SNG 8:7 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: khaki:verbs, 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 Ὕδωρ πολὺ οὐ δυνήσεται σβέσαι τὴν ἀγάπην, καὶ ποταμοὶ οὐ συνκλύσουσιν αὐτήν· ἐὰν δῷ ἀνὴρ πάντα τὸν βίον αὐτοῦ ἐν τῇ ἀγάπῃ, ἐξουδενώσει ἐξουδενώσουσιν αὐτόν.
(Hudōr polu ou dunaʸsetai sbesai taʸn agapaʸn, kai potamoi ou sunklusousin autaʸn; ean dōi anaʸr panta ton bion autou en taʸ agapaʸ, exoudenōsei exoudenōsousin auton. )

BrTr Much water will not be able to quench love, and rivers shall not drown it; if a man would give all his substance for love, men would utterly despise it.

ULT Many waters are not able to quench this love
⇔  and rivers will not drown it.
⇔ If a man would give all the wealth of his house in exchange for love,
⇔  they would utterly despise it.
⇔ 

UST We love each other so deeply,
⇔ that how we love each other can be compared to a strong fire that no river or flood can put out.
⇔ If a man tried to cause a woman to love him by saying he would give her everything that he owns,
⇔ she would refuse.

OEB No OEB SNG book available

WEBBE Many waters can’t quench love,
⇔ neither can floods drown it.
⇔ If a man would give all the wealth of his house for love,
⇔ he would be utterly scorned.

WMBB (Same as above)

NET Surging waters cannot quench love;
⇔ floodwaters cannot overflow it.
⇔ If someone were to offer all his possessions to buy love,
⇔ the offer would be utterly despised.

LSV Many waters are not able to quench the love,
And floods do not wash it away. If one gives all the wealth of his house for love,
Treading down—they tread on it.

FBV Floods of water cannot extinguish love; rivers cannot submerge it. If a man offered everything he owned in order to buy love he would be completely rejected.

T4T Nothing can extinguish our love for each other,
⇔ not even a flood.
⇔ If a man tried to cause a woman to love him by saying he would give her everything that is in his house,
⇔ she would refuse.

LEB • Many waters cannot quench love; rivers cannot sweep it away.[fn]
• If a man were to give all the wealth of his house for love ,[fn]
• he would be utterly scorned.[fn]

8:? Or “and rivers cannot engulf it”

8:? Literally “in the love”

8:? Literally “they will utterly scorn him”

BBE Much water may not put out love, or the deep waters overcome it: if a man would give all the substance of his house for love, it would be judged a price not great enough.

Moff No floods can ever quench this love,
⇔ no rivers drown it.
⇔ If a man offered all he has for love,
⇔ he would be laughed aside.
¶ 

JPS Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it; if a man would give all the substance of his house for love, he would utterly be contemned.

ASV Many waters cannot quench love,
⇔ Neither can floods drown it:
⇔ If a man would give all the substance of his house for love,
⇔ He would utterly be contemned.

DRA Many waters cannot quench charity, neither can the floods drown it: if a man should give all the substance of his house for love, he shall despise it as nothing.

YLT Many waters are not able to quench the love, And floods do not wash it away. If one give all the wealth of his house for love, Treading down — they tread upon it.

Drby Many waters cannot quench love, Neither do the floods drown it: Even if a man gave all the substance of his house for love, It would utterly be contemned.

RV Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it: if a man would give all the substance of his house for love, he would utterly be contemned.

SLT Many waters shall not be able to quench love, and rivers shall not overwhelm it: if a man shall give all the riches of his house for love, despising, they shall be despised for him.

Wbstr Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it: if a man would give all the substance of his house for love, it would utterly be contemned.

KJB-1769 Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it: if a man would give all the substance of his house for love, it would utterly be contemned.

KJB-1611 Many waters cannot quench loue, neither can the floods drowne it: if a man would giue all the substance of his house for loue, it would vtterly be contemned.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above)

Bshps Her coales are coales of fire, and a very vehement flambe of the Lorde: so that many waters are not able to quenche loue, neither may the streames drowne it: Yea yf a man woulde geue all the good of his house for loue, he shoulde count it nothyng.
(Her coals are coals of fire, and a very vehement flame of the Lord: so that many waters are not able to quench love, neither may the streams drown it: Yea if a man would give all the good of his house for love, he should count it nothing.)

