The term my dove is used elsewhere by the young man when addressing his lover (5.2; 6.9). We can be fairly certain, then, that the young man is still speaking. The major problem here is to determine whether this is a quotation of what he said, or if this is a new speech. As noted in the introductory remarks, Jerusalem Bible, Good News Translation, and Bible en français courant include it as part of the reported speech. New Jerusalem Bible includes it but leaves a line between verses 13 and 14 to show there is a new thought. New International Version ends the quote of the young woman in verse 13 and starts an entirely new section at verse 14, where it identifies the young man as speaker.

We suggest following the approach of Good News Translation and New Jerusalem Bible because there is clear evidence of a break after verse 13. We have already seen that the bracket surrounding verses 10b-13 has brought this unit to a close. In verse 14 we note a move away from the springtime theme and what appears to be a new expression of address, O my dove. Whether this new paragraph should be part of the quote is difficult to determine. While it seems acceptable for the young woman to quote the young man’s request that she go away with him, it seems odd to think she would quote his flattery (your voice is sweet, and your face is comely). At the very least, some indication can be given that a new paragraph is beginning.

O my dove is regarded by many translations as a vocative, that is, a form of address to the speaker’s lover (Revised Standard Version, Jerusalem Bible, New English Bible, and others). Good News Translation “You are like a dove that hides…” is an example of those translations that see my dove as the subject of the sentence. If we accept this interpretation it means a shift in person (from third to second) in the middle of the verse: “My dove is in the clefts of the rocks… Show me your face.” Such changes of person certainly do occur in the Song, but this change complicates the translator’s task. Certainly from a translation viewpoint a vocative makes more sense.

In the clefts of the rock is the first of two adverbial phrases describing where doves are known to nest. In these poetic phrases the young man draws attention to the fact that his lover is out of reach. Places difficult to reach in the rocky hills illustrate that the young woman is locked away behind walls; he cannot even see her (verse 9). The comparison between the dove and the young woman is based on the fact that doves in the Near East live in cliffs and openings in mountainous rocky areas (Jer 48.28). Good News Translation understands the young woman to be hiding among the rocks, but this is not in keeping with her personality as we know it—she is anything but shy.

Clefts in Hebrew is a rare word, found only here and in Jer 49.16 and Obadiah 3. Although the root meaning is debated, a related word in Arabic suggests that it means “a hiding place.” This provides a reasonable parallel with the following term covert.

This combination of a vocative O followed by two noun phrases describing a location may prove difficult to translate in many languages. First, as there is no verb, we may need to provide one. We do not think the young woman is being shy, so we do not want to follow Good News Translation “like a dove that hides….” It is better to say “is far away” or “is out of reach.” If we want to be completely clear, we may add “far away from me.”

Second, we may need to modify the structure. We can use a relative clause; for example, “My dove, who is out of reach in the cleft of the rock…” or “My dove, you who are far away….” In many languages this style may be too heavy for poetry, so we may have to break the sequence and introduce direct address: “O my dove, you are far away in the cleft of the rock….” In some languages even this may not be clear enough, in which case we may introduce a more recognizable vocative such as “my love” and then include the comparison: “O my love, you are like a dove, far away from me among the rocks….” Though this is further from the form of the original, it reflects the meaning well. Alternatively we can omit the vocative noun yet make the comparison clear: “You are out of reach like a dove in the cracks in the face of the rock…,” though this loses much of the tenderness of the young man’s statement.

In the covert of the cliff again describes places that are difficult to get to, in this case holes in the steep cliff face. We recall that the young woman was in the house and the young man looking in from outside, unable to reach her. We presume that this is the sense being conveyed by these two phrases. She is like a dove that lives in places hard to reach.

The two location phrases emphasize how far away the young woman seems to be. We can render this idea by making the basis of the comparison clear each time: “far away in the cracks of the rock, out of reach in the holes in the cliff.” If this is too repetitive or there is difficulty in finding terms similar in meaning, these lines can be combined into one. We suggest:

• O my dove,
You are far away in the cleft of the rock,
Out of reach in the caves on the mountain side.

Or more freely:

• O my love, you are out of reach,
like a dove in the cracks in the face of the rock,
like a dove in the caves on the mountain side.

Following the two parallel phrases (in the clefts of the rock, in the covert of the cliff) we hear the young man begging his lover to come out. His appeal is made up of two parallel clauses, in which face and voice are in a chiastic structure.

Let me see your face: this is literally “Show me your appearance [or, form].” The Hebrew term used means much more than face; it includes the entire external appearance of a person or thing. “Let me see you” is the better translation, as in New American Bible.

Let me hear your voice can then be rendered “Let me hear you.” Voice includes what a person says as well as the tone of voice.

One other possible treatment of these two phrases is to say “Show yourself to me; speak to me.”

For your voice is sweet: in the second half of the chiastic structure, the order of the terms face and voice is now reversed. For your voice is sweet provides the reason; it tells why he longs to see her and to be with her. The opening Hebrew conjunction can be rendered as “for” or “because”; but as this is poetry, in many languages an introductory conjunction will not be necessary. Sweet in some contexts relates to taste, but here it describes sound, so we can say “sweet-sounding,” or follow Good News Translation “enchanting,” or New English Bible “pleasant.” Another possibility is to use a verb phrase in place of a noun phrase and say “you sound sweet” or “your voice sounds so pleasant.”

And your face is comely: refer to comments above with regard to face as meaning “appearance.” For comely see comments on 1.5.

Good News Translation simplifies the chiastic structure, with its plea and motive elements, by combining four clauses into two. They present a parallel structure rather than a chiastic one:
Let me see your lovely face
and hear your enchanting voice.

This is one form we can adopt, although it seems to lack some of the intensity conveyed by the repetitive “Let me see you. Let me hear you.”

We suggest a translation as follows:

• Let me see you, let me hear you,
because your voice is so delightful
and your appearance beautiful.

• Show yourself to me, speak to me,
[because] you sound so delightful
and look so beautiful.

Alternatively we can keep very close to a literal translation, if this will be appreciated:

• Let me see your face,
Let me hear your voice,
Your voice, so sweet …
Your face, so lovely ….

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 .