5:3

There are two views about the woman’s words in 5:3:

(1) The words tell what the woman thought when the man came to her. She later told her thoughts to the Jerusalem women. She did not say the words directly to the man. For example:

I had taken off my robe…I had bathed my feet… (Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures)

(2) She said the words directly to the man when he asked her to open the door (5:2c–e). Later she told the Jerusalem women what she said. For example:

But I responded, “I have taken off my robe…” (New Living Translation (2004))

It is recommended that you follow option (1), along with more English versions.

5:3a–d

There are two similar parts in 5:3 (5:3a–b is similar to 5:3c–d). Each part has a statement and a rhetorical question:

3a I have taken off my robe—

3b must I put it back on?

3c I have washed my feet—

3d must I soil them again?

The two parts have similar meanings. The woman implied that she prepared herself for sleeping and got into bed before the man came. In 5:3a–b she said that she already undressed so she did not want to dress again. In 5:3c–d she said that she already washed her feet, so she did not want to make them dirty again. The author repeats these similar meanings to emphasize them.

Some other ways to translate 5:3a–b and 5:3c–d are:

• Translate 5:3a–b and 5:3c–d as similar statements. For example:

I had already taken off my robe,

and I did not want to put it on again.

I had already washed my feet,

and I did not want to soil them again.

• Combine the actions in 5:3a–b and 5:3c–d as one explanation. For example:

I had already taken off my robe and washed my feet, and/so I did not want to put my robe on again and soil my feet!

• Combine 5:3a–b as one statement and 5:3c–d as one question. For example:

But I had already undressed and bathed my feet. Should I dress again and get my feet dirty? (Contemporary English Version)

Translate these parallel parts of the verse in an emphatic way in your language.

5:3a

I have taken off my robe: Here the woman explained to the other women the reason that she did not want to get up to open the door for the man. She explained that when the man arrived, she had already removed her clothes and was ready to sleep. The phrase I have taken off my robe is not something that she said to the man. Some other ways to translate this explanation are:

But I was already undressed
-or-
I had put off my garment (Revised Standard Version)

taken off my robe: The phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as taken off my robe refers to removing the robe that a person (either male or female) normally wore under other clothes. It was customary to remove this robe when getting into bed to sleep. Use a natural way in your language to refer to removing clothes to prepare to sleep.

5:3b

must I put it back on?: The clause must I put it back on is a rhetorical question. It implies that the woman did not want to put her clothes on again after taking them off to get into bed. She thought that it was too much effort for her to do that. Some other ways to translate this rhetorical question are:

• Use a rhetorical question that implies that meaning in your language. For example:

why should I get dressed again? (Good News Translation)
-or-
must I put it on again? (Revised English Bible)

• Use a statement. For example:

I have taken off my garment, and I do not want to put it on again.

Translate the meaning in a natural way in your language.

5:3c

I have washed my feet: Here the woman indicated that she already washed her feet to get into bed. It was common for people to wash their feet even if they did not bathe the rest of their bodies. People commonly went barefoot or wore open sandals, so their feet got dirty from the dust. Another way to translate 5:3c is:

I had already bathed my feet.

5:3d

must I soil them again: The rhetorical question must I soil them again implies that the woman did not want to get her feet dirty. It does not imply that she was not able to get them dirty. Another way to translate the rhetorical question is:

I did not want to make them dirty again.

General Comment on 5:3

In this verse, the woman was already in bed. She had already washed her feet and removed her garment to get ready to sleep. She was not prepared for the man’s visit, and she was surprised that he came. (The General Comment on 5:5 about myrrh gives more information about preparing for sleep in that culture.)

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