SNG 7:12 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) Let’s go early to the vineyards.
⇔ We’ll see if the grapevine has budded,
⇔ if the blossoms have opened,
⇔ and if the pomegranates have bloomed.
⇔ There I’ll give my love to you.

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 Ἐλθὲ ἀδελφιδέ μου, ἐξέλθωμεν εἰς ἀγρὸν, αὐλισθῶμεν ἐν κώμαις.
(Elthe adelfide mou, exelthōmen eis agron, aulisthōmen en kōmais. )

BrTr Come, my kinsman, let us go forth into the field; let us lodge in the villages.

ULT Let us go early to the vineyards;
⇔ let us see if the vine has budded,
⇔ if the blossoms have opened,
⇔ if the pomegranates have bloomed.
⇔ There I will give my love to you.

UST And let us go early to the vineyards
⇔ to see if the grapevines have budded
⇔ and if there are blossoms on them that have opened,
⇔ and to see if the pomegranate trees are blooming,
⇔ and there I will have sexual relations with you.

BSB Let us go early to the vineyards
⇔ to see if the vine has budded,
⇔ if the blossom has opened,
⇔ if the pomegranates are in bloom—
⇔ there I will give you my love.

OEB No OEB SNG book available

WEBBE Let’s go early up to the vineyards.
⇔ Let’s see whether the vine has budded,
⇔ its blossom is open,
⇔ and the pomegranates are in flower.
⇔ There I will give you my love.

WMBB (Same as above)

MSG ^(1-12)Shapely and graceful your sandaled feet,
  and queenly your movement—
Your limbs are lithe and elegant,
  the work of a master artist.
Your body is a chalice,
  wine-filled.
Your skin is silken and tawny
  like a field of wheat touched by the breeze.
Your breasts are like fawns,
  twins of a gazelle.
Your neck is carved ivory, curved and slender.
  Your eyes are wells of light, deep with mystery.
  Quintessentially feminine!
Your profile turns all heads,
  commanding attention.
The feelings I get when I see the high mountain ranges
  —stirrings of desire, longings for the heights—
Remind me of you,
  and I’m spoiled for anyone else!
Your beauty, within and without, is absolute,
  dear lover, close companion.
You are tall and supple, like the palm tree,
  and your full breasts are like sweet clusters of dates.
I say, “I’m going to climb that palm tree!
  I’m going to caress its fruit!”
Oh yes! Your breasts
  will be clusters of sweet fruit to me,
Your breath clean and cool like fresh mint,
  your tongue and lips like the best wine.
The Woman

NET Let us rise early to go to the vineyards,
⇔ to see if the vines have budded,
⇔ to see if their blossoms have opened,
⇔ if the pomegranates are in bloom –
⇔ there I will give you my love.

LSV We lodge in the villages, we go early to the vineyards,
We see if the vine has flourished,
The sweet smelling-flower has opened. The pomegranates have blossomed,
There I give to you my loves;

FBV Let's go early to the vineyards and see if the vines have budded and are in flower, and if the pomegranates are blossoming. There I will give my love to you.

T4T And let’s go early to the vineyards
⇔ to see if the grapevines have budded
⇔ and if there are blossoms on them that have opened,
⇔ and to see if the pomegranate trees are blooming,
⇔ and there I will make love to you.

LEB • Let us rise early to go[fn] to the vineyards; let us see whether the vine has budded,[fn]
• whether the grape blossom has opened,
• and whether the pomegranates are in bloom ;[fn]
• there I will give my love to you.

7:? Or “let us go”

7:? Or “sprouted”

7:? Literally “have bloomed”

BBE Let us go out early to the vine-gardens; let us see if the vine is in bud, if it has put out its young fruit, and the pomegranate is in flower. There I will give you my love.

Moff and hie us at dawn to the vineyards,
⇔ to see if the vines are a-budding,
⇔ if their blossoms are open
⇔ if pomegranates bloom;
⇔ and there I will give you caresses of love,

JPS (7-13) Let us get up early to the vineyards; let us see whether the vine hath budded, whether the vine-blossom be opened, and the pomegranates be in flower; there will I give thee my love.

ASV Let us get up early to the vineyards;
⇔ Let us see whether the vine hath budded,
⇔ And its blossom is open,
⇔ And the pomegranates are in flower:
⇔ There will I give thee my love.

DRA Let us get up early to the vineyards, let us see if the vineyard flourish, if the flowers be ready to bring forth fruits, if the pomegranates flourish: there will I give thee my breasts.

YLT We lodge in the villages, we go early to the vineyards, We see if the vine hath flourished, The sweet smelling-flower hath opened. The pomegranates have blossomed, There do I give to thee my loves;

Drby We will go up early to the vineyards, We will see if the vine hath budded, [If] the blossom is opening, And the pomegranates are in bloom: There will I give thee my loves.

RV Let us get up early to the vineyards; let us see whether the vine hath budded, and its blossom be open, and the pomegranates be in flower: there will I give thee my love.
(Let us get up early to the vineyards; let us see whether the vine hath/has budded, and its blossom be open, and the pomegranates be in flower: there will I give thee/you my love. )

SLT We will rise early to the vineyards; we will see if the vine was fruitful, the vine blossoms opened, the pomegranates blossomed: there will I give my beloved to thee.

