פָּתַ֤חְתִּֽי אֲנִי֙ לְדוֹדִ֔י וְדוֹדִ֖י חָמַ֣ק עָבָ֑ר נַפְשִׁי֙ יָֽצְאָ֣ה בְדַבְּר֔וֹ בִּקַּשְׁתִּ֨יהוּ֙ וְלֹ֣א מְצָאתִ֔יהוּ קְרָאתִ֖יו וְלֹ֥א עָנָֽנִי׃
6I opened to my beloved,
but my beloved had turned away and was gone.
My soul failed me when he spoke.
I sought him but did not find him;
I called him, but he gave no answer.
The interconfessional Chichewa translation (publ. 1999) uses the ideophone fumu in Song of Songs 5:6 to describe a sudden drop and a lovesick weakening (“As he spoke, my heart collapsed within me”). (Source: Ernst Wendland)
Ideophones are a class of sound symbolic words expressing human sensation that are used as literary devices in many African languages. (Source: Philip Noss)
The Hebrew, Greek, Ge’ez, and Latin that is translated as “soul” in English is translated in Chol with a term that refers to the invisible aspects of human beings (source: Robert Bascom), in Yagaria with oune or “shadow, reflection” (source: Renck, p. 81), and in Elhomwe as “heart” (source: project-specific translation notes in Paratext).
The Mandarin Chinese línghún (靈魂 / 灵魂), literally “spirit-soul,” is often used for “soul” (along with xīn [心] or “heart”). This is a term that was adopted from Buddhist sources into early Catholic writings and later also by Protestant translators. (Source: Zetzsche 1996, p. 32, see also Clara Ho-yan Chan in this article )
In Chichewa, moyo means both “soul” and “life.” (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
See also heart, soul, mind.
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Song of Solomon 5:6:
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 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, kotae-rare-ru (答えられる) or “answer” is used.
(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 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.”
(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )
I opened to my beloved: the young woman responds to her lover’s request to let him in (verse 2) and opened to him. The obvious meaning is that she “opened the door” (Good News Translation) to let him in. However, it seems fairly clear that there is also a sexual aspect in this expression.
But my beloved had turned and gone: two verbs “turn” and “pass on” describe a single action, namely departing. Here they describe the conclusion the young woman reached when she saw that there was nobody at the door. If this is a dream we can say she heard her lover knock. She went to open the door to let him in, but as so often happens in dreams, she found that he wasn’t there. She assumed, therefore, that he had left. We can translate in a way that pictures the scene: he was not there. Alternatively we can describe her thoughts: he must have run away.
The Hebrew text says literally “I opened for [or, to] my lover, but my lover had left. He was gone!” Good News Translation “I opened the door for my lover, but he had already gone” seems rather flat. Jerusalem Bible “he had turned his back and gone” catches some of the emotion. We can also say “he was not there” or “he had disappeared.” The translator should try to express the young woman’s deep distress at not finding her lover.
Some suggested translations are:
• When I opened the door for my lover, there was nobody there.
• I opened [the door] to let my lover in, but he had gone.
In some languages, repeating the clause “I opened” will heighten the drama:
• I opened to let my lover in,
I opened, but he was gone!
In other languages the fewer words used, the stronger the emotional impact:
• I opened to my lover,
but he was gone!
My soul failed me when he spoke: on My soul see comments in 1.7. The very life went out of her, she says. This is the sense of the Hebrew verb, so we can translate as “I fainted” or “I almost died.”
When he spoke is the Revised Standard Version literal translation of the Hebrew; but unfortunately this makes little sense in the context, since the previous line says he had gone. Many suggestions have been made in an attempt to explain the clause. Some feel it refers back to the events related earlier in verse 2 and the beginning of this verse, “I heard his voice. I looked for him but did not find him.” Good News Translation interprets the clause differently, namely as a wish: “How I wanted to hear his voice.” Others argue that the Hebrew root means “to go away.” Jerusalem Bible accepts this interpretation when it translates “my soul failed at his flight.” This latter suggestion does not have much scholarly support, however, since nowhere else in Hebrew does the root carry this meaning. Finally Fox suggests a slight change in the text resulting in the phrase “because of him,” “because of it,” or “as a result.” We prefer this final solution since it fits in best with the context. However, if we do adopt this suggestion, we should probably include a footnote explaining the change. New American Bible omits the phrase altogether, but this is hardly an acceptable solution.
