SNG 7:13 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) The mandrakes give off a scent,
⇔ and over our doors are all kinds of choice dried fruits—
⇔ new ones and also old ones.
⇔ My dearest, I’ve stored these up for 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 Ὀρθρίσωμεν εἰς ἀμπελῶνας· ἴδωμεν εἰ ἤνθησεν ἡ ἄμπελος, ἤνθησεν ὁ κυπρισμὸς, ἤνθησν αἱ ῥοαί· ἐκεῖ δώσω τοὺς μαστούς μου σοί.
(Orthrisōmen eis ampelōnas; idōmen ei aʸnthaʸsen haʸ ampelos, aʸnthaʸsen ho kuprismos, aʸnthaʸsn hai ɽoai; ekei dōsō tous mastous mou soi. )

BrTr Let us go early into the vineyards; let us see if the vine has flowered, if the blossoms have appeared, if the pomegranates have blossomed; there will I give thee my breasts.

ULT The mandrakes give off a scent,
⇔ and over our doors are all choice fruits,
⇔ new ones and also old ones.
⇔ My beloved, I have stored these up for you.

UST The mandrake plants are producing a fragrant scent,
⇔ and the pleasures we will experience as we express our love for each other will be like choice fruits that have been stored,
⇔ new ones and old ones.
⇔ You whom I love, I have reserved my love for you as if I were storing choice fruit.

BSB The mandrakes send forth a fragrance,
⇔ and at our door is every delicacy,
⇔ new as well as old,
⇔ that I have treasured up for you, my beloved.

OEB No OEB SNG book available

WEBBE The mandrakes produce fragrance.
⇔ At our doors are all kinds of precious fruits, new and old,
⇔ which I have stored up for you, my beloved.

WMBB (Same as above)

NET The mandrakes send out their fragrance;
⇔ over our door is every delicacy,
⇔ both new and old, which I have stored up for you, my lover.

LSV The mandrakes have given fragrance,
And at our openings all pleasant things,
New, indeed, old, my beloved, I laid up for you!

FBV The mandrakes[fn] give off their fragrant scent; we are surrounded[fn] by all kinds of delights, new as well as old, which I have saved up for you, my love.

7:13 A plant thought to be an aphrodisiac and associated with fertility. See for example Genesis 30:14-16.

7:13 “We are surrounded”: literally, “over our doorways.”

T4T The mandrakes/love-apples are producing a fragrant odor,
⇔ and we are surrounded by delightful pleasures [MET, EUP],
⇔ new ones and old ones,
⇔ pleasures that I have been saving to give to you, who love me.

LEB • The mandrakes give off their fragrance, and over our doorway is every kind of delicious fruit ;[fn]
• both fresh and dried fruit I have stored up[fn] for you, O my beloved.

7:? Or “over our doorways all choice things”

7:? Literally “new also old I have laid up”

BBE The mandrakes give out a sweet smell, and at our doors are all sorts of good fruits, new and old, which I have kept for my loved one.

Moff love’s apples yielding their scent,
⇔ and the fruitage of all my charms—
⇔ choice fruits, old and new,
⇔ I have kept them, my darling, for you.

JPS (7-14) The mandrakes give forth fragrance, and at our doors are all manner of precious fruits, new and old, which I have laid up for thee, O my beloved.

ASV The mandrakes give forth fragrance;
⇔ And at our doors are all manner of precious fruits, new and old,
⇔ Which I have laid up for thee, O my beloved.

DRA The mandrakes give a smell. In our gates are all fruits: the new and the old, my beloved, I have kept for thee.

YLT The mandrakes have given fragrance, And at our openings all pleasant things, New, yea, old, my beloved, I laid up for thee!

Drby The mandrakes yield fragrance; And at our gates are all choice fruits, new and old: I have laid them up for thee, my beloved.

RV The mandrakes give forth fragrance, and at our doors are all manner of precious fruits, new and old, which I have laid up for thee, O my beloved.
(The mandrakes give forth fragrance, and at our doors are all manner of precious fruits, new and old, which I have laid up for thee/you, Oh my beloved. )

SLT The mandrakes gave an odor, and upon our entrances all precious things, new also old, my beloved, I laid up for thee.

