Click or tap here to see the rest of this insight.
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 usage of an honorific construction where the morpheme rare (られ) is affixed on the verb as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. This is particularly done with verbs that have God as the agent to show a deep sense of reverence. Here, ko-rare-ru (来られる) or “come” is used.
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Song of Solomon 2:8:
Kupsabiny: “I am hearing the sound/voice of my beloved! Look! There he is approaching. He jumps over things as he is coming/appearing over the hills. He runs quickly from the hill coming towards me!” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “Listen! The voice of My beloved! Listen carefully. He is about to come. Jumping across the mountains, leaping over the hills he comes running to me.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “I have-heard the voice of my beloved. He is-coming-towards (me) leaping/jumping over the mountains” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “I hear the voice of the man who loves me. It is as though he is leaping over the mountains and skipping over the hills” (Source: Translation for Translators)
Even though verse 7 ended with the young woman speaking, it may be helpful to put another note at the beginning of this new section, to remind readers that she is still speaking.
The voice of my beloved is one possible rendering of the Hebrew phrase used here, though voice can also be rendered “sound.” Scholars generally agree that the noun voice is used as an attention-getting interjection meaning “Listen!” Since the following noun phrase my beloved lacks any verb, it is difficult to determine whether the young woman is simply identifying who it is she is calling, or whether she is describing the one she hears. The latter seems more appropriate. A translation such as “Listen! It’s my lover!” or “Listen! I hear my lover coming!” conveys the sense well. New English Bible and New American Bible agree, though there are other translations that treat the phrase in narrative fashion, such as Good News Translation “I hear my lover’s voice.”
Behold, he comes calls attention to the young man’s approach. We cannot be certain whether the young woman is describing what is actually taking place. From inside the house it is not likely that she can hear him running over the hills. Also the reference to leaping over hills and mountains is deliberately exaggerated for poetic effect.
Behold (hinneh) is a word with many functions in Hebrew. It appears on the lips of the young woman here and in verses 8 and 9. The young man repeats the word in verse 11. Throughout Old Testament texts it is used to draw attention to a thing or person, but it can also convey deep emotion (either sorrow or joy) and sometimes surprise. Here there is no doubt; it conveys the young woman’s anticipation and excitement over her lover’s arrival. (In verse 11 it carries a more demonstrative function as the young man points out the beauties of the springtime.) We can use any equivalent expression in the translation: “Look, he’s coming!” “Listen! here he comes!” The use of an exclamation point can help to show in the printed text the emotive quality of this word.
Leaping … bounding: a series of participles begins as the young woman tells of her lover’s approach. She is so in tune with him that she knows he is on his way to her, and she gives a poetic description of his coming. Exaggerated metaphor is used—leaping upon the mountains and bounding over the hills. Both verbs used in these phrases are in the emphatic form and so match the intensity she feels. The first verb leaping is a commonly-used verb. This is not so of the second verb bounding. This is its only occurrence with this meaning in the Old Testament. Poetry allows the young woman to speak in this fashion to help the reader know something of the excitement she feels at his coming. Translators should aim to convey this emotion. There may be special verb forms, ideophones, or particles that the translator can use to achieve this goal. Note how in English the “-ing” form of verbs can add this touch.
Mountains and hills are traditionally parallel terms in psalms (Psa 148.9) and in the prophets (Isa 40.4). In languages that have a highly developed vocabulary for hills and mountains, the translator is free to choose terms that can be used in pairs. On the other hand, in situations where there is no term for mountains, translators may need to use a more general expression and combine the two phrases into one.
Possible translations are:
• Listen, it’s my lover! Here he comes! He leaps over the mountains; he jumps over the hills.
• Can you hear? My lover is coming, leaping over mountains and hills.
If we want to try to maintain some of the parallelism:
• Listen, it’s my lover!
Look, here he comes!
Leaping over the mountains,
Jumping over the hills!
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 .
Click or tap here to see the rest of this insight.
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 third person singular and plural pronoun (“he,” “she,” “it” and their various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. While it’s not uncommon to avoid pronouns altogether in Japanese, there are is a range of third person pronouns that can be used. In these verses a number of them are used that pay particularly much respect to the referred person (or, in fact, God, as in Exodus 15:2), including kono kata (この方), sono kata (その方), and ano kata (あの方), meaning “this person,” “that person,” and “that person over there.”
The man called the woman, but later she could not find him
The author began this scene at a different place and time from the ending of the preceding section (1:1–2:7). At the end of that section, the woman and man were together, but at the beginning of this section (2:8) the woman was in her room at home, and the man was coming to her over the hills.
There are two poems in Section 2:8–3:5. In the first poem (2:8–17) the man came and stood outside the woman’s room. She quoted what he said as he invited her to come out with him and enjoy a beautiful spring day. The second poem (3:1–5) describes a time when the woman searched for her beloved at night. This second poem has much in common with Section 5:2–6:3. See the discussion of similarities at the beginning of that section.
