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)
The Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek and Latin that is translated as “army” in English is translated in Chichewa as “group of warriors.” (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
Greek, Hebrew, Latin, Ge’ez, and Aramaic all have one term only that refers to what can be expressed in English as “sky” or “heaven(s)” (as a physical and spiritual entity). While there is a slight overlap between the meaning of the two English terms, “sky” (from Old Norse sky meaning “cloud”) typically refers to the physical entity, and “heaven” (from Old English heofon meaning “home of God”) typically refers to the spiritual entity. While this enriches the English lexicon, it also forces English Bible translators to make decisions that can be found only in the context in the Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic texts. Most versions tend to use “heaven(s)” even if the meaning is likely “sky,” but the Contemporary English Version (NT: 1991, OT: 1995, DC: 1999) is an English translation that attempted to be more specific in the separation of the two meanings and was used as the basis for the links to verses used for this and this record (“sky”).
Norm Mundhenk (in The Bible Translator 2006, p. 92ff. ) describes the difficulty that English translations face (click or tap here to see more):
“A number of years ago an old lady asked me a question. What did Jesus mean when he said, ‘Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away’? I do not remember what answer I gave, but I was surprised at how concerned she seemed to be about the verse. It was only later, after I had left her, that I suddenly realized what it was that she was so concerned about. She knew that death could not be far away, and all her life she had looked forward to being with God in heaven. But this verse said that ‘heaven will pass away’! What did that mean for her hopes? In fact, of course, in this verse Jesus was talking about the skies or the heavens, not about Heaven as the place of God’s presence. If I had realized the problem in time, I could easily have set the lady’s mind at rest on this question that was troubling her so much. However, I suspect that she is not the only person to be misled by the wording of this verse. Therefore, it is very surprising to find that even today many English versions (including the New International Version, New Revised Standard Version, Revised English Bible, Good News Translation) still say ‘heaven and earth’ in verses like Matt 24:35 and its parallels (Mark 13:31 and Luke 21:33). The Contemporary English Version (CEV) and Phillips’ translation seem to be aware of the problem, and in Mark 13:31 both of these have ‘earth and sky’ instead of ‘heaven and earth.’ But in some other passages (such as Matt 5:18) the traditional wording is still found in both of those translations. The New Century Version (NCV) does have ‘earth and sky’ more consistently, and the New Jerusalem Bible (NJB) has ‘sky and earth’ in these passages. (Although ‘sky and earth’ is closer to the Greek, it seems more natural in English to say ‘earth and sky’; but either way, at least the meaning is correct.)
“Louw and Nida’s Lexical Semantics of the Greek New Testament (publ. 1992) suggests that the Greek expression being translated here, ho ouranos kai he ge is ‘a more or less fixed phrase equivalent to a single lexical unit’ and that it means everything that God created, that is, the universe. They then quote Mark 13:31 as an example, using ‘heaven and earth’ in their translation of it. However, they go on to say that there ‘may be certain complications involved in rendering ho ouranos kai he ge as ‘heaven and earth,’ since ‘heaven’ might be interpreted in some languages as referring only to the dwelling place of God himself. The referents in this passage are ‘the sky and the earth,’ in other words, all of physical existence, but not the dwelling place of God, for the latter would not be included in what is destined to pass away.’ In my opinion, English itself is one of the languages where the word ‘heaven’ will be interpreted as referring only to the dwelling place of God himself, and translations into English should not use ‘heaven’ in these passages. It is probably because these passages are so very familiar that translators do not realize the meaning they are giving their readers when they use the expression ‘heaven and earth’ here. In modern English we might talk about a rocket ‘soaring into the heavens,’ but we would certainly not describe it as ‘soaring into heaven,’ because ‘heaven’ is not another way of referring to the sky or to outer space.
“In fact, it is surely important in all languages to have some way of distinguishing the concept of ‘sky’ from the concept of ‘dwelling place of God.’ In these passages translators should never use a term meaning ‘the dwelling place of God.’ It may not be necessary to use a term meaning ‘sky’ either, if there is some other expression in the language which gives the correct meaning of ‘everything that has been created’ or ‘the universe.’ There are of course places in the New Testament where Heaven, as the place where God lives, is contrasted with the earth. In these passages, translators should be careful to give the correct meaning. A good example of this is in the Lord’s Prayer, in Matt 6:10: ‘Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.’ Similarly, 1 Cor 15:47 says that ‘the first man [a reference to Adam] was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven.’ Passages like these are referring to Heaven, not to the sky. Other NT passages where heaven refers to God’s dwelling place, in contrast with earth, are Matt 5:34-35, 16:19, 18:18, Acts 7:49, James 5:12, and Rev 5:3.
“Sometimes in the New Testament, the word ‘heaven’ is used because of the Jewish reluctance to use the name of God. ‘Heaven’ in these cases is used in place of ‘God’ and refers to God himself. This is the case in the many references in Matthew to ‘the kingdom of heaven’ where other gospels have ‘the kingdom of God’ (e.g., compare Matt 4:17 with its parallels in Mark 1:15 and Luke 10:9). It is also most likely the case in references like Matt 16:1, Luke 20:4, 5, John 3:27, and even perhaps Col 1:5.
“There are some places, such as Matt 11:25, where God is called ‘Lord of heaven and earth.’ Since God is of course the Lord of Heaven as well as of the universe, it may not matter so much which interpretation is given in these passages (others are Luke 10:21 and Acts 17:24). Nevertheless, the intended meaning here is likely to be ‘the universe.’ This is because this expression in Greek, as Louw and Nida say, is a set expression referring to everything that has been created. Acts 17:24 in fact combines the idea of the creation of the universe with the idea of God as Master or Lord of the universe. (…)
“Old Testament background The use of ‘heaven and earth’ in the New Testament is very similar to what we find in the Old Testament, because it is largely based on the Old Testament.