Gnva Much water can not quench loue, neither can the floods drowne it: If a man should giue all the substance of his house for loue, they would greatly contemne it.
(Much water cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it: If a man should give all the substance of his house for love, they would greatly contemn/treat_with_contempt it. )

Cvdl so yt many waters are not able to quench loue, nether maye ye streames drowne it. Yee yf a man wolde geue all the good of his house for loue, he shulde counte it nothinge.
(so it many waters are not able to quench love, neither may ye/you_all streams drown it. Ye/You_all if a man would give all the good of his house for love, he should count it nothing.)

Wycl Many watris moun not quenche charite, nether floodis schulen oppresse it. Thouy a man yyue al the catel of his hous for loue, he schal dispise `that catel as nouyt.
(Many waters may/can not quench charity, neither floods should oppress it. Though a man give all the cattle of his house for love, he shall despise that cattle as naught/nothing.)

Luth daß auch viel Wasser nicht mögen die Liebe auslöschen, noch die Ströme sie ersäufen. Wenn einer alles Gut in seinem Hause um die Liebe geben wollte, so gälte es alles nichts.
(that also many water not may the love(n) wipe_out, still the streams they/she/them ersäufen. When one/a all/everything good_(one) in his house around/by/for the love(n) give wanted, so applied it all/everything nothing.)

ClVg Aquæ multæ non potuerunt extinguere caritatem, nec flumina obruent illam. Si dederit homo omnem substantiam domus suæ pro dilectione, quasi nihil despiciet eam.[fn]
(Water many not/no they_could extinguere charity, but_not rivers obruent her. When/But_if will_give human all substance home his/her_own for with_love, as_if nothing despiciet her. )

8.7 Aquæ multæ, etc. Quia domus, quæ supra petram charitatis fundata est, irruentibus fluminibus non potest cadere. Flumina. Tentationum, quæ vel visibiliter vel invisibiliter tentant corda fidelium. Si dederit. Quia ubi abundat amor æternorum, mox vilescit possessio labentium, recte subditur, Si dederit homo. Apostoli, et alii sancti, omnibus dimissis, nihil visi sunt sibi perdidisse, dummodo vera bona possent habere, unde Paulus: Omnia detrimenta arbitror ut stercora, ut Christum lucrifaciam Philip. 3..

8.7 Water multæ, etc. Because home, which above a_rock of_charity fundata it_is, rushedntibus rivers not/no can to_fall. Flumina. Tentationum, which or visibiliter or invisibiliter tentant hearts faithful. When/But_if will_give. Because where abundat love eternalrum, soon vilescit possession stainntium, correctly/straight is_added, When/But_if will_give human. Apostles, and others holy, to_all dimissis, nothing visi are to_himself perdidisse, dummodo true good(s) they_could to_have, from_where/who Paulus: Everything detrimenta arbitror as dung, as Christ/Messiah lucrifaciam Philip. 3..

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 8:5–14: Love has great power

In this final section, there are many key words and statements that repeat themes from earlier parts of the Song. For example, 8:5a mentions the woman coming up from the wilderness, as in 3:6. The author also repeats the themes of vineyard (8:12; 1:6), orchard (8:5; 2:3), and garden (8:13; 4:12–5:1). In the final verse of the Song, the author repeats the theme of a gazelle on the mountains, which was mentioned in 2:17. This final section also contains what many scholars consider a climax of the Song in 8:6–7.

Some other headings for this section are:

Homecoming (NRSV)

The Young Woman’s Love for Her Beloved

Paragraph 8:5–7 The woman spoke about the power of love

In this unit the speakers, location, and topic change (from the previous unit 8:1–4). But it is uncertain exactly how 8:5 relates to 8:6–7 and the rest of the Epilogue.

8:6–7 is a climax and conclusion of the Song, as it describes the great power of love.

