SNG 6:5 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=minor/spelling Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

6:5 OSHB note: We read one or more accents in L differently from BHQ.

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 Ἀπόστρεψον ὀφθαλμούς σου ἀπεναντίον μου, ὅτι αὐτοὶ ἀνεπτέρωσάν με· τρίχωμά σου ὡς ἀγέλαι τῶν αἰγῶν, αἳ ἀνεφάνησαν ἀπὸ τοῦ Γαλαάδ.
(Apostrepson ofthalmous sou apenantion mou, hoti autoi anepterōsan me; triⱪōma sou hōs agelai tōn aigōn, hai anefanaʸsan apo tou Galaʼad. )

BrTr Turn away thine eyes from before me, for they have ravished me: thy hair is as flocks of goats which have appeared from Galaad.

ULT Turn your eyes away from me,
⇔ because they excite me.
⇔ Your hair is like a flock of goats
⇔ that hop down from Gilead.

UST Stop looking at me like that,
⇔ because your eyes excite me very much.
⇔ Your long black hair moves from side to side like a flock of black goats
⇔ moving down the slopes of Mount Gilead.

OEB No OEB SNG book available

WEBBE Turn away your eyes from me,
⇔ for they have overcome me.
⇔ Your hair is like a flock of goats,
⇔ that lie along the side of Gilead.

WMBB (Same as above)

NET Turn your eyes away from me –
⇔ they overwhelm me!
⇔ Your hair is like a flock of goats
⇔ descending from Mount Gilead.

LSV Turn around your eyes from before me,
Because they have made me proud. Your hair [is] as a row of the goats,
That have shone from Gilead,

FBV Please turn your eyes away from me—they're driving me insane! Your hair flows down like a flock of goats descending Mount Gilead.

T4T Quit looking at me like that,
⇔ because your eyes excite me very much.
⇔ Your long black hair moves from side to side like [SIM] a flock of black goats
⇔ moving down the slopes of Gilead Mountain.

LEB • Turn away your eyes from before me, for they overwhelm me.
• Your hair is like a flock of the goats
• that moves down from Gilead.

BBE Let your eyes be turned away from me; see, they have overcome me; your hair is as a flock of goats which take their rest on the side of Gilead.

Moff ah, turn aside those eyes of yours,
⇔ they daunt me!
⇔ Dark stream the tresses of your hair
⇔ like goats a-down the slopes of Gilead;

JPS Turn away thine eyes from me, for they have overcome me. Thy hair is as a flock of goats, that trail down from Gilead.

ASV Turn away thine eyes from me,
⇔ For they have overcome me.
⇔ Thy hair is as a flock of goats,
⇔ That lie along the side of Gilead.

DRA Thy teeth as a flock of sheep, which come up from the washing, all with twins, and there is none barren among them.

YLT Turn round thine eyes from before me, Because they have made me proud. Thy hair [is] as a row of the goats, That have shone from Gilead,

Drby Turn away thine eyes from me, For they overcome me. Thy hair is as a flock of goats On the slopes of Gilead.

RV Turn away thine eyes from me, for they have overcome me. Thy hair is as a flock of goats, that lie along the side of Gilead.
(Turn away thine/your eyes from me, for they have overcome me. Thy/Your hair is as a flock of goats, that lie along the side of Gilead. )

SLT Turn away thine eyes from before me; they enlarged me: thy hair as a herd of goats which lay down from Gilead.

Wbstr Turn away thy eyes from me, for they have overcome me: thy hair is as a flock of goats that appear from Gilead.

KJB-1769 Turn away thine eyes from me, for they have overcome me: thy hair is as a flock of goats that appear from Gilead.[fn]
(Turn away thine/your eyes from me, for they have overcome me: thy/your hair is as a flock of goats that appear from Gilead. )

6.5 overcome…: or, puffed me up

KJB-1611 [fn]Turne away thine eyes from me, for they haue ouercome me: thy haire is a flocke of goates, that appeare from Gilead.
(Turn away thine/your eyes from me, for they have overcome me: thy/your hair is a flock of goats, that appear from Gilead.)

6:5 Or, they haue puffed me vp.

