I opened to my beloved: the young woman responds to her lover’s request to let him in (verse 2) and opened to him. The obvious meaning is that she “opened the door” (Good News Translation) to let him in. However, it seems fairly clear that there is also a sexual aspect in this expression.
But my beloved had turned and gone: two verbs “turn” and “pass on” describe a single action, namely departing. Here they describe the conclusion the young woman reached when she saw that there was nobody at the door. If this is a dream we can say she heard her lover knock. She went to open the door to let him in, but as so often happens in dreams, she found that he wasn’t there. She assumed, therefore, that he had left. We can translate in a way that pictures the scene: he was not there. Alternatively we can describe her thoughts: he must have run away.
The Hebrew text says literally “I opened for [or, to] my lover, but my lover had left. He was gone!” Good News Translation “I opened the door for my lover, but he had already gone” seems rather flat. Jerusalem Bible “he had turned his back and gone” catches some of the emotion. We can also say “he was not there” or “he had disappeared.” The translator should try to express the young woman’s deep distress at not finding her lover.
Some suggested translations are:
• When I opened the door for my lover, there was nobody there.
• I opened [the door] to let my lover in, but he had gone.
In some languages, repeating the clause “I opened” will heighten the drama:
• I opened to let my lover in,
I opened, but he was gone!
In other languages the fewer words used, the stronger the emotional impact:
• I opened to my lover,
but he was gone!
My soul failed me when he spoke: on My soul see comments in 1.7. The very life went out of her, she says. This is the sense of the Hebrew verb, so we can translate as “I fainted” or “I almost died.”
When he spoke is the Revised Standard Version literal translation of the Hebrew; but unfortunately this makes little sense in the context, since the previous line says he had gone. Many suggestions have been made in an attempt to explain the clause. Some feel it refers back to the events related earlier in verse 2 and the beginning of this verse, “I heard his voice. I looked for him but did not find him.” Good News Translation interprets the clause differently, namely as a wish: “How I wanted to hear his voice.” Others argue that the Hebrew root means “to go away.” Jerusalem Bible accepts this interpretation when it translates “my soul failed at his flight.” This latter suggestion does not have much scholarly support, however, since nowhere else in Hebrew does the root carry this meaning. Finally Fox suggests a slight change in the text resulting in the phrase “because of him,” “because of it,” or “as a result.” We prefer this final solution since it fits in best with the context. However, if we do adopt this suggestion, we should probably include a footnote explaining the change. New American Bible omits the phrase altogether, but this is hardly an acceptable solution.
I sought him, but found him not: this repeats the saying from 3.1, 2. Refer to comments there.
I called him, but he gave no answer: this clause is parallel to the previous one, which is also full of pain. She called out to her lover, but he gave her no reply. Good News Translation says “… but heard no answer.” This is misleading, as it could mean she did not hear him when he replied. It is more accurate and appropriate to translate as “I looked for him but didn’t [or, couldn’t] find him; I called him but there was no answer.”
The entire verse can say:
• I opened for my lover,
But he was gone!
I thought I would die as a result.*
I looked for him, but could not find him,
I called to him but there was no answer!
Footnote: * Hebrew uncertain. Some have “when he spoke.”
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 .