אַל־תִּרְא֨וּנִי֙ שֶׁאֲנִ֣י שְׁחַרְחֹ֔רֶת שֶׁשֱּׁזָפַ֖תְנִי הַשָּׁ֑מֶשׁ בְּנֵ֧י אִמִּ֣י נִֽחֲרוּ־בִ֗י שָׂמֻ֨נִי֙ נֹטֵרָ֣ה אֶת־הַכְּרָמִ֔ים כַּרְמִ֥י שֶׁלִּ֖י לֹ֥א נָטָֽרְתִּי׃
6Do not gaze at me because I am dark,
because the sun has gazed on me.
My mother’s sons were angry with me;
they made me keeper of the vineyards,
but my own vineyard I have not kept!
Yes, I am black! and radiant —
О city women watching me —
As black as Kedars goathair tents
Or Solomons fine tapestries.
Will you disrobe me with your stares?
The eyes of many morning suns
Have pierced my skin, and now I shine
Black as the light before the dawn.
And I have faced the angry glare
Of others, even my mother’s sons
Who sent me out to watch their vines
While I neglected all my own.
Translation by Marcia Falk (1973, 2004)
The Hebrew, Greek and Latin that is translated as “(was or became) angry” in English is translated in Kwere as “saw anger.” In Kwere, emotions are always paired with sensory verbs (seeing or smelling or hearing). (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
In Bariai it is “to have grumbling interiors” (source: Bariai Back Translation).
See also anger and feel (terror, pain, suffering, anxiety).
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Song of Solomon 1:6:
Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between.
One way Japanese shows different degree of politeness is through the choice of a formal plural suffix to the second person pronoun (“you” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. In these verses, anata-gata (あなたがた) is used, combining the second person pronoun anata and the plural suffix -gata to create a formal plural pronoun (“you” [plural] in English).
(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )
Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between.
One way Japanese shows different degree of politeness is through the choice of a benefactive construction as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. Here, -naide (ないで) or “do not (for their sake)” is used in combination with kudasaru (くださる), a respectful form of the benefactive kureru (くれる). A benefactive reflects the good will of the giver or the gratitude of a recipient of the favor. To convey this connotation, English translation needs to employ a phrase such as “for me (my sake)” or “for you (your sake).”
(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )
The Hebrew, Greek, Ge’ez, and Latin that is translated in English typically as “vine” is translated in Lak as къюмайтӀутӀул мурхьра: “the (grape-) cluster tree.”
Vitaly Voinov tells this story: “Laks (who live in the mountainous regions of Dagestan) historically have had no experience with planting and tending vineyards. They buy grapes at the market or the store, but that’s about all they know of grape growing. Thus, in field testing, none of the readers could picture the primary image of this chapter. The translator’s initial attempt of rendering ‘vine’ as ‘grape stalk’ met with complete non-understanding. After much discussion of the problem and potential solutions, we settled on what one of the field testing respondents suggested to remedy the problem: ‘vine’ was rendered as ‘the (grape-)cluster tree’ (къюмайтӀутӀул мурхьра). Technically grapes of course don’t grow on trees, but something had to be put in the text, and it had to be said in a way that the average reader/hearer could understand it. The Lak team could have borrowed the Russian word for ‘vine’ (лоза), but since this is a very low-frequency word in the Russian language, it’s likely that many Laks wouldn’t know the Russian word either. So the team settled for a reduction of accuracy in order to achieve greater clarity. After all, the primary point of importance in this passage is not a horticultural analysis, but a metaphorical comparison to the spiritual world, to the relationship between the Father, His Son, and the followers of Jesus. This rendering allows readers to get to the core of this meaning without getting tangled up in unknown terms.”
In Elhomwe it is translated as “tree of grapes” (source: project-specific translation notes in Paratext), Akan (Fante dialect) and Ewe have “wine tree” (source: Anthony Badu in Journal of Mother-Tongue Biblical Hermeneutics and Theology 2021, p. 88ff. ).
The Common Grape Vine Vitis vinifera is mentioned more often than any other plant or tree in the Bible. Excavations in Greece have discovered grape seeds dating to 4500 B.C. Egyptian records document the existence of cultivated vines in Canaan as early as 2375 B.C., and subsequent records report trade in vine products around 1360 B.C. and many times thereafter.
The vine is a creeping plant that develops a woody stem when it matures. It grows along the ground until it finds a tree or other object to climb, using tendrils. It bears bunches of small round fruit that are sweet and juicy. Today farmers grow them commercially throughout the Mediterranean area, in South Africa, in North America, and in many other countries. The first reference to the vine in the Bible (Genesis 9:20) tells us that Noah planted a vineyard (Hebrew kerem) and that he made an alcoholic drink from the fruit. Farmers since then have improved on the size, color, and quality of the fruit by careful pruning and selection until now there are at least 65 kinds of grapevines. Like many other plants in temperate areas, the vine has leaves that appear in early spring. After the fruit is picked and the weather gets cold, the leaves drop off and the plant is bare until the following spring. A typical vineyard in Bible times was surrounded by a stone fence. It had a stone tower from which the owner could watch for predators, and a place to squeeze the juice out of the fruits.
