SNG 2:11 Parallel Verse View

Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible—click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed as a tool for doing comparisons of different translations—the older translations are further down the page (so you can read up from the bottom to trace the English translation history). The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible—please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.

Text critical issues=small word differences Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

OET (OET-RV) because, look, the winter is over.
⇔ The rain has passed—
⇔ ≈ it went away.

2:11 OSHB variant note: ה/סתו: (x-qere) ’הַ/סְּתָ֖יו’: lemma_d/5638 n_1.0 morph_HTd/Ncmsa id_22ibe הַ/סְּתָ֖יו

Key: khaki:verbs.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the OET-RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).

BrLXX Ὅτι ἰδοὺ ὁ χειμὼν παρῆλθεν, ὁ ὑετὸς ἀπῆλθεν, ἐπορεύθη ἑαυτῷ.
(Hoti idou ho ⱪeimōn paraʸlthen, ho huetos apaʸlthen, eporeuthaʸ heautōi. )

ULT for, behold, the winter has gone;
⇔ the rain has passed;
⇔ it went away.

OEB No OEB SNG book available

WEBBE For behold, the winter is past.
⇔ The rain is over and gone.

WMBB (Same as above)

NET Look! The winter has passed,
⇔ the winter rains are over and gone.

LSV For behold, the winter has passed by,
The rain has passed away—it has gone.

FBV Winter has finished; the rains are over and gone.

T4T Look, the ◄winter/cold season► is ended;
⇔ the rain has stopped;

LEB • For look! The winter is over; the rainy season[fn] has turned and gone away .[fn]

2:? Literally “the rain”

2:? Literally “is over; it is gone”

BBE For, see, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone;

Moff For winter is over,
⇔ the rains are by,

JPS For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone;

ASV For, lo, the winter is past;
⇔ The rain is over and gone;

DRA For winter is now past, the rain is over and gone.

YLT For lo, the winter hath passed by, The rain hath passed away — it hath gone.

Drby For behold, the winter is past, The rain is over, it is gone:

RV For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone;

SLT For behold, the winter passed away, the rain glided away; it went for itself.

Wbstr For lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone.

KJB-1769 For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone;

KJB-1611 For loe, the winter is past, the raine is ouer, and gone.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from punctuation)

Bshps My beloued aunswered and sayd vnto me: O stande vp my loue, my beautifull, and go to thyne owne: for lo the winter is nowe past, the rayne is away and gone.
(My beloved answered and said unto me: Oh stand up my love, my beautiful, and go to thine/your own: for lo the winter is now past, the rain is away and gone.)

Gnva For beholde, winter is past: the raine is changed, and is gone away.
(For behold, winter is past: the rain is changed, and is gone away. )

Cvdl for lo, the wynter is now past, the rayne is awaie & gone.
(for lo, the winter is now past, the rain is away and gone.)

Wycl for wyntir is passid now, reyn is goon, and is departid awei.
(for winter is passed now, rain is gone, and is departed away.)

Luth Denn siehe, der Winter ist vergangen, der Regen ist weg und dahin;
(Because see/look, the/of_the Winter is past, the/of_the Regen is away/gone and gone;)

ClVg jam enim hiems transiit; imber abiit, et recessit.[fn]
(already because winter/storm he_passed; the_rain he_went/is_gone, and he_retired. )

2.11 Imber abiit. Ego a mortuis resurgens, tempestate compressa tranquillitatem reddidi. Modo facilius est prædicare, cum quidam jam conversi sint, quam prius, cum nullus adhuc crediderat.

2.11 Imber he_went/is_gone. I from dead resurgens, in_the_storm compressa tranquillitatem I_returned. Modo easier it_is to_preach, when/with some already converted let_them_be, how first/before, when/with none still crediderat.

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 2:8–3:5: The man called the woman, but later she could not find him

The author began this scene at a different place and time from the ending of the preceding section (1:1–2:7). At the end of that section, the woman and man were together, but at the beginning of this section (2:8) the woman was in her room at home, and the man was coming to her over the hills.

There are two poems in Section 2:8–3:5. In the first poem (2:8–17) the man came and stood outside the woman’s room. She quoted what he said as he invited her to come out with him and enjoy a beautiful spring day. The second poem (3:1–5) describes a time when the woman searched for her beloved at night. This second poem has much in common with Section 5:2–6:3. See the discussion of similarities at the beginning of that section.

Both parts of this section (2:8–17 and 3:1–5) may describe what the woman imagined or what she dreamed. The descriptions may not refer to actual events in the poem.

Paragraph 2:8–17

This beautiful poem (2:8–17) describes springtime. In springtime, new plants begin to grow, flowers bloom, and fruit trees begin to blossom. In these lines springtime symbolizes that love was growing between the woman and the man. The woman first spoke to herself, but then she quoted the man as he invited her to come out of her house and go away with him.

This poem begins and ends in a similar way. At the beginning (2:8–9) the man came to the woman over the mountains like a gazelle or stag. At the end (2:17) he again roamed on the mountains like a gazelle or stag.

