SNG 5:4 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) ⇔ My dearest stretched out his hand through the hole
⇔ and my stomach tightened when I saw him.

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 Ἀδελφιδός μου ἀπέστειλε χεῖρα αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ τῆς ὀπῆς, καὶ ἡ κοιλία μου ἐθροήθη ἐπʼ αὐτόν.
(Adelfidos mou apesteile ⱪeira autou apo taʸs opaʸs, kai haʸ koilia mou ethroaʸthaʸ epʼ auton. )

BrTr My kinsman put forth his hand by the hole of the door, and my belly was moved for him.

ULT My beloved stretched out his hand through the hole
⇔ and my belly roared concerning him.

UST The man I love put his hand through the opening in the door,
⇔ and I was thrilled in my inner being that he was there.

OEB No OEB SNG book available

WEBBE My beloved thrust his hand in through the latch opening.
⇔ My heart pounded for him.

WMBB (Same as above)

NET My lover thrust his hand through the hole,
⇔ and my feelings were stirred for him.

LSV My beloved sent his hand from the network,
And my bowels were moved for him.

FBV My love thrust his hand into the opening. Deep inside I longed for him.

T4T The one who loves me put his hand through the opening in the wall,
⇔ and I was thrilled that he was there.

LEB • My beloved thrust his hand into the opening, and my inmost yearned for him.

BBE My loved one put his hand on the door, and my heart was moved for him.

Moff Then my darling put his hand in
⇔ his right hand at the door
⇔ and my heart yearned for him
⇔ how my soul fainted when I heard him!

JPS My beloved put in his hand by the hole of the door, and my heart was moved for him.

ASV My beloved put in his hand by the hole of the door,
⇔ And my heart was moved for him.

DRA My beloved put his hand through the key hole, and my bowels were moved at his touch.

YLT My beloved sent his hand from the net-work, And my bowels were moved for him.

Drby My beloved put in his hand by the hole [of the door]; And my bowels yearned for him.

RV My beloved put in his hand by the hole of the door, and my heart was moved for him.

SLT My beloved sent his hand from the hole, and my bowels were disquieted for him.

Wbstr My beloved put in his hand by the hole of the door , and my bowels were moved for him.

KJB-1769 My beloved put in his hand by the hole of the door, and my bowels were moved for him.[fn]

5.4 for him: or, (as some read) in me

KJB-1611 [fn]My beloued put in his hand by the hole of the dore, and my bowels were moued for him.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from marking of added words (and possibly capitalisation and punctuation and footnotes))

5:4 Or, (as some read) in me.

Bshps My loue put in his hande at the hole, and my heart was moued within me.
(My love put in his hand at the hole, and my heart was moved within me.)

Gnva My welbeloued put in his hand by the hole of the doore, and mine heart was affectioned toward him.
(My well-beloved put in his hand by the hole of the door, and mine heart was affectioned toward him. )

Cvdl But whan my loue put in his hande at the hole, my hert was moued towarde him:
(But when my love put in his hand at the hole, my heart was moved toward him:)

Wycl Mi derlyng putte his hond bi an hoole; and my wombe tremblide at the touchyng therof.
(My darling put his hand by an whole; and my womb trembled at the touching thereof.)

Luth Aber mein Freund steckte seine Hand durchs Loch, und mein Leib erzitterte davor.
(But my friend stuck/put his hand through Loch, and my body trembled before_that.)

ClVg Dilectus meus misit manum suam per foramen, et venter meus intremuit ad tactum ejus.[fn]
(Beloved mine he_sent hand his_own through foramen, and belly mine he_shuddered to touch his. )

5.4 Dilectus meus. Ecclesia timente casum, quia Dominus amorem erga se nostrum, in proximorum maximo amore vult cognosci, apte subditur: Dilectus meus, quasi: Pertimesco quidem sæculi conversationem; sed intelligo, quod charitas operit multitudinem peccatorum; et confido in dilecti mei auxilio, a quo jam sunt compuncta corda eorum. Manum suam. Operantem compunctionem, vel, ad memoriam nostram reduxit operationem, quam operatus est in nobis, quia nullius egens, de sinu patris egrediens, in terra pro nobis conversari voluit. Manum suam mittit, cum virtute sua animum per subtilem intellectum pulsat. Et venter. Potest per ventrem intelligi mollities et fragilitas illorum qui prædicationis officium suscipiunt, quia se minus idoneos recognoscunt, et timent. Venter. Id est molles et fluxa pars inter nos; vel, ventris nomine cor designatur, qui sicut cibi in ventre, ita cogitationes in corde excoquuntur. Cor contremiscit, si facere recusat pro proximis, quod Deus fecit pro inimicis. Et venter intremiscit, quia infirmitas gaudens de cœlesti intellectu in sua exsultatione turbatur, et timet ne perdat, quod tenere nescit.

