As the young woman is the one now speaking, we can mark the change of speaker by adding a note in the margin or by some other device.
While the king was on his couch: the preposition While points to the time during which something happens, so While or “During the time when” give the sense well.
Comments on the use of king in Song of Songs will be found at verse 4. This is a metaphor for the young woman’s lover and not a literal reference to Solomon or some royal person.
This verse and verses 2-4 are linked by their emphasis on perfumes and fragrances. A further similarity is that the lovers are obviously in a private place.
Was: the Hebrew text has no verb here. In English and many other languages we need to supply a verb. Revised Standard Version uses the verb of being, was. Good News Translation supplies “was lying.” Both of these translations suggest a past tense, though it is not clear whether this scene is meant to be happening as the young woman speaks, whether it happened in the past, or whether it is something the young woman imagines and hopes for. Jerusalem Bible gives a present tense reading. New International Version, New Jerusalem Bible, and Nouvelle version révisée render a past tense here and then change to a present tense in verses 13 and 14. We can say “is [or, was] on his couch” or “is [or, was] lying on his couch.”
His couch describes the long low seat on which people reclined for formal occasions or for eating. The unusual noun comes from a root describing something round. The word couch or “bed” is an interpretation based on the context. In many languages “bed” will be the nearest equivalent. Jerusalem Bible “rests in his own room” removes some of the sexual overtones from the word, while New American Bible “For the king’s banquet” and New International Version “at his table” understand the context to be a feast rather than a place where two lovers can be in private. Some versions suggest an enclosure or even a garden (Traduction œcuménique de la Bible), perhaps because of the reference to flowers and spices. However, these all have figurative meanings, so “bed” seems the best solution. If finding a word for “bed” or couch is difficult, we can also use simple verbal expressions: “as my king reclined” or “as the king lay down.”
My nard gave forth its fragrance: this is the main clause and may need to be stated first before the time clause. The word nard or “spikenard” is a Sanskrit word that made its way into Hebrew through Persian. It is one of the terms suggested as evidence of Tamil (Indian) influence in Song of Songs. Nard is a perfume originating in northern India and has strong associations with lovemaking. My nard can be rendered “my perfume.” Fox considers it a figure for the lover, as “myrrh” is in verse 13. However, the simile in verses 13-14 is not the same. Here the young woman speaks of her own perfume. Nard almost certainly has a secondary meaning describing the smell of her own body, with strong sexual overtones. Gave forth renders the Hebrew verb quite literally. Good News Translation uses the phrase “filled the air with.” This is a good equivalent. Some languages may use ideophones to express the spreading of a sweet smell. On fragrance see comments on verse 3.
Some possible translations are:
• While my king lay on his bed, my perfume filled the air.
• My king, my lover, lay on his bed; my fragrance filled the air.
Quoted with permission from Ogden, Graham S. and Zogbo, Lynell. A Handbook on the Book of Song of Songs. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1998. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .