSHB exegesis note: WLC has this word divided as עַמִּי

OET (OET-RV) Before I realised it,
 ⇔ my desire had put me among my people’s chariots, a noble.

SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 6:4–8:4: The man praised the woman and sang about springtime

In this section the man described the woman in two separate speeches (6:4–10 and 7:1–10). Some verses are difficult to understand, especially 6:11–13, and it is important to think about them carefully. The woman responded to the man in 7:11 and continued to speak to the end of the section at 8:4.

The verse numbering in the Hebrew text is different from the BSB and a majority of English versions. The Hebrew text begins chapter 7 where the BSB begins 6:13, so in chapter 7 the verses in the Hebrew text are one number higher than the verse numbers in the BSB. For example, 6:13–7:13 in the BSB is 7:1–14 in the Hebrew text (and also in the NJB and NJPS). It is helpful to be aware that some commentaries follow the Hebrew verse numbering. The Notes will follow the verse numbers in the BSB (along with the majority of English versions).

Paragraph 6:11–13 She went to the orchard and imagined her beloved as a prince

It is difficult to be certain about who speaks in 6:11–13. There are also several ways to interpret the verses, and English versions vary greatly. The Notes recommends an interpretation that agrees with the author’s themes throughout the Song, and in general it follows the BSB text. The Notes for these verses include suggestions for footnotes that translators may include to tell readers the different interpretation options.

6:12

The meaning of the Hebrew text of this verse is uncertain. There are no explicit connectors in the Hebrew verse, and scholars have different views about how the meanings of the words and phrases are connected. There are also different ways to interpret the verse as a whole.

Because scholars are not certain about the meaning of the Hebrew text here, it is helpful to include a footnote in your translation, as several English versions do. For example:

The meaning of the Hebrew text of 6:12 is uncertain.

The Notes recommends that translators follow the interpretation of the BSB in this verse. It has good support among scholars and fits the context well.

6:12a

Before I realized it,

Before I realized it: The phrase Before I realized it implies that what the woman described in 6:12b happened suddenly. She did not think about it in advance or plan for it. Other ways to translate this meaning are:

Before I was aware (RSV)

suddenly (CEV)

Before I knew it (NJPS)

6:12b

my desire had set me among the royal chariots of my people.

In the Song, the author often described dreams, as well as events. In 6:12 also, he probably referred to a dream or to something the woman imagined. The CEV makes this explicit:

But in my imagination (CEV)

I was suddenly riding

on a glorious chariot.

The verse implies that the woman took a walk to the garden. (6:11). Then while she was there, she imagined herself riding in the chariot with her beloved (6:12).This verse is probably an expression of the woman’s romantic daydreaming about her beloved. She expressed her emotions through poetic language. This is an example of the “royal” motif. (Some other examples of the royal motif include 1:4; 1:9–14; 3:6–11; 4:4; 6:4; 6:8; 7:5; 8:11–12.)

my desire had set me among the royal chariots of my people: The Hebrew phrase that the BSB translates as my desire had set me is more literally “my soul put me.” The phrase probably indicates that the woman imagined the event in 6:12b. It implies that her desire for her beloved caused her to imagine being in a chariot with him.

Some other ways to translate the clause are:

I imagined that I was in a chariot of my people

in my mind/heart I was suddenly riding in a chariot of my people

Use a natural way in your language to describe an event that someone imagines. Many languages have idioms to describe this type of imagined event. For example:

I found myself in the royal chariot with my beloved.

among the royal chariots: A “chariot” was a cart with two-wheels. The cart was partly open and partly enclosed and was pulled by a horse or horses. The driver and passenger stood in it as they rode. Chariots were used for different purposes in times of peace and also for warfare. Here the chariot that the woman imagined was probably beautiful and decorated. Use an appropriate word or phrase in your language.In Hebrew the plural form of chariot is used, and the NIV also uses that form. However, the author of the Song also used plural forms in other verses where he intended the meaning to be singular. For example, in 1:17 the Hebrew says literally, “beams of our houses,” when it refers to a singular house.

of my people: In Hebrew this phrase literally says: “of-my-people noble.” There are different ways to interpret the phrase that the BSB translates as of my people.

  1. It means “my prince.” For example:

    in a chariot beside my prince. (NRSV) (ESV, NRSV, RSV)

  2. It is used as a proper name, “Amminadib,” as in some ancient Hebrew manuscripts and ancient versions. For example:

    the chariots of Amminadib (NJB) (NJB, NJPS)

  3. Other interpretations include: “among the royal chariots of my people” (BSB, NIV); “in the royal chariot” (NLT); “chariots of my noble people” (GW, NASB); and daughter of my princely people (NET).

Scholars are uncertain about the meaning of the phrase. It is recommended that you follow option (1), which is a fairly literal translation of the Hebrew phrase. You may want to include a footnote to list some of the other possible meanings in options (2) and (3).

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

לֹ֣א יָדַ֔עְתִּי

not I_know

Here the phrase I did not know means “Before I realized it” or “Before I was aware.” If it would be helpful to your readers, you could indicate that explicitly. Alternate translation: [Before I realized it] or [Before I was aware]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

נַפְשִׁ֣⁠י שָׂמַ֔תְ⁠נִי

desire_of,my it,set_me

The phrase my soul put me probably means that the man imagined what follows. If it would be helpful to your readers, you could include this information.

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

מַרְכְּב֖וֹת עַמִּ⁠י־נָדִֽיב

chariots_of of_Ammi-,- my

There are many different views among Bible scholars regarding what this phrase means and what this entire verse means. The UST offers one possible interpretation for what this phrase means. See the section on 6:12 in the chapter 6 introduction for more information about how to translate this difficult verse.

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

    1. OET-LV words
    2. OET-RV words
    3. Strongs
    4. Hebrew word
    5. Hebrew lemma
    6. Role/Morphology
    7. Gloss
    8. CAPS codes
    9. OET tags
    10. OET word #
    1. Not
    2. -
    3. 3835
    5. 405673
    6. S-Tn
    8. S
    9. Y-1014
    10. 283227
    1. I knew
    2. -
    3. 3207
    5. 405674
    6. V-Vqp1cs
    8. -
    9. Y-1014
    10. 283228
    1. desire of my
    2. ≈desire
    3. 5059,1978
    5. 405675,405676
    6. S-Ncbsc,Sp1cs
    8. -
    9. Y-1014
    10. 283229
    1. it set me
    2. it
    3. 8148,1978
    5. 405677,405678
    6. VO-Vqp3fs,Sp1cs
    8. -
    9. Y-1014
    10. 283230
    1. the chariots of
    2. chariots
    3. 4318
    5. 405679
    6. S-Ncfpc
    8. -
    9. Y-1014
    10. 283231
    1. Ammi- -
    2. -
    3. 5847,1978
    5. 405680,405681
    6. S-Ncmsc,Sp1cs
    8. -
    9. Y-1014
    10. 283232
    1. of Ammi-
    2. -
    3. 5129
    5. 405684
    6. S-Aamsa
    8. -
    9. Y-1014
    10. 283235

OET (OET-LV) Not I_knew desire_of_my it_set_me the_chariots_of Ammi-_-[fn] of_Ammi-.

6:12 OSHB exegesis note: WLC has this word divided as עַמִּי

OET (OET-RV) Before I realised it,
 ⇔ my desire had put me among my people’s chariots, a noble.

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 logo mark

◄ ← SNG 6:12 ↑ → ► ║ ©