Wbstr Let us get up early to the vineyards; let us see if the vine flourisheth, whether the tender grape appeareth, and the pomegranates bud forth: there will I give thee my loves.

KJB-1769 Let us get up early to the vineyards; let us see if the vine flourish, whether the tender grape appear, and the pomegranates bud forth: there will I give thee my loves.[fn]
(Let us get up early to the vineyards; let us see if the vine flourish, whether the tender grape appear, and the pomegranates bud forth: there will I give thee/you my loves. )

7.12 appear: Heb. open

KJB-1611 [fn]Let vs get vp earely to the vineyards, let vs see if the vine flourish, whether the tender grape appeare, and the pomegranates bud forth: there will I giue thee my loues.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from punctuation and footnotes)

7:12 Heb. open.

Bshps In the mornyng wyll we go see the vineyarde, we wyll see yf the vine be sprong foorth, yf the grapes be growen, and yf the pomegranates be shot out. There will I geue thee my brestes:
(In the morning will we go see the vineyard, we will see if the vine be sprang forth, if the grapes be grown, and if the pomegranates be shot out. There will I give thee/you my breast/chests:)

Gnva Let vs get vp early to the vines, let vs see if the vine florish, whether it hath budded the small grape, or whether the pomegranates florish: there will I giue thee my loue.
(Let us get up early to the vines, let us see if the vine flourish, whether it hath/has budded the small grape, or whether the pomegranates flourish: there will I give thee/you my love. )

Cvdl In the mornynge wil we ryse by tymes, and go se the vynyarde: yf it be spronge forth, yf the grapes be growne, & yf the pomgranates be shott out. There wil I geue the my brestes:
(In the morning will we rise by times, and go see the vineyard: if it be sprung forth, if the grapes be grown, and if the pomegranates be shot out. There will I give the my breast/chests:)

Wycl Ryse we eerli to the vyner; se we, if the vyner hath flourid, if the flouris bryngen forth fruytis, if pumgranatis han flourid; there I schal yyue to thee my tetis.
(Rise we early to the vineyard; see we, if the vineyard hath/has flowered, if the flowers bryngen forth fruits, if pomegranates have flowered; there I shall give to thee/you my teats/nipples.)

Luth Komm, mein Freund, laß uns aufs Feld hinausgehen und auf den Dörfern bleiben,
(Come, my friend, let us/to_us/ourselves onto field go_out and on/in/to the villages remain/stay,)

ClVg Mane surgamus ad vineas: videamus si floruit vinea, si flores fructus parturiunt, si floruerunt mala punica; ibi dabo tibi ubera mea.[fn]
(Stay surgamus to vineyards: let's_see when/but_if flourished vineyard, when/but_if flores fruit parturiunt, when/but_if floruerunt evil punica; there I_will_give to_you breasts my. )

7.12 Mane surgamus. Quia nox infidelitatis transiit, et lux fidei apparet, procedens ex matutina resurrectione Christi: ab ipso mane resurrectionis laboremus, in inspirando, et ego prædicando. Videamus. Ut ego, qui pædagogus sum parvulorum, possim discernere eos, qui acquisiti sunt, quomodo se habeant, quantum proficiant: ut qualiter nutriendi sint, intelligam. Non est intuendum, si vineæ florent, sed si flores ad partum fructum convalescant; quia mirum non est, si quis bona inchœt, sed valde mirabile est, si intentione recta in bono opere perseveret. Ibi dabo tibi ubera. Id est ubi ad videndas vineas, et mala si floreant, venerimus in tuum obsequium: et facta et dicta meorum prædicatorum exhibebo ad similitudinem sedulæ nutricis.

7.12 Stay surgamus. Because night/darkness of_infidelity he_passed, and light of_faith appears, proceeding from morning resurrection Christi: away himself in_the_morning resurrection workus, in/into/on inspirando, and I preaching. Seeamus. As I, who/which pædagogus I_am of_children, I_can discernere them, who/which acquisiti are, how himself let_them_have, quantum proficiant: as how/as nutriendi let_them_be, I_will_understand. Not/No it_is intuendum, when/but_if vineyards florent, but when/but_if flores to partum fruit convalescant; because strange not/no it_is, when/but_if who/any good(s) inchœt, but very_much mirabile it_is, when/but_if intention straight in/into/on good by_work perseveret. There I_will_give to_you breasts. That it_is where to seendas vineyards, and evil when/but_if floreant, venerimus in/into/on your(sg) obsequium: and facts and said/dictated of_mine preachers exhibebo to similarity sedulæ nutricis.

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 7:11–13 The woman invited the man to go with her to the fields and vineyards

In these verses the woman responded to the man’s praise (in 7:1–9a) by inviting him to go out into the fields and vineyards with her to enjoy the springtime. As trees and flowers were blooming, their love for each other was also growing. Here she invited him to go there, as he also invited her in 2:10–13.It is also interesting to notice that 8:2a–b is similar to 3:4e–f.

