Tell me …: with this inquiry the young woman again abruptly changes to second person; she speaks directly to her lover, and he responds in verse 8. We presume he is present with her.

You whom my soul loves: in terms of Hebrew grammar it appears as though this relative clause, “the one my soul loves,” may be the object of the imperative tell. However, that form makes little sense. For this reason many translations take this clause to be vocative, expressing direct address, you whom my soul loves or “the one my soul loves.” Good News Translation renders the clause with a term of endearment, “Tell me, my love.” Of course, if this is a direct address, many languages will prefer to move the vocative clause to the beginning, “My love, tell me…” or “You whom I love, tell me….”

My soul: the Hebrew word translated as soul includes the whole person, as in Gen 2.7, where it relates to the newly-created human as a living person; see also Psa 103.1. We can therefore render my soul with the pronoun “I.” Good News Translation “my love” in the sense of “my beloved” is briefer than “you whom I love” and is a good model.

There are two parallel questions here, each one beginning with the interrogative where…? The first contains only the verb “are shepherding,” but of course your flock is understood as its object and can be supplied, as in Revised Standard Version. The second question asks for more information: where he “gives rest” at midday. Again the Hebrew has no object, but it can be supplied. Revised Standard Version says where you make it lie down, and New International Version “tell me … where you rest your sheep.” Noon can be rendered by any natural equivalent, or we can say “midday,” or even perhaps, in some cultures, “siesta time.” What is in focus is not an exact time (twelve o’clock) but rather the time of day that is hottest.

The two clauses ask basically the same question. Though we wish to preserve the poetic flavor of this passage, the repetition may not be acceptable in some languages. It may even suggest two different items of information. If so, the two clauses can be combined into one: “Where do you pasture your sheep at midday?” Good News Translation retains the two questions but introduces variety by making the sheep the subject of the second clause, “Where will they rest from the noonday sun?” This is acceptable, though it may give the false impression that the young woman is more interested in the sheep than in the young man. It is not unusual for her to inquire where he will be; the semi-nomadic life of the Israelite shepherd meant that she needed directions as to where he might be at that time of the day.

For why should I be like one who wanders…?: for why should I can also be given as “lest” (Dan 1.10 and the Aramaic of Ezra 7.23 have a similar expression). Note that, while the two previous questions are true requests for information, this one is a rhetorical question. The meaning is “I don’t want to be like someone who….”

The meaning behind the participial phrase one who wanders is not immediately obvious. The Revised Standard Version translation is based on a slightly different text in some of the old versions like the Syriac. But the Hebrew participle is actually from a root “wear the veil” or “wrap oneself” so as to hide one’s identity. Prostitutes used to veil themselves for fear of being identified by others (see the story of Tamar in Gen 38.14). The young woman is asking where her lover might be because she does not want to have to hide her identity like a prostitute in order to spend time with him.

It will not be easy to find a good translation that will convey the various senses of the Hebrew. Good News Translation “Why should I need to look for you…” is rather weak. We may say “Why should I have to hide myself [put on a veil, or wrap myself up] to go out to look for you?” or “Otherwise I shall have to wear a veil and wander about looking for you.”

Beside the flocks of your companions suggests that there are many other shepherds in the same vicinity, and also that there is some link of friendship between the young man and them. The preposition beside translates Hebrew ʿal, which normally means “upon,” or “over.” Pope believes it means “among.” One other possible interpretation is that ʿal means “because,” “on account of.” If this were so here, it would give a translation in which the young woman wears the veil “because of” the other shepherds tending their flocks nearby. This seems a consistent and likely interpretation.

The flocks of your companions follows the Hebrew original. Companions simply means friends or comrades. However, the young woman’s object is to find her lover, and she will do that by first finding his flock. She is not looking for the other shepherds. We can simply say “your companions and their flocks.” Note that Good News Translation renders “flocks of the other shepherds,” thus eliminating the possessive your. However, the point is that the young man belongs to a group of shepherds, and she does not want them to know she is coming. Therefore it is better to retain “your companions,” or to put it another way, “your companions and their flocks.”

The young woman’s last question may have a slight teasing note: “Do you want me to have to hide myself from your friends when I come to see you?” On the other hand perhaps she is trying to make him jealous by mentioning his shepherd friends: “You don’t want your friends to see me, do you? (Otherwise, they might be attracted to me!)”

For translation, then, there is a range of possibilities:

• … otherwise I shall have to wear a veil because of your companions and their flocks.

• Why should I have to hide who I am from the other shepherds tending their flocks?

A rendering as a clear statement is:

• I don’t want [to be forced] to wear a veil to hide myself from your shepherd friends.

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 .