The vine is the most frequently cited plant in the Bible, and that alone makes it special. Vines, grapes, raisins, and wine were a major element of Jewish life, so it is not a surprise that the vine and its products are used figuratively probably more than any other Bible plant. After the flood purified the earth at the time of Noah, the vine became the means by which the human race was plunged again into sin (Genesis 9:20). We know from Jacob’s blessing in Genesis 49:11f. and other passages that the vine was the symbol of blessing, prosperity, and happiness. The fact that there were groups like the Nazirites and Rechabites who abstained from drinking wine simply shows the radical self-denial that these people imposed on themselves. A drink offering of wine was an important part of worship (Exodus 29:40), and the image of contentment was “every man under his vine and under his fig tree” (Micah 4:4). Jotham includes the vine in his well-known Parable of the Trees (Judges 9:7ff.). In the New Testament, Jesus rescued a man from humiliation at a wedding party by miraculously providing a fresh supply of wine (John 2:1ff.). Wine becomes a major symbol in the Christian community when Jesus foreshadows his crucifixion by comparing the wine poured out in the Passover celebration to his blood (Matthew 26:27f. et al.). He speaks of the need for Christians to be like the branches of the vine, drawing their nourishment from him, the True Vine (John 15.:1ff.). Nearly every New Testament writer makes some metaphorical reference to the vine or its products.
There are around 65 kinds of grapevines (Vitis vinifera) found in the Northern Hemisphere. They belong to a larger family of creeping plants called Vitaceae, which has over 800 species throughout the world including many in the tropical and warm climates of the world.
Grapevines have occasionally been grown in West Africa (for example, in The Gambia and in northern Nigeria) but are not well known even where they are grown commercially. Attempts at substituting a local tree name have not been entirely successful because the species chosen is usually not cultivated and/or does not have the same economic or social function that the grape had in Israel.
Thus it is probably best to use a transliteration from a major language. However, in parts of Nigeria and perhaps elsewhere, the word grep refers to “grapefruit” and should be avoided in translation. A transliteration from “vine” or “wine” is preferred, although a translator needs to be careful. The English word “vine” refers to any creeping plant, but it also refers to a particular kind of vine that produces grapes (Vitis vinifera). This can be confusing. Furthermore, translators in English-speaking countries should think carefully about what they are going to do with the word “wine.” In The Gambia, Mandinka translators first used “wayini tree” but later concluded that it may be better to have a word for “vine” that is not necessarily identical with “wine.” Bine, from binekaro (“vinegar”), was considered, as was inabi (“grape”) from Arabic.
Languages that borrow the Arabic word inabi must deal with the fact that this word bears an unfortunate resemblance to annabi (“prophet”) and new readers reading “water of inabi” in a context of prophecy may associate it, for better or worse, with prophets and prophecy. In northern Nigeria church people have gotten used to inabi in the New Testament even though many of them don’t know what it is. Basa in Nigeria uses a wild grape-like plant (afwafwa), and Igala has used the same species (achiwebetema) for years. Likewise, two translations in Mali and Burkina Faso use their local name for a wild vine (Lannea microcarpa) for the biblical vine. There is a species (Rhoicissus tridentata) in southern and eastern Africa known as “African grape” (locally called “bobbejaantou”). In such cases translators should write a footnote (or glossary item) stating that the grapes of Bible times were larger and sweeter than the local variety, and that they were cultivated extensively as a source for producing beverages. Other possibilities for transliteration are: vinyola/videra (Portuguese), vitis (Latin), and inab (Arabic).
Fruit of the vine (Hebrew ‘enav; Greek botrus, staphulē): There is some evidence that botrus refers to a bunch of grapes, while staphulē refers to individual grapes. According to Louw and Nida (Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament based on Semantic Domains, 1988), however, both words may refer to individual grapes as well as bunches of grapes. The Hebrew word tirosh is equivalent to the word “vintage” in English, that is, the grape harvest and possibly the first squeezing of the grapes. It is normally used along with the words referring to the olive harvest (yitshar) and grain harvest (dagan).
Source: Each According to its Kind: Plants and Trees in the Bible (UBS Helps for Translators)
The young woman continues to address the “daughters of Jerusalem.” Opinions differ as to the meaning of Do not gaze at me. Does this mean she is so lovely that the “daughters” are amazed and “stare” at her (New International Version, New Jerusalem Bible)? Or do they look down on her, as Good News Translation and New English Bible suggest: “Do not look down on me”? From the context we learn she is trying to explain her dark color. So we favor the Good News Translation approach. New Jerusalem Bible “take no notice” is quite neutral and ambiguous enough to fit both possibilities.
