SNG 2:2 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=none Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

Key: .
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 Ὡς κρίνον ἐν μέσῳ ἀκανθῶν, οὕτως ἡ πλησίον μου ἀναμέσον τῶν θυγατέρων.
(Hōs krinon en mesōi akanthōn, houtōs haʸ plaʸsion mou anameson tōn thugaterōn. )

ULT Like a lily among thorns,
⇔ so is my darling among the daughters.
⇔ 

UST Among all the other young women,
⇔ you, my dear one, are like a lily growing among thorns!

OEB No OEB SNG book available

CSB Like a lily among thorns, so is my darling among the young women. Woman

NLT Like a lily among thistles is my darling among young women. Young Woman

NIV Like a lily among thorns is my darling among the young women.

CEV My darling, when compared with other young women, you are a lily among thorns.

ESV As a lily among brambles, so is my love among the young women.

NASB “Like a lily among the thorns, So is my darling among the maidens.”

LSB “Like a lily among the thorns, So is my darling among the daughters.”

WEBBE As a lily amongst thorns,
⇔ so is my love amongst the daughters.

WMBB (Same as above)

MSG The Man A lotus blossoming in a swamp of weeds—
that’s my dear friend among the girls in the village.

NET Like a lily among the thorns,
⇔ so is my darling among the maidens.

LSV So [is] my friend among the daughters!

FBV Just as a lily stands out among the brambles, so you, my darling, stand out among other women.

T4T Among the other young women,
⇔ the one whom I love is like [MET] a lily growing among thorns!

LEB • Like a lily among the thorns,[fn] so is my love among the maidens.

2:? Or “brambles”

NRSV As a lily among brambles, so is my love among maidens.

NKJV Like a lily among thorns, So is my love among the daughters.

NAB Like a lily among thorns, so is my friend among women.

BBE As the lily-flower among the thorns of the waste, so is my love among the daughters.

Moff “Like a lily among briars,
⇔ so is my dear among women!”

JPS As a lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters.

ASV ⇔ As a lily among thorns,
⇔ So is my love among the daughters.

DRA As the lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters.

YLT So [is] my friend among the daughters!

Drby As the lily among thorns, So is my love among the daughters.

RV As a lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters.

SLT As the lily between thorns, so is my friend between the daughters.

Wbstr As the lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters.

KJB-1769 As the lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters.

KJB-1611 As the lillie among thornes, so is my loue among the daughters.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above)

Bshps As the lillie among the thornes: so is my loue among the daughters.
(As the lily among the thorns: so is my love among the daughters.)

Gnva Like a lilie amog the thornes, so is my loue among the daughters.
(Like a lily among the thorns, so is my love among the daughters. )

Cvdl as the rose amonge the thornes, so is my loue amonge the daughters.
(as the rose among the thorns, so is my love among the daughters.)

Wycl As a lilie among thornes, so is my frendesse among douytris.
(As a lily among thorns, so is my friends among daughters.)

Luth Wie eine Rose unter den Dornen, so ist meine Freundin unter den Töchtern.
(How a/one rose(n) under the thorns, so is my girlfriend under the daughters.)

ClVg Sponsus Sicut lilium inter spinas, sic amica mea inter filias.[fn]
(The_spouse Like lily between thorns/spines, so girlfriend my between daughters. )

2.2 Sicut lilium. Laudato se, laudat sponsam, ita: Sicut lilium non potest spinis comparari, inter quas sæpe exoritur: eodem modo proxima mea super omnes filias lilium est. Sicut lilium. Tu requiem quæris et laudes lectuli: sed scito quia candidior tribulationum aculeis efficieris, et major est fructus prædicationis quam quietis. Sic amica mea. GREG. In Ecclesia nec mali sine bonis, nec boni sine malis esse possunt: bonus non fuit, qui malos tolerare non potuit. Adversarum hæresum dogmatibus ejus integritas tanquam spinis pungitur, ut contra hostes suos vigilans exerceatur, donec eminens, tanquam lilium, in capite sponsi sui, candore ipso decoretur.

2.2 Like lily. Praiseto himself, praises bride, so/thus: Like lily not/no can spinis comparari, between which often exoritur: the_same just/only next my over everyone daughters lily it_is. Like lily. You(sg) rest/repose whichris and praises lectuli: but he_knowso because whiteor tribulationum aculeis efficieris, and major/greater it_is fruit preaching how quiet. So girlfriend my. GREG. In Assembly/Church but_not evil without good, but_not good without bad_things to_be they_can: good/kind/gracious not/no it_was, who/which I_prefers tolerare not/no could. Adversarum heirum dogmatibus his integritas as_if spinis pungitur, as on_the_contrary enemies his_own vigilans exerceatur, until eminens, as_if lily, in/into/on head grooms self, candore himself beautifully/gracefullytur.

SOTN SIL Open Translation Notes:

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.”

Paragraph 2:1–7 The man and woman praised each other

Lines 2:1–7 are the end of the first poetic section in the Song. In them, the man and woman praised each other. He brought her to his banquet room and embraced her. In 2:7 she cautioned the women of Jerusalem not to awaken love before the right time.

2:2a

Like a lily among the thorns

Just like a pretty lily among thorns,
You^(sing) are like a beautiful flower surrounded by thorns,

2:2b

is my darling among the maidens.

so is my girl among the other girls.
when you^(sing) are with the other young women.

2:2a–b

Like a lily among the thorns is my darling among the maidens: In 2:1 the woman compared herself to a common lily among many other lilies (pretty girls). Here in 2:2 the man agreed that she was like a lily. But he added that other women were like thorns compared to her. Thorns are ugly, and a lily is beautiful. The man used this contrast to emphasize that the woman was much more beautiful than other women.

In some cultures people are not familiar with lilies or with thorns. If that is true in your culture, some other ways to translate the comparison are:

Use a plant that people in your culture consider beautiful and contrast it with one that they consider ugly. For example:
Like a daisy in a field of pigweed, my love is much more beautiful than other girls.
Use a more general comparison. For example:
My beloved is like a lovely flower among ugly weeds.

maidens: The word maidens probably refers to other young women in general. The Hebrew text has “the maidens,” but it refers here to any women that the man’s beloved might be compared to.Garrett (page 149) says, “He declares that, compared to all other young women, she is a lotus among thorns.” Pope (page 370) also indicates that the author refers to “women in general” here. Use a natural way in your language to refer to women or young women in general.

General Comment on 2:2

In some languages, it may be clearer to reorder 2:2. It may also be helpful to indicate explicitly that it is a comparison. For example:

^2bYes, compared to other women, ^2amy beloved is like a lily among thorns. (NLT96)

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / simile

כְּ⁠שֽׁוֹשַׁנָּה֙ בֵּ֣ין הַ⁠חוֹחִ֔ים כֵּ֥ן רַעְיָתִ֖⁠י בֵּ֥ין הַ⁠בָּנֽוֹת

like,a_lily between the,thornbushes yes/correct/thus/so friend_of,my between the,daughters

The man is saying that the woman he loves is like a lily among thorns. The idea is that just as a lily is much more beautiful than thorns, so the woman he loves is much more beautiful than the other young women. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state this explicitly. Alternate translation: [You, my darling, are much more beautiful than all other women]

Note 2 topic: translate-unknown

כְּ⁠שֽׁוֹשַׁנָּה֙

like,a_lily

See how you translated the word lily in [2:1](../02/01.md).

רַעְיָתִ֖⁠י

friend_of,my

See how you translated the phrase my darling in [1:9](../01/09.md).

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

הַ⁠בָּנֽוֹת

the,daughters