SNG 5:11 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=none Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

OET (OET-RV) His head is gold, refined gold.
⇔ ≈ His hair is wavy, and black like the raven.

5:11 OSHB note: We agree with both BHS 1997 and BHQ on an unexpected reading.

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 Κεφαλὴ αὐτοῦ χρυσίον κεφὰζ, βόστρυχοι αὐτοῦ ἐλάται, μέλανες ὡς κόραξ.
(Kefalaʸ autou ⱪrusion kefaz, bostruⱪoi autou elatai, melanes hōs korax. )

ULT His head is gold, refined gold;
⇔ his hairs are wavy, black like the raven.

UST His face is beautiful and gleams like gold; he is as precious as purest gold.
⇔ His hair is wavy
⇔ and as black as a raven.

OEB No OEB SNG book available

WEBBE His head is like the purest gold.
⇔ His hair is bushy, black as a raven.

WMBB (Same as above)

MSG ^(10-16)My dear lover glows with health—
  red-blooded, radiant!
He’s one in a million.
  There’s no one quite like him!
My golden one, pure and untarnished,
  with raven black curls tumbling across his shoulders.
His eyes are like doves, soft and bright,
  but deep-set, brimming with meaning, like wells of water.
His face is rugged, his beard smells like sage,
  His voice, his words, warm and reassuring.
Fine muscles ripple beneath his skin,
  quiet and beautiful.
His torso is the work of a sculptor,
  hard and smooth as ivory.
He stands tall, like a cedar,
  strong and deep-rooted,
A rugged mountain of a man,
  aromatic with wood and stone.
His words are kisses, his kisses words.
  Everything about him delights me, thrills me
through and through!
  That’s my lover, that’s my man,
  dear Jerusalem sisters.

NET His head is like the most pure gold.
⇔ His hair is curly – black like a raven.

LSV His head [is] pure gold—fine gold,
His locks flowing, dark as a raven,

FBV His head is like the finest gold[fn], his hair is wavy and black as the raven.

5:11 It is unsure as to what comparison is being made—some believe it is to a bronzed complexion, others to some valued beauty.

T4T His head is beautiful, like [MET] purest gold;
⇔ his hair is wavy
⇔ and as black as [SIM] a raven/crow.

LEB • His head is gold, refined gold; his locks are wavy, black as a raven.

BBE His head is as the most delicate gold; his hair is thick, and black as a raven.

Moff his head is a crown of gold,
⇔ his curls black as the raven,

JPS His head is as the most fine gold, his locks are curled, and black as a raven.

ASV His head is as the most fine gold;
⇔ His locks are bushy, and black as a raven.

DRA His head is as the finest gold: his locks as branches of palm trees, black as a raven.

YLT His head [is] pure gold — fine gold, His locks flowing, dark as a raven,

Drby His head is [as] the finest gold; His locks are flowing, black as the raven;

RV His head is as the most fine gold, his locks are bushy, and black as a raven.

SLT His head purified gold, his locks waving branches, black as a raven.

Wbstr His head is as the most fine gold, his locks are bushy, and black as a raven.

KJB-1769 His head is as the most fine gold, his locks are bushy, and black as a raven.[fn]

5.11 bushy: or, curled

KJB-1611 [fn]His head is as the most fine gold, his locks are bushy, and blacke as a Rauen.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from capitalisation and footnotes)

5:11 Or, curled.

Bshps His head is as the most fine golde, the lockes of his heere are busshed, & blacke as a crowe.
(His head is as the most fine gold, the locks of his hear are busshed, and black as a crow.)

Gnva His head is as fine golde, his lockes curled, and blacke as a rauen.
(His head is as fine gold, his locks curled, and black as a raven. )

Cvdl his heade is the most fyne golde, the lockes of his hayre are bu?shed, browne as the euenynge:
(his head is the most fine gold, the locks of his hair are bu?shed, brown as the evening:)

Wycl His heed is best gold; hise heeris ben as the bowis of palm trees, and ben blake as a crowe.
(His heed is best gold; his hairs been as the boughs of palm trees, and been black as a crow.)

Luth Sein Haupt ist das feinste Gold. Seine Locken sind kraus, schwarz wie ein Rabe.
(Be head is the finest Gold. His lure(n) are curly/frizzy, black as/like a raven.)

