Following this long and detailed listing, verse 15 takes us back to the brief expressions found in verse 12. We can regard this as a bracketing around verses 13-14. This ordering has bothered many commentators, who feel this verse should follow verse 12b. New English Bible places verse 12 after 14. The German common language version (Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch) places verse 12 after verse 15, but the reasoning behind this is not clear. When we meet what appear to be strange elements in the text, our first reaction should be to reflect on what the author may be trying to tell us. It is not often the case that an editor or copyist has misplaced a verse. Such things did happen, but we need some very clear evidence before accepting such suggested changes.

The enclosed garden and the sealed fountain (verse 12) are now open. There is a well of living water and flowing streams from Lebanon. If we consider the imagery, the situation, and the context immediately following this passage, we are led to believe these verses symbolize the fulfillment of their love. Certainly the invitation to come to the garden (verse 16) and the young man’s response in 5.1 (“I have come into my garden”) speak clearly of this. Thus we suggest rendering the text as it is, leaving the readers to draw their own conclusions.

We meet a similar problem as in verse 12, however. Again we have no indication in the text as to who is referred to because there are no verbs and pronouns present. Jerusalem Bible inserts a third person “She is,” while New Jerusalem Bible assumes a direct address “You are.” Theoretically both are possible. Traduction œcuménique de la Bible makes another interesting proposal, beginning the woman’s speech here rather than at verse 16, “I am a fountain in the garden … a well of flowing water.” This would be said in the same spirit as 8.10, where the young woman affirms her sexual maturity. We note as well that, since there is no “be” verb, time references are missing. It is even possible that there is a contrasting statement being made, in opposition to verse 12: “You are now…” or “You have now become a fountain in the garden … a well of flowing water.” If the young woman is speaking, she may even be opposing what her lover says in verse 12: “No[, I am not a locked garden, a sealed fountain]. I am a [flowing] fountain in the garden, … a well of living water….”

These various attempts at dealing with the Hebrew text illustrate how difficult the problem of finding its meaning is. In such circumstances we are best advised to stay close to the Hebrew despite its problems. This way we reduce the chance of imposing our own personal ideas on the translation.

The importance of the description in this verse is reflected in its poetic complexity. Parallel structures as well as rhyme are featured in the Hebrew text. The noun phrases are made up of singular-plural pairs, which are repeated, followed by two descriptive participles. The plural marker -im at the end of lines as well as the other occurrences of m and i sounds give a strong poetic effect:
maʿyan gannim
fountain-of gardens
beʾer mayim chayyim
a well-of waters living
wenozlim min lebanon
and streaming-down from Lebanon

A garden fountain: literally “a fountain of gardens,” this noun phrase is rendered “fountains water the garden” by Good News Translation, while Jerusalem Bible gives “fountain that makes the garden fertile.” These are probably not the best models to follow in translation, being somewhat free. New American Bible and New International Version correctly understand the imagery to refer to the young woman, thus “you are a garden fountain.” The combination of two basic terms from verse 12 describing the young woman suggests that the New American Bible version is more appropriate, rounding off the description in verse 12.

The Hebrew plural “gardens” is possibly an incorrect text. Gordis suggests “my garden” and Revised English Bible agree. The change simply requires that the final -m of the plural ending on “garden” be taken as the first letter of the following word beʾer “well.” However, this produces a word “welling up,” a sense that does not seem correct in this context. Clearly the focus in this short passage is water. The plural form “gardens” is probably a plural of generalization, “a fountain of [the type found in] gardens,” or it can imply a large garden. This can be rendered as a singular in most languages, “You are like a garden fountain” or “You are a fountain in a garden.” In some languages fountains may not be known, so “spring” may be the closest equivalent.

A well of living water: the adjective living when applied to water means that it is bubbling up or flowing along rather than standing still or stagnant. The “waters of life” are those that keep the plants in the garden alive. “Fresh,” “flowing,” or “running” are all good translations.

And flowing streams from Lebanon: the participle form flowing refers to streams. From Lebanon means that the water flows from there as its source. The imagery refers to the snow-fed streams that tumble down the valleys of the Lebanon mountains.

For translation we can say:

• [She is] my garden fountain, a spring of running water, like a stream tumbling down Lebanon’s mountains.

Alternatively we can adopt a second person reference:

• You are a fountain in the gardens,
a well full of living water,
streaming down the mounts of Lebanon.

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 .