SNG 6:9 Interlinear View

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. אַחַת
2. 405603
3. +is one
4. -
5. 259
6. P-Acfsa
7. [is]_one
8. S
9. Y-1014
10. 283180
1. הִיא
2. 405604
3. she
4. -
5. 1931
6. S-Pp3fs
7. she
8. -
9. Y-1014
10. 283181
1. יוֹנָתִ,י
2. 405605,405606
3. dove of my
4. dove
5. 3123
6. S-Ncfsc,Sp1cs
7. dove_of,my
8. -
9. Y-1014
10. 283182
1. תַמָּתִ,י
2. 405607,405608
3. my perfect of one
4. -
5. 8535
6. S-Aafsc,Sp1cs
7. my_perfect_of,[one]
8. -
9. Y-1014
10. 283183
1. אַחַת
2. 405609
3. +is one daughter
4. -
5. 259
6. P-Acfsa
7. [is]_one_[daughter]
8. -
9. Y-1014
10. 283184
1. הִיא
2. 405610
3. she
4. -
5. 1931
6. S-Pp3fs
7. she
8. -
9. Y-1014
10. 283185
1. לְ,אִמָּ,הּ
2. 405611,405612,405613
3. of mother of her
4. mother
5. 517
6. S-R,Ncfsc,Sp3fs
7. of,mother_of,her
8. -
9. Y-1014
10. 283186
1. בָּרָה
2. 405614
3. +is a pure daughter
4. -
5. 1249
6. P-Aafsa
7. [is]_a_pure_[daughter]
8. -
9. Y-1014
10. 283187
1. הִיא
2. 405615
3. she
4. -
5. 1931
6. S-Pp3fs
7. she
8. -
9. Y-1014
10. 283188
1. לְ,יוֹלַדְתָּ,הּ
2. 405616,405617,405618
3. of the one of who bore her
4. -
5. 3205
6. S-R,Vqrfsc,Sp3fs
7. of,the_[one_of,who]_bore_her
8. -
9. Y-1014
10. 283189
1. רָאוּ,הָ
2. 405619,405620
3. they saw her
4. saw
5. 7200
6. VO-Vqp3cp,Sp3fs
7. they,saw_her
8. -
9. Y-1014
10. 283190
1. בָנוֹת
2. 405621
3. daughters
4. women
5. 1323
6. S-Ncfpa
7. daughters
8. -
9. Y-1014
10. 283191
1. וַֽ,יְאַשְּׁרוּ,הָ
2. 405622,405623,405624
3. and they called her blessed
4. called blessed
5. 833
6. VO-C,Vpw3mp,Sp3fs
7. and,they,called_her_blessed
8. -
9. Y-1014
10. 283192
1. מְלָכוֹת
2. 405625
3. queens
4. queens
5. 4436
6. S-Ncfpa
7. queens
8. -
9. Y-1014
10. 283193
1. וּ,פִילַגְשִׁים
2. 405626,405627
3. and concubines
4. concubines
5. 6370
6. S-C,Ncfpa
7. and,concubines
8. -
9. Y-1014
10. 283194
1. וַֽ,יְהַלְלוּ,הָ
2. 405628,405629,405630
3. and they praised her
4. praised
6. VO-C,Vpw3mp,Sp3fs
7. and,they,praised_her
8. -
9. Y-1014
10. 283195
2. 405631
3. -
4. -
6. -x-sof-pasuq
8. -
9. -
10. 283196
2. 405632
3. -
4. -
6. -x-samekh
8. S
9. -
10. 283197

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 6:4–10 The man described the woman

In 6:4–10, the man spoke to the woman. In 6:4–7, he spoke directly to her with forms like “you” and “your.” But in 6:8–10, he spoke about her, using forms like “she” and “her.” In 6:10 the man probably quoted what the other women said to praise her beauty.

This section begins and ends with the same phrase. The BSB translates the phrase in 6:4c as “as majestic as troops with banners,” and in 6:10 it repeats this phrase. However, the context is different, so scholars are not certain whether the meaning of the phrase is the same or different in the two verses. The notes for 6:10 will discuss this issue.

In 6:4–10 the man sang his second praise song to describe the woman. This song is similar in some ways to his first praise song in 4:1–5, and it repeats some portions of that song. However, here his words seem less intimate. In 4:9 the man indicated that she is superior to all other women.

6:9a

but my dove, my perfect one, is unique,

I would still want only one woman, my dove and perfect one.

but my dove, my perfect one, is unique: In the previous verse the man compared his beloved with many other women. Here he declared that there was no other woman as beautiful as his beloved. She was unique. Some other ways to translate this statement are:

There is only one for me. She is like a gentle dove, and she is perfect.

But no one is like my perfect dove.

You would be my only choice, my flawless dove. (CEV)

For me, there is only one woman in the world. She is like a perfect dove.

my dove: The phrase my dove is an affectionate nickname for the woman. A dove is a beautiful and gentle bird that was a symbol for love. The phrase was also used in 2:14, where the man spoke directly to the woman. For more information, see the Notes on 2:14a–b.

my perfect one: The expression my perfect one is also found in 5:2. The meaning is also similar to 4:7, “You are all fair my love, there is no flaw in you.” It indicates that the woman was so beautiful that she seemed perfect to the man. To him, she seemed to have no defect or flaw. Translate this phrase in the same way as you did in 5:2.

is unique: Here the BSB uses the phrase is unique to translate the word that means “one” in Hebrew. In this context it indicates that there was no one like the woman. Here is another way to translate this:

is unique (NIV)

For more translation examples, see the first note on 6:9a.

