2:2 The man praised the woman

Here in 2:2 the man responded to what the woman said about herself in 2:1. She implied that she was not especially beautiful compared to other women. He replied directly to her, but he referred to her as though he was telling someone else about her. In some languages it is more natural to indicate clearly that he spoke directly to the woman. For example:

My darling, when compared with other young women, you are a lily among thorns. (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
When I compare you with the other young women, my love, you are like a lily among thorns.

2:2a–b

Like a lily among the thorns is my darling among the maidens: In 2:1 the woman compared herself to a common lily among many other lilies (pretty girls). Here in 2:2 the man agreed that she was like a lily. But he added that other women were like thorns compared to her. Thorns are ugly, and a lily is beautiful. The man used this contrast to emphasize that the woman was much more beautiful than other women.

In some cultures people are not familiar with lilies or with thorns. If that is true in your culture, some other ways to translate the comparison are:

• Use a plant that people in your culture consider beautiful and contrast it with one that they consider ugly. For example:

Like a daisy in a field of pigweed, my love is ⌊much more beautiful⌋ than other girls.

• Use a more general comparison. For example:

My beloved is like a ⌊lovely⌋ flower among ⌊ugly⌋ weeds.

maidens: The word maidens probably refers to other young women in general. The Hebrew text has “the maidens,” but it refers here to any women that the man’s beloved might be compared to. Use a natural way in your language to refer to women or young women in general.

General Comment on 2:2

In some languages, it may be clearer to reorder 2:2. It may also be helpful to indicate explicitly that it is a comparison. For example:

2b Yes, compared to other women, 2a my beloved is like a lily among thorns. (New Living Translation (1996))

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