In these lines the woman spoke. However, from 2:10b through 2:14 she quoted what the man said. Then she continued speaking in 2:15–17.

2:11–13

In these verses the man spoke about the beautiful season of springtime after the cold time ended. The plants were growing again and were fruitful. He implied to the woman that it was also the season for their love to grow. It was the “time of singing,” and he wanted her to come with him.

Notice that 2:13d is exactly the same as 2:10b, making 2:10–13 a chiasm that emphasizes the man’s invitation. Translate 2:10b and 2:13d in the same way in your language.

2:11

The two parts of this verse are parallel to each other. In some languages it may be more natural to combine 2:11a and 2:11b. See the General Comment on 2:11 at the end of the notes for 2:11b for an example.

2:11a

For now the winter is past;

Look^(sing), the winter is past!
The cold season/time is over

For now the winter is past: In this verse the man began to talk about the weather to persuade the woman to come out with him. He implied that in winter she might not want to come out. The winter is the cold time, when many plants die or stop blooming. Animals try to find a covered place to hide from the cold weather. That cold time was over.

Some other ways to translate For now the winter is past are:

for the cold season/time is already over

Look, the cold/bad weather is gone!

For now: The phrase For now introduces the man’s statements in 2:11–13c in an emphatic way. The word that the BSB translates as now indicates that what comes after it is especially important or interesting. Some other ways to translate the phrase are:

for lo (RSV)

For see (NJB)

In some languages it is not necessary to have a word like For because it is already clear that in 2:11–13 the man gave reasons why the woman should come away with him. Here is another way to translate this:

Look! The winter is past. (GW)

In other languages it may also not be natural to use extra emphasis. Here is another way to translate this:

Winter is past (CEV)

Translate the invitation in a way that is natural and poetic in your language.

winter: The Hebrew word that the BSB translates as winter is used only here in the OT. In Palestine, winter is a cold and rainy season of the year, which extends from October to March. Some other ways to translate winter are:

wintertime

rainy season

2:11b

the rain is over and gone.

The rains have ended!
and no more rains will beat/disturb us^(incl).

the rain is over and gone: The clause the rain is over and gone has a similar meaning to “the winter is past” in 2:11a. In Palestine the heavy rains occurred in winter. The man implied that if the woman comes out with him now, she will enjoy nice weather.The author was probably thinking of April or May, early springtime months in the northern hemisphere. Another way to translate the clause is:

the rains have stopped (GNT)

the winter rains are over and gone (NET)

Translate the clause in a way that will appeal to a woman in your culture.

is over and gone: In Hebrew the phrase is over and gone is more literally “it has passed away, it has gone.” Using two verbs adds emphasis to the change of season. The man implied that there was no rain now, so it was fine weather for the woman to join him outside.

In some languages it may be more natural to add emphasis in a different way. For example:

the rains are completely gone.

the rainy time has ended.

General Comment on 2:11

The two clauses in this verse have almost the same meaning. In some languages it may be more natural to combine the clauses. For example:

The cold rainy season has definitely ended.

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

הִנֵּ֥ה

see/lo/see!

The man is using the term behold to focus the woman’s attention on what he is about to say. Your language may have a comparable expression that you could use in your translation. Alternate translation: [see]

Note 2 topic: grammar-connect-logic-result

כִּֽי־הִנֵּ֥ה

that/for/because/then/when see/lo/see!

Here the word for indicates that what follows is a reason for what came before. Use a connector in your language that makes it clear that what follows is a reason for what came before. Alternate translation: [behold, this is because]

Note 3 topic: translate-unknown

ה⁠סתו

the,winter

In Israel, winter is the time of year when it is cold and rains more heavily than during other seasons. If the seasons do not vary much in your location, you could explain this with a general expression such as “the cold season.” Alternate translation: [the cold, rainy season] or [the cold, wet season]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / parallelism

ה⁠סתו עָבָ֑ר הַ⁠גֶּ֕שֶׁם חָלַ֖ף

the,winter past the,rain over

These two phrases mean basically the same thing. The second emphasizes the meaning of the first by repeating the same idea with different words. Hebrew poetry was based on this kind of repetition, and 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 connect the phrases with a word other than “and” in order to show that the second phrase is repeating the first one, not saying something additional. Alternate translation: [the winter has gone; yes, the rain has passed]

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / go

עָבָ֑ר

past

Your language might not say has gone in a context such as this. Alternate translation: [is finished] or [is over]

הָלַ֥ךְ לֽ⁠וֹ

gone to=him/it

Alternate translation: [it has ended] or [it has departed]

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / doublet

חָלַ֖ף הָלַ֥ךְ לֽ⁠וֹ

over gone to=him/it

The terms passed and went away mean similar things. The author is using the two terms together for emphasis. If it would be clearer for your readers, you could express the emphasis with a single phrase. Alternate translation: [is over and gone] or [has gone away]