The name that is transliterated as “Jerusalem” in English is signed in French Sign Language with a sign that depicts worshiping at the Western Wall in Jerusalem:
While a similar sign is also used in British Sign Language, another, more neutral sign that combines the sign “J” and the signs for “place” is used as well. (Source: Anna Smith)
“Jerusalem” in British Sign Language (source: Christian BSL, used with permission)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Song of Solomon 5:16:
Kupsabiny: “His mouth is sweet and absolutely beautiful. Is he/that one not my lover oh, girls of Jerusalem?” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “His mouth is filled with sweetness. And he is very handsome. He is My beloved, he is also my friend, O women of Jerusalem, such is my lover.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “His lips (are) nice to-kiss, and he (is) extremely/[double emphasis marker] handsome. He (is) my beloved, O women of Jerusalem. He (is) my friend.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “His kisses are extremely sweet; he is very handsome. You young women of Jerusalem, all that tells you why the one who loves me and who is my friend is better than other men.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
This closing verse of the descriptive wasf is carefully put together. It uses very brief poetic phrases without the verb “be.” The Hebrew text uses grammatical parallelism and a rhyming pattern throughout, as well as many similar sounds (alliteration). Thus this is a fitting climax to a very beautiful poem. We set out the Hebrew and a word-for-word translation below so that these features of the poem can be appreciated: hikku mamtaqqim
his-mouth
sweetnesses
we-kullu mahamaddim
and-his-all
desirablenesses
zeh dodi we-zeh reʿi
this my-lover
and-this my friend
Appropriate poetic devices will allow the translator to produce similar poetic effects.
His speech is most sweet: whether the Hebrew noun should be rendered as speech or “mouth” has to be determined. It describes the inside of the mouth, so it has some connection with both speech and taste.
If this verse, like the concluding phrase in verse 15, is a general summary of the young man’s physical qualities, then “mouth” may well be too narrow a rendering. From this point of view speech (Jerusalem Bible “conversation,” New English Bible “his whispers”) is a better choice. On the other hand the following phrase, which is closely linked with physical longing, may suggest more sexual connotations. In such a case it refers to kisses rather than to his mouth or to what he says.
Most sweet is how Revised Standard Version renders a term that literally means “sweets” or “sweetness.” In Neh 8.10 the word refers to “sweet wine.” A Ugaritic use of the same root clearly relates to kissing.
On balance, then, we suggest rendering Revised Standard Versionspeech as “kisses” or “embraces.” However, a footnote may be required to show that the original text spoke of “palate” or “mouth.”
He is altogether desirable: altogether, or “all of him,” can also be translated as “he is totally,” the point being that in every dimension he is attractive. Desirable, from a root meaning “to desire” or “take pleasure in,” appears also in 2.3 above. “Altogether lovable” is how Jerusalem Bible puts it. Good News Translation “everything about him enchants me” is more vivid but may be misunderstood in some cultures. Perhaps we also need a stronger expression here to convey the urgent desire the young woman feels for him. We can say “everything about him fills me with desire [for him].”
Possible translation models are:
• His kisses are so sweet; everything about him fills me with desire.
• His kisses are delicious; I long for every part of him.
This is my beloved and this is my friend: the two phrases mean essentially the same thing. On the term beloved see comments in 1.13. The term dodi is one of the inclusios helping mark the limits of this subsection in verses 10-16. Friend is broad in its meaning, including everything from friend to lover. The repeated demonstrative phrase This is … this is provides emphasis and indicates the end of this subunit. The point of the statement is to stress that what she has just said about the young man is a fitting description of what he is truly like. We can highlight the emphasis of the Hebrew text by saying “Truly, this is what my lover is really like.”
O daughters of Jerusalem: on this phrase, its meaning and translation, see comments on 3.5 and 5.8.
Two translation suggestions are:
• Women of Jerusalem, this is what my lover and friend is really like.
• This is what my lover is like, this is what my friend truly is, Women of Jerusalem.
