SNG 6:8 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: red:negative.
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 Ἑξήκοντά εἰσι βασίλισσαι καὶ ὀγδοήκοντα παλλακαὶ, καὶ νεάνιδες ὧν οὐκ ἔστιν ἀριθμός.
(Hexaʸkonta eisi basilissai kai ogdoaʸkonta pallakai, kai neanides hōn ouk estin arithmos. )

ULT Sixty are they, queens, and eighty concubines,
⇔ and marriageable women without number.

UST Even if a king had 60 queens and 80 concubines
⇔ and more young women in his court than anyone can count,

OEB No OEB SNG book available

WEBBE ⇔ There are sixty queens, eighty concubines,
⇔ and virgins without number.

WMBB (Same as above)

NET There may be sixty queens,
⇔ and eighty concubines,
⇔ and young women without number.

LSV Sixty are queens, and eighty concubines,
And virgins without number.

FBV There may be sixty queens and eighty concubines, and countless more women,

T4T Even if a king had 60 queens and 80 ◄concubines/slave wives►
⇔ and more young women than anyone can count,

LEB • Sixty queens there are, eighty concubines, and maidens beyond number.

BBE There are sixty queens, and eighty servant-wives, and young girls without number.

Moff Sixty queens had Solomon
⇔ eighty concubines
⇔ maidens without number;

JPS There are threescore queens, and fourscore concubines, and maidens without number.

ASV There are threescore queens, and fourscore concubines,
⇔ And virgins without number.

DRA One is my dove, my perfect one is but one, she is the only one of her mother, the chosen of her that bore her. The daughters saw her, and declared her most blessed: the queens and concubines, and they praised her.

YLT Sixty are queens, and eighty concubines, And virgins without number.

Drby There are threescore queens, and fourscore concubines, And virgins without number:

RV There are threescore queens, and fourscore concubines, and virgins without number.
(There are threescore queens, and fourscore/twenty concubines, and virgins without number. )

SLT They are sixty queens, and eighty concubines, and maidens no number.

Wbstr There are sixty queens, and eighty concubines, and virgins without number.

KJB-1769 There are threescore queens, and fourscore concubines, and virgins without number.
(There are threescore queens, and fourscore/twenty concubines, and virgins without number. )

KJB-1611 There are threescore Queenes, and fourescore concubines, and virgins without number.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from capitalisation)

Bshps There are threescore queenes, fourescore wiues, and damselles without number.
(There are threescore queens, fourscore/twenty wives, and damsels without number.)

Gnva But my doue is alone, and my vndefiled, she is the onely daughter of her mother, and shee is deare to her that bare her: the daughters haue seene her and counted her blessed: euen the Queenes and the concubines, and they haue praised her.
(But my dove is alone, and my undefiled, she is the only daughter of her mother, and she is dear to her that bare her: the daughters have seen her and counted her blessed: even the Queens and the concubines, and they have praised her. )

Cvdl There are thre score quenes, foure score concubynes, and yonge weme without nombre.
(There are three score queens, fourscore/twenty concubines, and young women without number.)

Wycl Oon is my culuer, my perfit spousesse, oon is to hir modir, and is the chosun of hir modir; the douytris of Syon sien hir, and prechiden hir moost blessid; queenys, and secundarie wyues preisiden hir.
(Oon is my culver/pigeon, my perfect spouse, one is to her mother, and is the chosen of her mother; the daughters of Syon seeing her, and preached her most blessed; queens, and secondary wives praised her.)

Luth Sechzig ist der Königinnen und achtzig der Kebsweiber, und der Jungfrauen ist keine Zahl.
(Sixty is the/of_the queens and eighty the/of_the concubine, and the/of_the virgins is no number.)

ClVg Una est columba mea, perfecta mea, una est matris suæ, electa genetrici suæ. Viderunt eam filiæ, et beatissimam prædicaverunt; reginæ et concubinæ, et laudaverunt eam.[fn]
(Una it_is dove my, perfecta my, together it_is mother his/her_own, chosen genetrici his/her_own. Seerunt her daughters, and happyssimam they_preached; queens and concubinæ, and they_praised her. )

6.8 Una est columba mea, perfecta mea. Quamvis multæ et diversæ personæ, tamen fides una est in eis, unum baptista, unus Deus, unum opus; non alia ante legem, alia sub lege, alia sub gratia: sed in una pace, uno timore constituta. Mater nostra regeneratrix gratia est, quæ elegit simplices, et electos custodit et sublevat. Vel mater superna Jerusalem, quia omne donum optimum desursum descendit Jac. 1., quæ superna Jerusalem hoc solum de humana conversatione approbat, quod in unitate suæ fidei et dilectionis Deo servire desiderat. Viderunt. Magna laus catholicæ unitatis, quam et gratia mater, quæ genuit, in perpetuum eligit; et filiæ, quas ipsa per Spiritum genuit et nutrit, mox viderunt, id est castitatem vitæ ejus didicerunt. Prædicaverunt. Sive illi, qui vere sunt participes regni; sive etiam illi, qui nomine tenus adhærent, et si spes eorum sit in terrenis, laude dignam fatentur.

