How fair and pleasant: in Hebrew the word mah “[Oh,] how…” occurs twice, emphasizing how deeply the young man’s feelings are affected. The exclamation introduces two very special qualities that he claims his beloved shows. Instead of adjectives he expresses those qualities as verb forms, “be beautiful” and “be pleasant.” The translator should look for an emphatic form that will convey the young man’s utter delight. This may mean a more literal translation, with the repetition of the How, “Oh, how beautiful and how pleasant you are!” Perhaps a statement modified by adverbs can be used: “You are so beautiful and so charming….” In some languages an introductory word may be effective: “Look at how beautiful you are….”

Many translations render the Hebrew noun “love” as a vocative, O loved one. The question, however, is whether the young man is praising love in the abstract sense or whether he is referring to his beloved. Good News Translation “delights of your love” appears to understand it as “love” in the more abstract sense, as do many commentators. However, the Song as a whole does not deal with abstract themes, with the possible exception of 8.6. Therefore the word “love,” we believe, refers to the young woman, and so we suggest rendering it as a vocative, “[O] my love.”

Delectable maiden is a prepositional phrase in Hebrew, “in [or, for; or, among] delights.” Note that this is mentioned in a footnote in Revised Standard Version. Here again some difference of opinion as to meaning and translation can be found. Some suggest that the Hebrew phrase should be divided differently, giving a translation “daughter of delights,” meaning “a delightful woman.” This view is found in some early texts such as the Greek text of Aquila and in the Syriac translation. Additionally this solution has a parallel in Micah 1.16.

Other scholars disagree with the above solution, believing the whole verse refers to love in general, and so they render the phrase as “with its delights.” Our preference is still to retain the more personal sense characteristic of the Song as a whole. We can say, then, “my delightful one,” or “the one I delight in,” or even use a vocative, “you whom I delight in.”

We can recommend the following translation models:

• Oh, how beautiful and charming you are, my love, my delight.

• My love, you are so beautiful and charming,
[You are] the one I delight in.

The clauses can of course be rearranged to suit the demands of poetic form in the translator’s language; for example:

• Oh, how beautiful you are, my love!
Oh, how charming, you whom I delight in!

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 .