ClVg Caput ejus aurum optimum; comæ ejus sicut elatæ palmarum, nigræ quasi corvus.[fn]
(The_head his gold optimum; hair_loss his like elatæ palm_trees, nigræ as_if corvus. )

5.11 Caput ejus aurum optimum. Alia translatio: Crines ejus abietes. Abies, Græce vocatur. Ude hic elate, non Latinum, sed Græcum videtur. Vel caput, id est Divinitas, quia caput Christi Deus Cor. 2.. Comæ ejus, id est, cogitationes ejus sanctæ et rectæ, et tamen stultis despicabiles. Nigræ quasi corvus. Despicabiles mundo, quasi illa clamosa et improba avis. Vel, quasi corvus, ut nulli sacramenta Ecclesiæ committant, donec sibi, vel matri similari videant, vel, quia cum pulchri sunt, se fuisse nigros intelligunt ex natura sua.

5.11 The_head his gold optimum. Alia transfer: Crines his fir_trees. Abies, Greece is_called. Ude this/here elate, not/no Latinum, but Græcum it_seems. Or the_head, that it_is Divinitas, because the_head of_Christ God Cor. 2.. Comæ his, that it_is, thoughts his holy and rectæ, and nevertheless for_fools despicabiles. Nigræ as_if corvus. Despicabiles to_the_world, as_if that clamosa and improba bird. Or, as_if corvus, as none sacraments Assemblies/Churches committant, until to_himself, or mother flourri let_them_see, or, because when/with beautiful are, himself to_have_been nigros they_understand from nature/element his_own.

SOTN SIL Open Translation Notes:

Section 5:2–6:3: At night the woman searched for the man and praised him

Scholars differ about the meaning of this section and how it relates to the rest of the Song. In 5:2–7 the woman told the Jerusalem women that the man came to her door at night but went away. She told them that now she longed to see him and was searching for him. Then she asked them to give him a message if they saw him (5:8). They asked why she was so attracted to him (5:9), and she replied by describing him (5:10–16). Then they asked her where he went (6:1), and she told them that he went down to his garden (6:2–3).

The section contains several interpretation issues:

In 5:2–7 did the woman describe a dream or a real event, or is 5:2–7 a poetic way to describe her feelings and thoughts about the man? The woman described one type of event (probably dreamed or imagined) as she and the man related to each other. The author did not always tell about events in order, and he repeated certain themes to examine them from different points of view. The Song is not a simple story but a poem, and it uses various ways to describe the romantic love.
Section 3:6–5:1 told about the wedding of the man and woman. Does Section 5:2–6:3 tell about a time after they married? Although 3:6–5:1 told about the wedding of the man and woman, 5:2–6:3 may not refer to a time after the wedding. It may describe something they experienced more than once. In other sections also, the man and woman were apart at the beginning but together at the end (as in 1:2–2:7). If 5:2–6:3 refers to a time before their wedding,Some scholars view the whole book, Song of Songs, as a large chiasm. (For example, Dorsey suggests abcdcʹbʹaʹ, (1999, p.200.)) So, the section, 3:6–5:1 is the central and climactic part of the chiasm, and what comes before and after are related to the center, not chronologically but thematically. So, the material both before and after, may be pointing to the grand central climax, the wedding. What follows the wedding, 5:2–8:14, may actually repeat much of the material in 1:2–3:5. Again, this is more of a cyclical rather than chronological way of understanding the book. it describes the woman’s hopes and fears as she imagined her future with the man (as in 3:1–4). The dream might indicate that she feared that he had stopped loving her, but at the end of 6:2–3, she realized that he continued to love her faithfully.Some scholars believe that this section follows chronologically after the wedding. Some of these scholars interpret it as describing a time of conflict for the newly married couple. But the theme of marital conflict does not seem to fit the overall message or tone of the Song.
How should a translator interpret the figures of speech in this section? Some scholars interpret these figures as euphemisms for sexual organs and sexual activity. However, such interpretations may cause a translator to refer more explicitly to sexual matters than is normal or justified in the Song. (For more information, see “Standards for respectful speech and actions in the Song” in POEM 4:1–7.)

Paragraph 5:9–16 The woman described her beloved

In 5:9 the Jerusalem women asked the woman in what ways the man was so much better than other men. In 5:10–16 the woman answered with a poetic description of her beloved that uses many metaphors and hyperbole. Some verses describe the man as though he were a statue.

These verses are similar to 4:1–7 in which the man described the woman’s body. Here in 5:9–16 she described his body. It was rare in ancient Israel for a woman to describe a man’s body in detail like this. In 4:1–7 where the man described the woman, he spoke directly to her. However, in this section where the woman described him, she did not speak directly to him. She spoke to the women of Jerusalem about him.