Both parts of this section (2:8–17 and 3:1–5) may describe what the woman imagined or what she dreamed. The descriptions may not refer to actual events in the poem.
Poem 2:8–17
This beautiful poem (2:8–17) describes springtime. In springtime, new plants begin to grow, flowers bloom, and fruit trees begin to blossom. In these lines springtime symbolizes that love was growing between the woman and the man. The woman first spoke to herself, but then she quoted the man as he invited her to come out of her house and go away with him.
This poem begins and ends in a similar way. At the beginning (2:8–9) the man came to the woman over the mountains like a gazelle or stag. At the end (2:17) he again roamed on the mountains like a gazelle or stag.
In these lines the woman spoke. However, from 2:10b through 2:14 she quoted what the man said. Then she continued speaking in 2:15–17.
2:8–10a The woman described the coming of her beloved
2:8a–10a
Here the woman began the section by saying that she heard the voice or sound of her beloved (2:8a). In 2:8b–2:9e she described how he came to her family’s home where she lived. Then in 2:10a she introduced what he said to her.
2:8a
Listen! My beloved approaches: The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Listen has different meanings in different contexts. Here it may refer specifically to the beloved’s voice or more generally to the sound of his coming. Some ways to translate it are:
• Refer to the voice of the beloved. For example:
I hear my beloved’s voice. (God’s Word)
• Refer more generally to the sound of his coming. For example:
Ah, I hear my lover coming! (New Living Translation (2004)) -or-
Listen! My beloved is coming!
The author uses the same Hebrew word in this way in 2:14 when the man wants to hear his beloved’s voice. Use a natural way in your language to communicate excitement in this context.
My beloved: Suggestions for translating My beloved are given in the notes on 1:13a–b.
2:8b–9e
There is parallelism in 2:8b–9e. In the following example, the similar phrases are indicated in similar ways:
8a Listen! My beloved approaches.
8b Look! Here he comes,
8c leaping across the mountains,
8d bounding over the hills.
9a My beloved is like a gazelle,
9b or a young stag.
9c Look, he stands behind our wall :
9d gazing through the windows,
9e peering through the lattice.
The phrase “ Look! Here he comes” (2:8b) is parallel to “Look, he stands behind our wall” (2:9c). After 2:8b, there are two more parallel phrases “leaping across the mountains” (2:8c) and “bounding over the hills” (2:8d). These phrases have almost the same meaning. Line 2:9c is followed by two more parallel lines “gazing through the windows” and “peering through the lattice” (2:9d–e).
In some languages it is more natural to combine the parallel lines that follow each other. See the General Comment on 2:9d–e following the notes for 2:9e for an example.
comes…leaping…bounding…stands…gazing…peering: The Hebrew verb forms that the Berean Standard Bible translates as comes, leaping, bounding, stands, gazing, and peering do not indicate when these actions happened. The verb forms help people imagine the actions happening as they read about them. That makes the action seem more vivid and exciting. Use a natural way in your language to do that.
2:8b
Look! Here he comes: The phrase Look! Here he comes is an exclamation. It indicates that the woman was excited and happy that her beloved was approaching her. It implies that she wanted others to share her excitement that he was coming.
Some ways to translate this exclamation are:
Behold, he comes… (Revised Standard Version) -or-
Here he comes… (New Century Version) -or-
He’s coming!
Many languages have special ways to express excitement like this. Sometimes there is a special exclamation or form of the verb. For example:
Oh listen! I hear him coming!
Indicate the woman’s excitement or surprise in a natural way in your language.
Look!: The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Look calls attention to the statement, word, or phrase that follows it. In this context, it also communicates excitement. Consider how you call attention to a word or phrase in your language. You may be able to use an exclamation word like “Behold!” or “Listen!” or you may be able to communicate the excitement by making the sentence itself more emphatic or exciting.
Look occurs four times in the Song. Three of these are in this section (2:8, 9, 11). In each context translate its function in a natural way in your language.
2:8c–9e
In these lines there is a complex simile that continues for several lines. It describes a gazelle or stag, and it also describes the man whom the woman loves. The author used verbs that can refer to both the man and to an animal, but the actions are more like an animal’s actions. It is easy to imagine a lively animal running to the window to gaze into it. The woman implied that her beloved did that. The tone of the simile can be described as “playful.”
Other places in the OT that mention the leaping and swift running of gazelles or stags are 2 Samuel 2:18, 1 Chronicles 12:8, Psalm 18:33, and Isaiah 35:6.
2:8c–d
leaping across the mountains, bounding over the hills: The two phrases leaping across the mountains and bounding over the hills have similar meanings. leaping and bounding describe the way the man hurried toward the woman. It emphasizes that he was eager to see her. It also implies her excitement as she saw him jump across the hills and rush toward her. Translate this excited description in a natural and poetic way in your language. For example:
running over the mountains,
racing across the hills to me. (Good News Translation)
The two parallel lines have the same meaning. In some languages it may be more natural to combine them. For example:
Oh, look! He’s coming toward me, bounding over the mountains! -or-
He runs and leaps on the mountains and hills!
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.