In the phrase because I am swarthy, the Hebrew connector may be appropriately rendered as because or “that.” Swarthy is from the same root as “black” in the previous verse. It is an unusual reduplicated form, possibly with the sense “blackish.” Good News Translation treats the adjective in a way some may feel is inadequate, “because of my color.” As this can be easily misunderstood to mean any one of a number of skin colors, we advise against following the Good News Translation model here. It is correct to use the word “dark” or “black.” Here again we must use a term that refers to human skin color. It may be that the language only has one term that can serve here, in which case it is perfectly acceptable to repeat the same word as used in the previous verse.
Because the sun has scorched me is parallel to the previous relative clause because I am swarthy. It further states why the young woman is so dark. Scorched represents a Hebrew verb that may mean “see,” “look at” according to Job 20.9; 28.7, and this is how the King James Version (King James Version) translated it, the idea being that she was “looked [shone] on” by the sun. Dahood’s explanation is that the verb scorched comes from the noun meaning “pitch” or “tar” and so means “be black as pitch.” Whatever the background of the word, it is obvious that exposure to the sun has turned her skin dark. If the verb is really “see,” “look at,” then there is a play on the meanings: “don’t look at me” because “the sun looked at me.” But this kind of wordplay will be very difficult to incorporate into the translation. Some languages will readily follow the Hebrew pattern, with sun acting as the subject of the verb (the sun has scorched me), but in others “I” may be a more natural subject: “because I am burned by the sun,” “because I am darkened by the sun,” or “because I am so sunburned.”
In Hebrew this verse is quite poetic. There are two repetitive sounds: sh occurring in four of the first six words, and -i occurring at the end of a word three times in this line, and six more times before the end of the verse. Certainly it will be almost impossible to imitate this repetition of sound in our translation; and even if we could, it may not have the same effect in Hebrew. However, the translator can still try to give a poetic effect. Imitating the repetitive parallel structures may be one way to do this:
• Do not stare at me
because I am black,
because I am darkened by the sun.
In some languages the repetitive “because” will not be appreciated, so:
• Do not stare at me,
because I am black,
darkened by the sun.
• Do not stare at me just because I am black and burned by the sun.
My mother’s sons were angry with me describes her own brothers or half-brothers. Certain languages have special vocabulary for older and younger brothers. Here we have no way of establishing whether the brothers are younger or older, though they may be older if they have authority to give orders. They were angry with the young woman, though no explanation is given for that. It is idle to speculate. We should perhaps make it an independent statement. In Hebrew the word angry is related to the expression “be hot.” In this poetic passage it is again possible that there is a play on words: she was burned by the sun while she was the object of her brothers’ burning anger. Perhaps in some languages this play on words can be expressed and appreciated.
They made me keeper of the vineyards: this line and the next have a chiastic structure.
This structure highlights a contrast, and in some languages a similar patterning will be appreciated. In many African languages, for example, ending a line with one word and beginning the next line with the same one is a well-known poetic device.
Beyond this, the chiastic structure itself may have some special significance. In other writings in the Old Testament, this type of structure often points to key information, a high point in a story, or a central theme. Our task is to determine what is meant here. The first line explains why the young woman is dark; the meaning of the second line is rather uncertain. The emphasis in the Hebrew is on the phrase “My vineyard, which is mine.” The most obvious way of understanding this is that the vineyard refers to the young woman or her body: she was forced to take care of the vineyard, but as a result of her hard work she was not able to care for her own self (meaning her own beauty). This idea is expressed in the Good News Translation translation: “I had no time to care for myself.”
However, the reference to “vineyard” may mean more than it seems to mean at first. In the ancient world this word, along with other terms like “garden” and “field,” had definite sexual overtones. Some have gone so far as to suggest the young woman is no longer a virgin, but this view has not been widely accepted. Others think “not keeping her own vineyard” may mean she has given her heart to her lover; but again this means reading information into the text. Another approach is to see the brothers as over-protective, preventing her from having a lover. This may be behind the rather unusual translation of Bible en français courant: “… they forced me to keep watch over the vines. For my own vine, I don’t want any surveillance!” In other words, “Please don’t interfere with my love life!”
In light of the many possible interpretations that can be given to this line, perhaps the best solution is to translate rather literally. If desired a footnote can be added which points out that “vineyard” can refer to the young woman, with perhaps a deeper sexual meaning present also.
The word vineyard will certainly be a problem for translators in those areas where grapes are not known. As noted earlier “wine” and “vineyard” are key terms in this book, so if the word is not known, a substitute must be found and used consistently throughout. It may be possible to use a general word like “fruit tree” or “fruit-bearing vine,” though this may have none of the hidden meaning that vineyard has.
For translation we can suggest:
• My brothers were angry with me and put me in charge of the vineyards. My own vineyard I could not care for.
However, we may want to retain the wordplay on “keep” or “care for”:
• My brothers were angry at me,
and forced me to keep the vineyards,
but my own vineyard* I have not kept.
A possible footnote can be:
* Interpretations of “vineyard” vary: the woman herself, her love, or her beauty. This word often had sexual overtones.
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 .
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