Bshps Turne away thine eyes from me, for they haue set me on fire: Thy heery lockes are lyke a flocke of goates shorne vpon the mount of Gilead.
(Turn away thine/your eyes from me, for they have set me on fire: Thy/Your hairy locks are like a flock of goats shorn upon the mount of Gilead.)

Gnva Thy teeth are like a flocke of sheepe, which goe vp from the washing, which euery one bring out twinnes, and none is barren among them.
(Thy/Your teeth are like a flock of sheep, which go up from the washing, which every one bring out twins, and none is barren among them. )

Cvdl (Turne awaye thine eyes fro me, for they make me to proude) Thy hayrie lockes are like a flocke of goates vpon ye mount of Galaad.
((Turn away thine/your eyes from me, for they make me to proud) Thy/Your hairy locks are like a flock of goats upon ye/you_all mount of Galaad.)

Wycl Thi teeth as a flok of scheep, that stieden fro waischyng; alle ben with double lambren, `ether twynnes, and no bareyn is among tho. As the rynde of a pumgranate, so ben thi chekis, without thi priuytees.
(Thy/Your teeth as a flock of sheep, that stayed from washing; all been with double lambs, either twins, and no barren is among those. As the rind of a pomegranate, so been thy/your cheeks, without thy/your priuytees.)

Luth Wende deine Augen von mir, denn sie machen mich brünstig. Deine Haare sind wie eine Herde Ziegen, die auf dem Berge Gilead geschoren sind.
(Turn your eyes from to_me, because/than they/she/them make me fervent/on_heat. Your hair are as/like a/one herd goats, the on/in/to to_him mountains/hills Gilead shorn are.)

ClVg Dentes tui sicut grex ovium quæ ascenderunt de lavacro: omnes gemellis fœtibus, et sterilis non est in eis.
(Dentes yours(sg) like flock sheep which they_went_up from/about lavacro: everyone gemellis fœtibus, and barren not/no it_is in/into/on to_them. )

SOTN 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.

6:5a

Turn your eyes away from me,

Look away from me,
Please do not gaze at me.

6:5b

for they have overcome me.

because your beautiful eyes overwhelm me.
I feel weak/helpless when I look into your eyes.

6:5a–b

Turn your eyes away from me, for they have overcome me: In the Song the man often referred to the woman’s eyes (1:15; 4:1; 4:9; 6:5; 7:4). Here he asked the woman not to look directly into his eyes, because that made him feel confused. The sentence is more literally, “Turn your eyes from me which they confuse me.” Her beautiful eyes delighted him, but he could not see their beauty and still think clearly. However, he did not really want her to turn away.

Some other ways to translate 6:5a–b are:

Turn your eyes from me, because they excite me too much. (NCV)

Turn your eyes away from me—I am overcome when you gaze at me!

In some cultures people may not understand the reason for the man’s request. They may think that the woman tried to use spiritual power to enchant him. If that is true in your culture, you should translate in a different way that will not imply that wrong meaning. Other ways to translate it are:

Add implied information to make the meaning clear. For example:
Your eyes confuse me with their beauty. Turn them aside so I can think clearly!
Use a saying or figure of speech that has the same meaning in your own language.

Turn your eyes away from me: This clause implies that the woman was looking directly into the man’s eyes. He asked her not to gaze into his eyes, but at the same time, he did not really want her to look away. He implied that when she looked at him like that, he felt weak from love and desire.

In some languages there may be a special way to express this meaning. In other languages there may be a figure of speech to translate it. Translate the meaning in a natural way that will fit this context in your culture.

for they have overcome me: The phrase they have overcome me is similar to the phrase “You have captured my heart” in 4:9. In 4:9 the man felt helpless, but he also felt pleasure. Here in 6:5 the meaning is similar, but his feeling when he looked into her eyes was even stronger. Some other ways to translate it are:

they overwhelm me! (NRSV)

they are holding me captive. (GNT)

they overpower me. (NLT)

6:5c

Your hair is like a flock of goats

Your hair looks like a flock of goats
Your wavy hair is like many black goats,

6:5d

streaming down from Gilead.

as it moves/flows down the slopes of Gilead.
surging down from Gilead heights.

6:5c–d

Your hair is like a flock of goats streaming down from Gilead: The comparison here is identical to the one in 4:1d–e. Translate it in the same way here. For more information, see the notes on 4:1d–e.

Parallel SNG 6:5