I sought him, but found him not: this repeats the saying from 3.1, 2. Refer to comments there.
I called him, but he gave no answer: this clause is parallel to the previous one, which is also full of pain. She called out to her lover, but he gave her no reply. Good News Translation says “… but heard no answer.” This is misleading, as it could mean she did not hear him when he replied. It is more accurate and appropriate to translate as “I looked for him but didn’t [or, couldn’t] find him; I called him but there was no answer.”
The entire verse can say:
• I opened for my lover,
But he was gone!
I thought I would die as a result.*
I looked for him, but could not find him,
I called to him but there was no answer!
Footnote: * Hebrew uncertain. Some have “when he spoke.”
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 .
5:6a
I opened for my beloved: In this context the phrase I opened for my beloved probably indicates that the woman opened the door for the man to enter her room. It may also imply that she opened herself to welcome him. Some other ways to translate the clause are:
I opened the door for my lover (New Century Version)
-or-
I opened the door for the one I love ⌊to enter⌋
-or-
I opened to/for my beloved
5:6b
but he had turned and gone: This clause tells what the woman realized when she opened the door. She saw that her beloved was not there. The text implies that he went away after the woman hesitated to open the door. He was gone when she finally opened the door.
Some other ways to translate the clause are:
but my beloved had turned away. He was gone! (God’s Word)
-or-
but my beloved had left; he was not there!
had turned and gone: The phrase had turned and gone indicates that the man left, and he was gone by the time the woman came to the door. In some languages it may be natural to use only one verb. For example:
but he was gone! (New Living Translation (2004))
5:6c
My heart sank at his departure: Scholars differ about what caused the woman’s heart to sink. There is a textual issue concerning the Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as at his departure. The difference of one vowel changes the meaning of the word.
(1) The word means “when he left.” For example:
My heart sank at his departure… (New International Version)
(2) The word means “when he spoke.” For example:
My soul failed me when he spoke… (English Standard Version)
It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). The meaning “when he left” makes better sense in this context. The woman wanted the man. In 5:6c–d she searched desperately for him. She had no reason to say “my soul failed me when he spoke,” as in interpretation (2). He spoke only to ask her to open the door (5:2), which should not distress her. She was distressed because he left, and she feared that he might stop loving her.
My heart sank: The Hebrew phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as My heart sank is more literally “my-soul/breath went-out.” This phrase is a figure of speech to indicate that the woman felt distressed and desperate. She feared that the man had left her, and that he might not return. Some other ways to translate this meaning are:
When he left, I felt ⌊terrible⌋ distress
-or-
I was ⌊very⌋ lonely when he left
In some languages there is a figure of speech to translate this meaning. For example:
I fell into despair when he departed. (NET Bible)
Notice also that the Berean Standard Bible uses the figure of speech “my heart sank.” Use a natural way in your language to describe this feeling.
5:6d–5:7b
What the woman said in 5:6d–5:7b uses the theme of searching that occurs often in the Song. Her statements here repeat statements in 3:1b and 3:3a–b. In chapter 3 and here in chapter 5 the woman searched for the man. She described her search in similar ways in both chapters. Try to keep these similarities in your own translation.
5:6d
I sought him, but did not find him: The phrase I sought him, but did not find him is the same as the phrase in 3:1b. Here it indicates that the woman left her house and went to search for the man in the streets of the town. She searched for him because she loved him and longed to be with him. She was distressed until she could see him again, but when she looked for him, she could not see him anywhere.
You should translate the phrase in the same way or a similar way as you did in 3:1b. Some ways to translate it are:
I searched for him but could not find him anywhere (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
I looked for him but did not find him (NET Bible)
-or-
I went around trying to find him, but I did not see him anywhere.
but did not find him: The woman could not find the man when she searched for him, so she felt sadder and even more afraid. The author emphasized her sorrow to cause readers to sympathize with her and to want her to be happy again.
Use a natural way in your language to translate this emphasis. In some languages a word like “find” may imply that a person accidently discovered something that he was not searching for. That meaning does not fit this context. If that is true in your language, you should translate in a different way. For example:
but I did not see him anywhere.
5:6e
I called, but he did not answer: Here the woman called to the man because she hoped that he would hear her and respond to her. However, he did not hear her, so he did not respond. In some languages it may be helpful to use a direct quote and include the implied words that she said to call him. For example:
She called to him, ⌊“My beloved, where are you?”⌋ but ⌊she did⌋ not ⌊hear⌋ him answer.
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