Wbstr The mandrakes give a smell, and at our gates are all manner of pleasant fruits , new and old, which I have laid up for thee, O my beloved.

KJB-1769 The mandrakes give a smell, and at our gates are all manner of pleasant fruits, new and old, which I have laid up for thee, O my beloved.
(The mandrakes give a smell, and at our gates are all manner of pleasant fruits, new and old, which I have laid up for thee/you, Oh my beloved. )

KJB-1611 The mandrakes giue a smell, and at our gates are all maner of pleasant fruits, new and olde, which I haue laid vp for thee, O my beloued.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above)

Bshps the Mandragoras geue their sweete smell, and besyde our doores are all maner of pleasaunt fruites both newe and olde, which I haue kept for thee O my beloued.
(the Mandragoras give their sweet smell, and beside our doors are all manner of pleasant fruits both new and old, which I have kept for thee/you Oh my beloved.)

Gnva The mandrakes haue giuen a smelll, and in our gates are all sweete things, new and olde: my welbeloued, I haue kept them for thee.
(The mandrakes have given a smell, and in our gates are all sweet things, new and old: my well-beloved, I have kept them for thee/you. )

Cvdl There shal the Mandragoras geue their smell besyde oure dores: There (o my loue) haue I kepte vnto the all maner of frutes, both new and olde.
(There shall the Mandragoras give their smell beside our doors: There (o my love) have I kept unto the all manner of fruits, both new and old.)

Wycl Mandrogoris han youe her odour in oure yatis; my derlyng, Y haue kept to thee alle applis, new and elde.
(Mandrogoris have given her odour in our gates; my darling, I have kept to thee/you all apples, new and elde.)

Luth daß wir frühe aufstehen zu den Weinbergen, daß wir sehen, ob der Weinstock blühe und Augen gewonnen habe, ob die Granatapfelbäume ausgeschlagen sind; da will ich dir meine Brüste geben.
(that we/us early stand_up to/for the vineyards, that we/us see, if/whether the/of_the vine bloom(v) and eyes won/gained have, if/whether the pomegranate_trees knocked_out are; there will I you/to_you(sg) my breasts give.)

ClVg Mandragoræ dederunt odorem in portis nostris omnia poma: nova et vetera, dilecte mi, servavi tibi.][fn]
(Mandrake they_gave smell in/into/on gates ours everything apples: new and old, beloved my, I_saved to_you.] )

7.13 Mandragoræ. Merito invocat sponsum ad auxilium prædicationis, ubi prædicatores præcipuis flagrant virtutibus. Portæ, apostoli et eorum successores. Mandragoræ, id est virtutes illorum, quæ sunt aptæ medicamentis: quæ contra sollicitudines mundi adducunt quietem, quæ nauseam verbi Dei excludunt, quæ vitia ab hominibus sine dolore excidi faciunt, quæ proferunt mala, id est Ecclesias, suaviter redolentia in confessoribus, similia malis Punicis in martyribus: dederunt odorem, quia exemplis majorum minores confirmantur. Servavi tibi. Vel servavi, id est intellexi omnia præcepta et testimonia, vel promissiones utriusque Testamenti a te esse datas, vel, omnia poma, id est justos utriusque Testamenti per te solum incarnatum justificatos cognovi.

7.13 Mandrake. Merito invocat groom to help/aid(n) preaching, where preachers beforecipuis flagrant virtues. Gates, apostles and their successores. Mandrake, that it_is by_virtues of_them, which are aptæ medicamentis: which on_the_contrary anxietys world they_bring rest, which nauseam words of_God excludunt, which vices away to_humans without pain excidi they_do, which they_bring_forth evil, that it_is Assembly/Churchs, suaviter fragrance in/into/on confessoribus, similar bad_things Punicis in/into/on martyribus: they_gave smell, because examples major/greaterum minors confirmantur. Servavi to_you. Or I_saved, that it_is I_understood everything commands(n) and evidence, or promises of_both Testamenti from you(sg) to_be datas, or, everything apples, that it_is just of_both Testamenti through you(sg) only incarnatum justificatos I_knew.