8:7a

Mighty waters cannot quench love;

No amount of water can extinguish/affect the fire of love,
Many troubles cannot make people stop loving each other.

Mighty waters cannot quench love: The clause Mighty waters cannot quench love is a metaphor. It continues the metaphor in 8:6e–f, which states that love is like fire. The fire of love cannot be quenched even by many waters. Mighty waters represent troubles or difficulties. Just as a huge fire is not overcome even by much water, true lovers do not stop loving each other even if they have many difficulties and troubles.

Some ways to translate this metaphor are:

Keep the metaphor (of water not putting out the fire of love). For example:
Water cannot put it out (GNT)
Raging water cannot extinguish love… (GW)
Use similes. For example:
Love is like a big fire. Even if troubles come like many waters, they cannot extinguish the fire of love.
Translate the meaning without the metaphor. For example:
When a man and woman truly love each other, even many troubles cannot overcome their love.

Mighty waters: The Hebrew phrase that the BSB translates as Mighty waters refers to much water. Since 8:7b refers to “rivers” the waters here in 8:7a probably also imply waters that are strong and forceful. Some other ways to translate the phrase are:

Even much water (NCV)

Surging waters (NET)

quench: The word quench in this context refers to the way water extinguishes (puts out) a fire. Here is another way to translate this:

Love cannot be drowned by oceans or floods. (CEV)

8:7b

rivers cannot sweep it away.

even a flood cannot destroy it.
Even disasters will not stop them from loving.

rivers cannot sweep it away: The expression rivers cannot sweep it away is parallel to the metaphor in 8:7a and has a similar meaning. Literally, it means that even floodwater cannot overcome love.

In a flood, water rushes in and overcomes people. The author used flood as a figure of speech to refer to the difficulties and dangers that people face when they love each other. The phrase rivers cannot sweep it away indicates that even a flood (or other disaster or difficulty) cannot cause people to stop loving each other. In this context the author referred especially to romantic love.

Some ways to translate the metaphor are:

Translate the metaphor in a literal way, if it communicates the right meaning in your language. For example:
floods cannot drown love.
no flood can stop people from loving each other.
Use a simile. For example:
Even if troubles come like a flood, they cannot wash love away.
Translate the meaning without a figure of speech. For example:
No troubles can cause a man and a woman to stop loving each other.
When people love each other, no troubles can destroy that love.

8:7c

If a man were to give all the wealth of his house for love,

If someone offered everything he owned to purchase love,
If a person tried to buy love with all of his riches/money,

8:7d

his offer would be utterly scorned.

his offer would be completely rejected/despised.
people would only laugh at him.

8:7c–d

If a man were to give all the wealth of his house for love, his offer would be utterly scorned: The statement in 8:7c–d implies that true love is precious. That is why no one can buy it with money or other wealth. There is nothing that a person can offer to get true love in return, because it is worth more than any riches.

Some other ways to translate this statement are:

If a man offered everything in his house for love, people would totally reject it. (NCV)

If someone offered to give everything he owned to buy love, everyone would only laugh at him.

The clause that begins with “If” in the preceding two examples mentions an action that probably would never really happen. It is a condition that is not real. In some languages there is a special way to indicate that an action is unlikely to happen. For example:

Even if someone wanted to buy love with all his wealth, surely he would receive only scorn.

If someone were to offer all his riches to buy love, people would just ridicule him.

Translate this meaning in a natural and emphatic way in your language.

a man: The Hebrew word that the BSB translates as a man can be interpreted in two ways.

It means “an adult male.” For example:
Were a man to offer all his family wealth to buy love (NJB) (BSB, ESV, GW, NASB, NCV, NJB, NJPS, NLT, RSV)
It means “a person” (of either gender). For example:
If someone were to offer all his possessions to buy love (NET) (NET, NIV, NRSV, REB, GNT)

It is recommended that you follow option (1). In this context the woman was thinking about the man. However, either option is a valid translation here.

were to give…for love: The phrase for love means “tried to purchase love.” For example:

But if any tried to buy love with their wealth… (GNT)

all the wealth of his house: In this context the phrase all the wealth of his house emphasizes the fact that there is nothing that a person can give to buy love. It does not refer specifically to the wealth inside his house or to the wealth of his family. The context implies that no amount of wealth could ever buy love. Some other ways to translate this meaning are:

everything he owned (NLT96)

all his wealth (NLT)

it cannot be bought, no matter what is offered (CEV)

his offer would be utterly scorned: The Hebrew word that the BSB translates as his offer may refer either to the man himself or to the offer of his wealth.