6.8 Una it_is dove my, perfecta my. Although many and diversæ personæ, nevertheless faith together it_is in/into/on to_them, one baptista, one God, one opus; not/no other before the_law, other under lawfully, other under grace: but in/into/on together peace, one with_fear constituta. Mater our kingneratrix grace it_is, which chose simple, and chosen_ones keeps/guards and sublevat. Or mother heavenly Yerusalem, because everything a_gift/present/donation optimum desursum came_down Yac. 1., which heavenly Yerusalem this only from/about human conversation approbat, that in/into/on unity his/her_own of_faith and of_love to_God to_serve desires. Seerunt. Magna praise Catholic/universal unitatis, how and grace mater, which gave_birth, in/into/on forever eligit; and daughters, which herself through Spirit gave_birth and nutrit, soon they_saw, that it_is castitatem of_life his didicerunt. Prædicaverunt. Sive them, who/which really/truly are participants of_the_kingdom; if/or also them, who/which by_name tenus adhere, and when/but_if hope their be in/into/on earthly, praise worthym fatentur.

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.

6:8–10

In the previous verses (6:4–7), the man spoke to the woman directly, using forms like “you” and “your.” He described her head and face. But here in 6:8–10 he spoke indirectly, using phrases like “the favorite of the mother who bore her.” He described her beauty, using words like “perfect one,” “unique,” and “fair.” In 6:10 he compared her beautiful face to the beauty of the sun, moon, and stars.

6:8–9

In 6:8–9 the man compared the woman to beautiful women in the royal court. The “sixty queens” and “eighty concubines” were wives of a king, but the particular king is not mentioned. It probably was not Solomon, since the author did not mention him here. Also, the numbers (60 and 80) do not match the number of Solomon’s wives in 1 Kings 11:3.

6:8a–9a

There are sixty queens and eighty concubines, and maidens without number: This statement gives a hypothetical situation. It does not imply that the king (or the man) really had 60 wives, 80 concubines and a very large number of maidens. The man used the statement to praise his bride and to indicate that she was unique. No queen, concubine, or maiden could ever be as wonderful as she was.

Some ways to translate this meaning are:

What if I could have sixty queens, eighty wives, and thousands of others! ⁹You would be my only choice…. (CEV)

Even if someone offered me 60 queens, 80 wives, and any number of beautiful girls, I would love only you.

In some languages the numbers 60 and 80 may be complex phrases, or the numbers may make the poetry seem dull or unnatural. If that is true in your language, you may use a more general way to refer to increasingly large numbers. For example.

If I could have many queens, more concubines, and countless girls, you would be my only choice, my perfect mate.

Translate the statement in a way that will imply this meaning in your language.

6:8

When the author mentioned the numbers “sixty,” “eighty,” and “without number,” he mentioned the lowest number first. But when he mentioned the status of the women, he mentioned the ones with higher status first: “queens,” “concubines,” and “maidens.”

The numbers “sixty” and “eighty” are a poetic way to imply that a person could compare the woman to any number of other women (even queens and concubines), but no one would be as perfect as she was.It was common in Wisdom literature to use the phrase “there are three things….there are four.” This verse uses the numbers 60 and 80, which could be arrived at by multiplying 3 and 4 by 20 (3 times 20 is 60; 4 times 20 is 80), as Garrett suggests (page 229). The significance of these numbers is that there is no other woman at all who can equal the man’s beloved.

6:8a

There are sixty queens

There may be sixty queens
If I was the king and I could have many wives,

sixty queens: The word queens refers to the king’s wives. In Solomon’s time it was common in Israel and other countries for a king to have many wives. These queens sometimes had great power.

6:8b

and eighty concubines,

and there may be eighty concubines
and even more women to serve me

and eighty concubines: The concubines were also wives of the king, but they had less status and power than the queens. They were often chosen because of their beauty. In some languages there is no word for concubines and the idea may be offensive. If that is true in your language, you may be able to use a more general phrase. For example:

women to serve the king

6:8c

and maidens without number,

and there may be maidens without number.
and too many other girls to count,

and maidens without number: The phrase maidens without number is a hyperbole. It implies that there were so many young women that no one could count them. Other ways to translate the phrase are:

so many girls you cannot count them (NCV)

countless young women (NLT)

maidens: The word maidens probably refers to young women who are old enough to be married but are not yet mothers. There were many women who were probably associated with the king’s court but were not formally married. It is good to use a word in your language that refers to young unmarried women.

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / infostructure

שִׁשִּׁ֥ים הֵ֨מָּה֙ מְּלָכ֔וֹת

sixty they(emph) queens

If it would be more natural in your language, you could change the order of the words in the phrase Sixty are they, queens. Alternate translation: [They are sixty queens]

Note 2 topic: writing-poetry

שִׁשִּׁ֥ים הֵ֨מָּה֙ מְּלָכ֔וֹת וּ⁠שְׁמֹנִ֖ים פִּֽילַגְשִׁ֑ים

sixty they(emph) queens and=eighty concubines

This is poetic language. The man is using the 3, 4 pattern that was commonly used at that time, and for emphasis he multiples the numbers 3 and 4 by the number 20. This gives the numbers Sixty and eighty that he uses to make his point. If your language has a way to indicate poetry, you could use it here. Alternate translation: [A large number of queens and a large number of concubines] or [Many queens and many concubines]

Note 3 topic: translate-unknown

וַ⁠עֲלָמ֖וֹת

and,young_women

See how you translated the phrase marriageable women in [1:3](../01/03.md).

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom

וַ⁠עֲלָמ֖וֹת אֵ֥ין מִסְפָּֽר

and,young_women not number

Here, without number is an idiom that means “more than can be counted.” If this phrase does not have that meaning in your language, you could use a comparable expression from your language that does have that meaning, or you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [and too many marriageable women to count] or [and more marriageable women than can be counted]

Parallel SNG 6:8