6:9b

the favorite of the mother who bore her.

especially dear to the one who gave birth to her.
and her mother has special love for her.

the favorite of the mother: The Hebrew phrase that the BSB translates as the favorite of the mother is literally “one she to her mother.” There are different ways to interpret this phrase:

She is her mother’s favorite daughter. For example:
She is the special daughter of her mother… (NET) (BSB, CEV, GW, NET, NJB, NLT, RSV)
She is the only daughter or child of her mother. For example:
the only daughter of her mother… (NIV) (NASB, NCV, NIV, REB, GNT)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1).It is not clear which interpretation ESV or NJPS follow since they translate this literally. In this context, being an only daughter is not in focus. It is more significant that her mother considered her special and unique. Its meaning is similar to the way the author used the word “one” in 6:9a to mean “unique.”

who bore her: The Hebrew word that the BSB translates as bore means “gave birth to.” In some languages it may be more natural to refer back to her mother in a different way, as in the Display.

6:9c-d

In 6:8 the man compared the woman’s beauty to three groups of women in the royal court: queens, concubines, and maidens. Here in 6:9c–d, those same three groups of women also praised the woman. Here he began with the maidens before mentioning the queens and concubines:

^9dThe maidens see her and call her blessed

^9ethe queens and concubines sing her praises

Notice that the two lines, 6:9d and 6:9e, are parallel. The two phrases call her blessed and sing her praises have similar meanings.

6:9c

The maidens see her and call her blessed;

The young women saw her and called her fortunate.
Girls have seen her and proclaim her blessed. (NJB)

The maidens see her and call her blessed: The Hebrew word that the BSB translates as maidens is literally “daughters.” However, here it refers to the same women as in 6:8, where they were called “maidens.” Other ways to translate this phrase are:

The maidens saw her and complimented her… (NET)

Girls have seen her and proclaimed her blessed… (NJB)

6:9d

the queens and concubines sing her praises.

The primary wives and the secondary wives of the king also saw her and praised her, saying,
The kings’ wives and the women who served the king saw her and praised her. They said,

the queens and concubines sing her praises: The phrase the queens and concubines indicates that they also saw the woman, just as the maidens did (6:9c). In some languages it is necessary to make it explicit that queens and concubines saw her. For example:

The queens and concubines also see her, and sing her praises.

(See 6:8a and 6:8b for a discussion of queens and concubines.)

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

אַחַ֥ת הִיא֙

one(fs) she/it

Here the phrase One is she means “She is special” (the number One is used in contrast to the large numbers of other women described in the previous verse). If it would be helpful to your readers, you could include this information. Alternate translation: [She is special] or [She is unique] or [She is special in comparison to other women]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

יוֹנָתִ֣⁠י תַמָּתִ֔⁠י

dove_of,my my_perfect_of,[one]

See how you translated the phrases my dove and my perfect one in [5:2](../05/02.md).

אַחַ֥ת הִיא֙ לְ⁠אִמָּ֔⁠הּ

one(fs) she/it one(fs) she/it of,mother_of,her

The phrase one is she to her mother could mean: (1) that the woman the man loves is special to her mother (in contrast to the large numbers of other women described in the previous verse). Alternate translation: [she is special to her mother] or [her mother thinks she is special] or [her mother thinks she is unique] (2) that the woman was the only child or the only daughter of her mother. Alternate translation: [she is the only child of her mother] or [her mother’s only daughter]

בָּרָ֥ה הִ֖יא לְ⁠יֽוֹלַדְתָּ֑⁠הּ

favourite she/it of,the_[one_of,who]_bore_her

The phrase pure is she to the woman who bore her could mean: (1) that the woman was her mother’s favorite child or favorite daughter. Alternate translation: [the favorite child of the woman who bore her] or [the favorite daughter of the woman who bore her] (2) that the woman was pure or flawless in some way. Alternate translation: [flawless is she to the woman who bore her]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / parallelism

אַחַ֥ת הִיא֙ לְ⁠אִמָּ֔⁠הּ בָּרָ֥ה הִ֖יא לְ⁠יֽוֹלַדְתָּ֑⁠הּ

one(fs) she/it one(fs) she/it of,mother_of,her favourite she/it of,the_[one_of,who]_bore_her

If you decided that one means “special” here and that pure means “favorite” then these two lines are parallel and mean basically the same thing. The second line emphasizes the meaning of the first by repeating the same idea with different words. Hebrew poetry was based on this kind of repetition. It would be good to show this to your readers by including both phrases in your translation rather than combining them. However, if it would be helpful to your readers, you could combine these two lines into one. Alternate translation: [her mother thinks that she is very special] or [she is very special to her mother]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

בָנוֹת֙

maidens

Here the word daughters could refer to: (1) the “marriageable women” in the previous verse. Alternate translation: [The marriageable women] or [The young women of the kings court] (2) young women in general, possibly “the daughters of Jerusalem” mentioned several times earlier in the book. Alternate translation: [The young women]

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

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 6:9

Hebrew word order