In 7:11–13, all the events are probably not arranged in the order that they happened (as is common in poetry). It is also possible that these verses describe the woman’s desires and feelings or a dream that she had before her wedding (3:6–5:1),Old Testament scholar, David Dorsey, takes a non-chronological approach to the Song. In his book, The Literary Structure of the Old Testament (1999) he proposes a thorough-going symmetrical chiastic structure for the book. (Also see his article, “Literary Structuring in the Song of Songs” in Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 46 (1990) 81–96.) The structure he proposes is a-b-c-d-cʹ-bʹ-aʹ where the central unit “d” describes the wedding day, the climactic portion of the Song. Some scholars differ on the details of his proposed chiastic structure while agreeing in principle with the chiastic approach, while other scholars question whether such a book-level chiastic structure is actually present. But in spite of the disagreements, viewing the book chiastically or cyclically does help to resolve some problems that chronological/narrative approaches tend to overlook. When we look at some of the material in the second half of the Song, much of it appears to be from a pre-wedding perspective (a wedding seems to be described in 3:6–5:1). A symmetrical chiastic or cyclical approach may provide us with a better vantage point for addressing such challenging issues. In the case of this unit, the similarities with 2:10–13 seems fairly clear. So it seems possible, if not likely, that this unit could also be viewed as part of a courtship poem. rather than an event that happened in her life. The exact meaning of 7:11–13 is difficult to determine, but the verses do seem to look forward to the future.

7:12

Grape buds and blossoms show that spring (the season of new growth) has come. This new growth symbolizes the new love that was “growing” between the man and woman. This theme is also found in 2:10–13.

7:12a

Let us go early to the vineyards

Let us get up early and go out to the vineyards, (NLT)
and early in the morning we will go out to the grape farm/field.

Let us go early to the vineyards: The Hebrew clause that the BSB translates as Let us go early to the vineyards is literally “let us rise early to the vineyards.” It indicates that the woman wanted the man to go with her to the vineyards early in the morning.

Some other ways to translate the clause are:

We will get up early and look at the vines (GNT)

Let’s go to the vineyards early. (GW)

Then early in the morning we can visit the grape farms.

early: The word early here refers to early in the morning, just after daybreak. Use an appropriate word in your language to refer to this time of day.

to the vineyards: A “vineyard” is a farm where people plant and cultivate grapes. They often use the grapes to make wine. The vineyard was a quiet place. There the man and woman could be alone together and enjoy a beautiful spring morning.

Some ways to translate 7:12a are:

in the early morning we will go to the vineyards… (NJB)

Let us get up early and go to the vineyards… (NLT)

7:12b

to see if the vine has budded,

to see if the vines have budded, (NIV)
We will look for new growth/buds

7:12c

if the blossom has opened,

to see if their blossoms have opened, (NET)
and blossoms/blooms on the vines.

7:12b–c

In 7:12b–c the woman listed two things for her and the man to enjoy looking for when they are in the countryside together. They will look at the grapevines to see the buds and blossoms on them. The buds and blossoms are beautiful. They develop into grapes that are sweet to eat and are also used to make wine.

to see if the vine has budded, if the blossom has opened: This clause is similar to 6:11c (“to see if the vines were budding”). It gives a purpose for going to the vineyards. The woman suggested that she and the man should go to where the grapevines were planted to see whether the vines had buds and whether some of the buds had blossoms. Another way to translate this purpose is:

We will see whether the vines have new growth/buds

the vine has budded: The word vine refers specifically to a grape vine. The Hebrew word that the BSB translates as has budded can refer generally to new signs of growth. The words budded and “blossom” (7:12c) refer to two stages that grapevines go through before they produce grapes. They produce small buds, and then the buds develop and open into blossoms. The woman wanted to see if the grapevines had new buds. Describe this in a natural way in your language.

Some translation options for 7:12c are:

to see if their blossoms have opened…. (NET)

to see whether the grapevines have blossomed yet.

7:12d

if the pomegranates are in bloom—

and the pomegranates are in bloom. (RSV)
We will see if the fruit trees are blooming.

if the pomegranates are in bloom: This clause tells another thing that the woman and the man can look at in the countryside. They can look at the pomegranate trees and see if they are blooming. Some other ways to translate the clause are:

We can also see if the pomegranate trees are blooming.

We can look for the first blooms on the pomegranate trees.

The phrase the pomegranates are in bloom is similar to 6:11d, and you may translate in a similar way in both places.

pomegranates: A “pomegranate” is a red fruit that grows on a small tree. In 4:3 and 6:7 the man compared the woman’s cheeks to this fruit. Here the mature fruit is not in focus, only its blossoms. The focus here is on springtime growth.

For a picture of pomegranate fruit, see the note on “pomegranates” in 4:3c.

7:12e

there I will give you my love.

There will I give my love to you. (NJPS)
While we are there, I will show you how much I love you.

there I will give you my love: The phrase there I will give you my love indicates that the woman will show her love to the man. She implied that they will enjoy love together there in the vineyards. Some other ways to translate 7:12e are:

There I will give my love to you. (NJPS)

I will show my love to you there.

UTN uW Translation Notes:

נַשְׁכִּ֨ימָה֙