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.

7:13a

The mandrakes send forth a fragrance,

The mandrake flowers give their sweet smell, (NCV)
The “love fruit” plants smell sweet now,

The mandrakes send forth a fragrance: The Hebrew word that the BSB translates as mandrakes refers to a certain kind of plant that has sweet-smelling flowers. The phrase The mandrakes send forth a fragrance indicates that the scent of the mandrake plants was in the air.

In that culture people believed that eating the fruit of the mandrake plant (or sometimes even smelling it) aroused sexual desire. They also believed that the fruit helped men and women to produce children. Mandrake flowers and fruit were often used as romantic symbols.In Hebrew, the word mandrake (duddaʾim) sounds similar to the word for “my beloved” (dodiy). In Genesis 30:14–16 Rachel asked Leah to give her mandrakes to help her conceive a child. After that, Rachel did conceive and give birth to Joseph.

In some languages the mandrake plant is not known, or people do not know about its connection with love. If that is true in your language, you may need to indicate the plant’s function in some way. Some ways to do that are:

Use a descriptive term for the plants. For example:
the love plants
Include a footnote to explain the function of the plants. For example, the CEV has this footnote:
The Hebrew text has “mandrake,” a plant that was thought to give sexual powers. (CEV)

send forth a fragrance: The phrase send forth a fragrance implies that in the springtime; the mandrake plants produce flowers and fruits that smell sweet. Springtime was considered a special time for romantic love. Some other ways to translate 7:13a are:

You can smell the scent of mandrakes (GNT)

The mandrake flowers give their sweet smell (NCV)

The love fruits send out their perfume

7:13b

and at our door is every delicacy, new as well as old,

and all the best/exquisite fruits are near our entrance.
and nearby are all the other delights

and at our door is every delicacy, new as well as old: This part of the verse is a metaphor. The phrase every delicacy, new as well as old refers to all the joys and pleasures that the man and woman have as they show their love to each other. The word that the BSB translates as at can also mean “near,” or “beside.” Some other ways to translate the metaphor are:

Use metaphors. For example:
and the finest fruits are at our door, new delights as well as old (NLT)
Use similes. For example:
The pleasures of our love are like all kinds of delicious fruit, new and old, growing right at our doorway.
Translate the meaning without figures of speech. For example:
As we love each other, we enjoy every delight.

at our door: The Hebrew phrase that the BSB translates as at our door is more literally “at/near our openings.” This phrase is part of the metaphor. It refers to whatever places the couple will meet to share their romantic love. In this context the place is the countryside itself, which is filled with the delights of springtime. This metaphor implies that a house in the countryside is similar to their house in the forest (1:16–17).

In some languages it is more natural to use a more general expression than door. For example:

all around us

near our place

at our openings/doors

every delicacy, new as well as old: The phrase every delicacy, new as well as old includes all the best kinds of fruit, those that ripen early in the season as well as those that ripen later. The phrase probably includes other delights, as well as fruits. Some other ways to translate the meaning are:

all choice fruits, new as well as old (RSV)

new delights as well as old (NLT)

every delicacy: The phrase every delicacy refers to the very best quality and most delicious food. The Hebrew word that the BSB translates as delicacy has a general sense that describes any choice thing. Literally, it probably refers specifically to the delicacy of fruits. However, it is also a metaphor that refers to the delights of love that the man and woman experience together. See the preceding notes for translation examples.

7:13c

that I have treasured up for you, my beloved.

My love, I have saved them for you alone.
that I have kept/reserved for you, my darling.

that I have treasured up for you, my beloved: The clause that I have treasured up for you, my beloved refers back to “every delicacy” in 7:13b. They represent the delights of love, so here the woman indicated that she keeps the delights of her love for the man she loves. Her romantic love is reserved only for him.

Some other ways to translate 7:13c are:

Darling, I have kept for you… (GNT)

which I have saved for you alone, my beloved.

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: translate-unknown

הַֽ⁠דּוּדָאִ֣ים נָֽתְנוּ־רֵ֗יחַ