The description in 5:9–16 has the similar phrases My beloved (5:10) and This is my beloved (5:16) near its beginning and end, forming an inclusio. It also mentions his golden head (5:11) near the beginning and his legs on bases of gold (5:15) near the end. The woman began by describing his head, then the rest of his body, and ended by mentioning his head again. In the description (5:11–16), four of the six verses describe parts of the man’s head (5:11–13, 16), which shows that the woman focused especially on his head. Her description of him may seem strange to modern readers, but she intended her description to show that he was completely desirable.

5:11–15

In 5:11–15 the author gives a series of comparisons, using both metaphors and similes. In 5:11–13 the woman began her specific descriptions of the man by describing his head (hair, cheeks, eyes, and lips). More than any other part of the body, the head represents the whole person and his uniqueness.

5:11a

His head is purest gold;

His head is like pure gold/bronze.
His face shines like the purest gold, and

His head is purest gold: This clause is a metaphor. It indicates that the man’s head is like fine gold in some way. Since 5:11b refers to the man’s black hair, here in 5:11a His head probably refers to the golden skin of his face and neck. The phrase purest gold probably also has a symbolic meaning. It may imply that the man himself is very precious. He is more valuable to her than anyone else.

Some other ways to translate the metaphor in 5:11b are:

His head is like gold, pure gold (NASB)

His head is as beautiful and precious as pure gold

His face is smooth and clean/shining like bronze

purest gold: The Hebrew phrase that the BSB translates as purest gold consists of two different words for gold. Together these two words imply that the gold is very pure and valuable. So the two words can be translated as an emphatic phrase, as in the BSB.

In the OT, gold is frequently used to symbolize beauty, value, or rarity. Here the woman probably used the phrase purest gold as an emphatic way to symbolize the man’s great worth. Here is another way to translate this:

the finest gold (RSV)

5:11b

his hair is wavy and black as a raven.

His hair is wavy, and it is as black as a raven’s.
his wavy/curly hair is as black as a black bird’s feathers.

his hair is wavy: The Hebrew word that the BSB translates as wavy occurs only here in the OT. There are two ways to interpret it here:

It indicates that the man’s hair is “wavy.” For example:
his hair is wavy (NIV) (BSB, CEV, ESV, GW, NCV, NET, NIV, NJPS, NLT, RSV, GNT)
It indicates that his hair is like “buds or fronds of a palm tree.” For example:
his locks are like palm-fronds (REB) (NJB, REB)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), along with most English versions.

wavy: The word that the BSB translates as wavy refers here to curves or curls in the man’s hair. His hair was not straight, but the strands of hair curved gently on his head.

black as a raven: A raven is a certain large black bird. The man’s hair was just as black as the feathers of a raven. Black hair was considered to be beautiful. The contrast between the gold of the man’s face and neck and his black hair made him especially handsome.

The author mentioned a raven here because it is very black. In some languages people may dislike ravens. They may think that they bring bad luck or that they do other bad things. If that is true in your language, you may want to substitute another bird, animal or something else that is known in your area for its blackness.

raven: A raven is a large black bird that is part of the crow family. See the picture above.

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

רֹאשׁ֖⁠וֹ כֶּ֣תֶם פָּ֑ז

his/its=head gold_of refined_gold

Here the woman is speaking of the man’s head as if it were gold. Because she speaks of the appearance of the man’s hair in the following line, she probably intends in this line to refer to his face. The phrase refined gold indicates that the gold is very valuable. By saying that the man’s head is gold, refined gold, she is probably indicating that he is special and has great worth. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [His head is like gold that is refined] or [His face is beautiful and gleams like gold. He is precious and valuable like refined gold] or [His face gleams. He is precious and valuable]

Note 2 topic: translate-unknown

שְׁחֹר֖וֹת כָּ⁠עוֹרֵֽב

black like,raven

A raven is a large bird with dark black feathers. Ravens are as big as some hawks and are similar in color and appearance to crows but larger. If your readers would not be familiar with this type of bird, you could use the name of a similar bird in your area or you could use a more general term. Alternate translation: [black like a bird with dark black feathers] or [black like a dark black bird]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / simile

קְוּצּוֹתָי⁠ו֙ תַּלְתַּלִּ֔ים שְׁחֹר֖וֹת כָּ⁠עוֹרֵֽב

locks_of,his wavy black like,raven

The writer is stating that the color of the man’s hair is dark black like the raven. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state that explicitly. Alternate translation: [his hair is wavy and dark black]

Parallel SNG 5:11

Section 5:2–6:3: At night the woman searched for the man and praised him

Paragraph 5:9–16 The woman described her beloved

5:11–15

5:11a

5:11b