5.4 Beloved mine. Assembly/Church they_are_afraide accident, because Master love towards himself our, in/into/on of_neighbours maximo with_love wants cognosci, apte is_added: Beloved mine, as_if: Pertimesco indeed of_the_world/of_the_ages conversation; but intelligo, that charity covers multitude of_sins/sinners; and confido in/into/on beloved my/mine help(v), from where already are compuncta hearts their. Hand his_own. Operantem compunctionem, or, to memory ours reduxit operation, how worked it_is in/into/on us, because nobody's egens, from/about pocket of_the_father going_out, in/into/on earth/land for us to_behave wanted. Hand his_own sends, when/with by_virtue his_own mind through subtilem understanding pulsat. And belly. Can through belly to_be_understood softensies and fragilitas of_them who/which preaching office they_undertake, because himself minus idoneos recognoscunt, and they_are_afraid. Belly. That it_is molles and fluxa part between us; or, belly by_name heart is_designated, who/which like food in/into/on belly, so/thus thoughts in/into/on heart excoquuntur. Heart contremiscit, when/but_if to_do recusat for next_to, that God he_did for enemies. And belly meanwhileiscit, because weakness gaudens from/about heavenly with_understanding in/into/on his_own with_exultation/elation turbatur, and he_is_afraid not destroy, that to_hold doesn't_know.

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s 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 5:2–8 The woman spoke to the women of Jerusalem

There are different ways to interpret what the woman said in 5:2–8:

She told about something that she dreamed or imagined. She described her feelings for the man in a poetic way.
She told what happened when the man actually came to her. She was sleeping, but she woke up when she heard him knocking on her door.

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). The verses probably describe something that the woman dreamed or imagined, since some of the descriptions seem unreal or dreamlike. They are a poetic way to express the woman’s feelings for the man.

Does 5:2–8 describe sexual relations between the woman and man?

There are two views about whether 5:2–8 implies that they had sexual relations:

The verses indicate romantic feelings, but they do not describe sexual relations between the man and woman. He stood outside her house knocking, but she was already in bed. She delayed in opening her door, and he left before she opened it.
The verses have a double meaning.For example, in 5:4 they interpret the man’s “hand” and the door “latch” (literally “hole” in Hebrew) as referring to male and female sexual organs. Pope and some other modern commentators follow this view. The man was outside the room knocking on the door. He was also outside the woman’s body, wanting to enter and have sexual relations with her.

It is recommended that you follow option (1), which is followed by many reliable commentaries.See, for example, Assis, Barbiero, Bloch and Bloch, Davidson, Delitzsch, Elliott, Estes, Fox, Ginsburg, Gordis, Hess, Mitchell, and Murphy. Michael Fox argues that this view spoils the true romantic impact and beauty of the book (Fox, pages 144–145). The text indicates that the man did not come inside the woman’s house, but he left before she could open the door.

Common themes

This section has similar themes (motifs) that were part of earlier sections. You should translate such themes in a similar way throughout the book. This helps readers understand the unity of the Song. For example, as in 3:1–4, also here in 5:2–8, the author told about the woman having a dream and searching for her beloved in the town at night. Also, in 2:8–14, the young man stood outside the woman’s house, but she was inside behind a locked door. This theme of the woman being hard to reach is also found in 2:9; 2:14; 4:8; and 4:12.

5:4a

My beloved put his hand to the latch;

My beloved put his hand through the opening in the door,
Then my love’s hand reached in through a hole in the door, trying to open it,

My beloved put his hand to the latch: In this clause the woman implied that she could hear the man put his hand into the latch to try to open the door. The Hebrew phrase that the BSB translates as put his hand to means “to stretch out his hand.” But here in 5:4 it is used with a Hebrew wordThe preposition min (often translated “from”) is used here. which probably indicates that he put his hand through (something). (For more details, see the next note on the word latch.)

Some ways to translate the clause are:

Imply that the man put his hand through an opening. For example:
My love thrust his hand through the hole in the door… (NJB)
Then my darling’s hand reached to open the latch… (CEV)
Use a phrase with a more general meaning. For example:
My lover tried to unlatch the door (NLT)
The one I love tried to use his hand to open the door.

latch: The Hebrew word that the BSB translates as latch is literally “hole.” It implies that there was an opening in the door. A person could reach through it to open the door. The GW calls this opening a “keyhole.” However, it was larger than many modern keyholes, since a person could put his hand through it.

5:4b

my heart pounded for him.

and then I was filled/overcome with desire for him.
and I became excited by my love for him.

my heart pounded for him: This phrase is a figure of speech. It tells the woman’s response when she heard the man trying to open the door (5:4a). She longed for his love, and she urgently wanted to be with him. The phrase may also imply that her sexual desires were aroused.

In some languages people do not talk about the heart when they refer to romantic feelings. Languages have different ways to refer to such feelings, and some languages use a figure of speech. It is important to use a natural way in your language. Some other ways to translate the phrase are:

I longed for him.

I was filled with desire for him.

my inmost being yearned for him (NRSV)

I was thrilled that he was near (GNT)

Parallel SNG 5:4

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

Paragraph 5:2–8 The woman spoke to the women of Jerusalem

5:4a

5:4b