It refers to the man’s offer and his wealth. For example:
the offer would be utterly despised. (NET) (BSB, NASB, NCV, NET, NIV, NLT, REB, RSV)
It refers to the man himself. For example:
he would be utterly despised. (ESV) (ESV, GW, NAB, NJB, NJPS, GNT)

It is recommended that you follow option (1). The man’s offer is rejected because he tried to buy love with wealth, showing a wrong attitude. However, both options are acceptable. In some languages option (2) may be more natural. If that is true in your language, it is fine to follow it. Some ways to translate this part of the verse are:

the offer would be utterly despised. (NET)

people would totally reject the offer.

General Comment on 8:7

In some languages it may be more natural to change the order of 8:7c and 8:7d. For example:

^7dLove is so precious that no one can buy it ^7ceven if he offers great riches.

^7dit cannot be bought, ^7cno matter what is offered. (CEV)

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

מַ֣יִם רַבִּ֗ים לֹ֤א יֽוּכְלוּ֙ לְ⁠כַבּ֣וֹת אֶת־הָֽ⁠אַהֲבָ֔ה וּ⁠נְהָר֖וֹת לֹ֣א יִשְׁטְפ֑וּ⁠הָ

waters many not they_can to,extinguish DOM (the),love and,rivers not they,will_overflow_it

Here the writer is speaking of love as if it is a strongly burning fire which Many waters cannot quench and which rivers cannot drown. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [Love is so strong that it is like a strong fire that great amounts of water cannot quench and which rivers full of water cannot put out] or [The feelings of love which a man and a woman who are lovers have for each other is very strong] or [Nothing can stop romantic love]

מַ֣יִם רַבִּ֗ים לֹ֤א יֽוּכְלוּ֙ לְ⁠כַבּ֣וֹת אֶת־הָֽ⁠אַהֲבָ֔ה וּ⁠נְהָר֖וֹת לֹ֣א יִשְׁטְפ֑וּ⁠הָ

waters many not they_can to,extinguish DOM (the),love and,rivers not they,will_overflow_it

Alternate translation: [Nothing can extinguish our love for each other, not even a flood]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns

אֶת־הָֽ⁠אַהֲבָ֔ה & בָּ⁠אַהֲבָ֔ה

DOM (the),love & for,love

If your language does not use an abstract noun for the idea of love, you could express the same idea in some other way that is natural in your language.

Note 3 topic: grammar-connect-condition-fact

אִם־יִתֵּ֨ן אִ֜ישׁ אֶת־כָּל־ה֤וֹן בֵּית⁠וֹ֙ בָּ⁠אַהֲבָ֔ה בּ֖וֹז יָב֥וּזוּ לֽ⁠וֹ

if he/it_gave (a)_man DOM all/each/any/every wealth_of his_house_of,of for,love to_scorn they_would_scorn to=him/it

The woman speaks as if this were a hypothetical situation, but she means that it must be true. If your language does not state something as a condition if it is certain or true, and if your readers might think that what the woman is saying is uncertain, then you could translate her words as an affirmative statement. Alternate translation: [Even though a man tries to give all the wealth of his house in exchange for love, his offer will be utterly despised]

בָּ⁠אַהֲבָ֔ה

for,love

Alternate translation: [in order to get love] or [in order to buy love]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

לֽ⁠וֹ

to=him/it

The word the ULT translates as it could: (1) refer to all the wealth of his house. Alternate translation: [it] (2) refer to the man who is offering all the wealth of his house in exchange for love. Alternate translation: [him]

Parallel SNG 8:7