Again a version close to the literal Hebrew may actually convey some of the beauty of the original:
• Daughters of Jerusalem,
His kisses are so sweet!
Every bit of him, desirable!
This is my lover. This is my friend.
These climactic lines bring the wasf to an end.
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.”
This verse is a climax to the woman’s long description of the man. She answered the teasing question that the Jerusalem women asked in 5:9.
5:16a
In 5:15c–d the woman summarized her description of the man’s body. Now in 5:16 she again described the man’s mouth.
His mouth is most sweet: There are different ways to interpret the word mouth and the whole clause here:
(1) His “sweet mouth” refers to his kisses. For example:
His mouth is sweet to kiss (Good News Translation)
(2) His “sweet mouth” refers to his speech. For example:
His conversation is sweetness itself (New Jerusalem Bible)
Most English versions translate literally and do not make the meaning of “sweet mouth” explicit. It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). His “sweet mouth” probably refers to his kisses, since that fits with his physical description better than interpretation (2).
Some ways to translate this meaning are:
• Use a figure of speech in your language that implies kissing. For example:
His mouth is delicious… (Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures) -or-
His mouth is delightful…
• Make the meaning explicit. For example:
His mouth is sweet to kiss (New Century Version) -or-
His kisses are sweet/delightful
Translate the meaning in a natural way in your language.
most sweet: The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as most sweet is a figure of speech. Here it indicates that the man’s kisses are delightful. It implies that it is sweet when the man kisses the woman or when she kisses him. Those kisses give great pleasure.
General Comment on “mouth” and “kisses”
The author refers to the theme of the couple’s mouths and their implied kisses often throughout the book. The first time was in 1:2, “Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth.” Since the woman began the book with the theme of kisses, it is not surprising that she focused here on her beloved’s mouth as she described his body. (Also see 8:1, and possibly 2:3.) The man referred to her mouth and kisses in 4:3, 4:11, and 7:9.
5:16b
he is altogether lovely: This clause indicates that the woman considered her beloved to be precious and wonderful in every way. It is similar to what the man said to her in 4:7 : “You are altogether beautiful, my darling; in you there is no flaw.” Some other ways to say this are:
everything about him enchants me (Good News Translation) -or-
he is altogether lovable (New Jerusalem Bible) -or-
he is desirable in every way (New Living Translation (2004))
5:16c–e
The clause “This is my beloved” here in 5:16c and the phrase “My beloved” in 5:10a form an inclusio. They occur at the beginning and the end of the woman’s description of the man (5:10–16). The woman emphasized that in 5:10–16 she answered the question that the Jerusalem women asked her in 5:9.
This is my beloved, and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem: The two clauses in 5:16c–d, This is my beloved and this is my friend, have almost the same meaning in this context. The two clauses show that the woman has now answered the question that the Jerusalem women asked in 5:9—“How is your beloved better than others?” Indicate in a natural way that this clause answers that question. For example:
That is what my beloved and friend is like, women of Jerusalem. -or-
Now I have told you what my beloved and friend is like, Jerusalem women.
Some other ways to translate 5:16c–e are:
• Change the order of phrases in 5:16c–e. For example:
O women of Jerusalem, now I have told you about my lover. That is what my dear one is like.
• Translate the similar meanings of 5:16c and 5:16d only once. For example:
This is what my lover is like, women of Jerusalem. (Good News Translation)
5:16d
and this is my friend: This is the only place in the Song where the woman (or the man) used the Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as friend to describe their relationship. The plural form “friends” was used in 5:1 to refer to the wedding guests.
The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as friend can have different meanings, depending on the context. It can be used to describe different types of friendly relationships. Here the meaning is similar to the meaning of the word “beloved.” In some languages it may be more natural to translate this meaning only once. For example, the Good News Translation translates the two statements in 5:16c–d as:
This is what my lover is like (Good News Translation)
Other ways to translate friend here are:
darling (Revised English Bible) -or-
companion (NET Bible)
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.