“The Old Testament begins with the story of creation, which is presented as the creation of the heavens and the earth, with lights to shine in the heavens and give light to the earth. Birds are created to live in the heavens, animals to live on earth, and fish to live in the sea (Gen 1:1-2:4).
“As we can see from the way the creation story is told, it is meant to be understood as the creation of the universe. Although in English the regions above the earth have traditionally been called ‘the heavens’ in the story of creation, they cannot be called ‘Heaven,’ in the sense of the place where God dwells. In terms of modern English, it would probably be better to say ‘the sky and the earth’ or ‘the earth and the sky.’ The story of creation then becomes an important theme throughout the Old Testament. (…)
“In most passages, whether in the Old Testament or the New Testament, when ‘heaven and earth’ or ‘the heavens and the earth’ are mentioned, the meaning is the created universe. It is not a reference to Heaven, as the dwelling place of God. In English, translators have not been careful to keep this distinction clear, and this is probably true in many other languages as well. However, as we have seen, this can lead to real confusion for ordinary Bible readers. It is better if translators find ways to make the meaning clear in these passages. ‘Heaven’ should be mentioned only in passages which clearly mean the dwelling place of God. In other passages, an expression should be used which means only ‘sky.’ Or else, the whole expression ‘heaven and earth’ can be translated in a way to show that the whole universe is meant.”
Other languages that have a semantic distinction similar to English include (click or tap here to see more):
Mossi: saase — “sky”; nyingeri — “the up above”(source for Loma and Mossi: Bratcher/Nida)
Roviana: mamaṉa — “sly”; maṉauru — “heaven” (an old word, meaning “empty, open space of the sky”) (source: Carl Gross)
Kayaw: mô̄la or “canopy-under”/mô̄khû̄la or “canopy-above-under” — “sky” (atmosphere where there is just air); mô̄khû̄ or “canopy-on/above” — “heaven” (invisible abode of God and angels)
Mairasi: Sinyavi — an indigenous term that is used for both “sky” and heaven”; Surga — loanword from Sanskrit via Indonesian referring to “heaven” (source: Enggavoter 2004)
Kupsabiny: “up” for “sky” vs. “God’s Homestead” for “heaven” (source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
In some languages, such as Yagaria, a term that was originally used as “sky” (gokudana) was adopted by the Christian community as “heaven.” This resulted in a language shift so that now all communities uses “empty space / air” (galogina or hakalogina) as “sky” and gokudana is exclusively used for the Christian concept of heaven. (Source: Renck 1990, p. 133)
Many languages follow the original biblical languages in not making that distinction, such as (click or tap here to see more):
In some languages, such as Wandala, the vocabulary for terms for either “heaven” or “sky” is much richer than just to include those two distinction. While zhegela, the term that is specifically used for the physical sky was only used in early translations of the New Testament for “sky,” other terms such as samaya (used for both “sky” and “heaven”), zlanna (specifically used for the perfect abode of God and the goal of the faithful, as in Matthew 8:11), kwárá (a locational term used to speak of a chief’s rule [lit., “voice”] such as Matthew 3:2), or sleksire (“chieftaincy,” “kingship,” or “royalty” [originally from slekse “chief”] and used where there are no locational overtones, such as in Matthew 16:28) are used. (Source: Mona Perrin in Notes on Translation 1/1999, p. 51ff.)
Under the auspices of the Dhama Mate Swe Association , a new Burmese translation of the New Testament was published in 2024 which uses terminology that attempts to overcome “insurmountable barriers to the Buddhist world.” One term that this version uses is ရွှေမြို့တော် (shway myahoettaw) or “Golden City” for “heaven,” referring it to the golden city described in Revelation 21 but at the same time using a Buddhist term for a desired destination that does not have the Buddhist connotation of ကောင်း ကင် (kaungg kain) as being the Trāyastriṃśa (တာဝတိံသာ) heaven, home of Śakra/Indra. This Burmese translation formed the basis of translations of parts of the New Testament into other languages spoken in Burma, including Sumtu Chin, Ekai Chin, Songlai Chin, Danau, Kadu, Kanan, Khün, Lahta Karen, Rakhine, Marma (Northern Rakhine), Riang Lai, Samtao, Shwe Palaung, Tai Laing, Taungyo, and Chak (Thet). (Source: Jay Pratt)
The English translation by Sarah Ruden (2021) uses “sky” throughout. Ruden explains (p. li): “The Greek word ouranos refers evenhandedly to the physical sky and the place—often pictured as a royal court — where supreme divinity resides. ‘Sky’ seems generally better, first of all in avoiding the wackier modern imagery that comes with the English ‘heaven.’ And even when a supernatural realm is meant, ‘sky’ will often do, because the divine realm was thought to be located there, in addition to the weather and the heavenly bodies, whereas ‘heaven’ to us is fundamentally a religious term, and the ancients did not tend to separate linguistic domains in this way. I have retained the plural ‘skies’ where I see it in the Greek, because it is a Hebraism familiar in English translations of scripture and (I hope) not too archaic or jarring.”
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Song of Solomon 6:4:
Kupsabiny: “Oh, please, my beloved, you are beautiful like Tirzah, You have a full figure like Jerusalem. You are disciplined like warriors who walk proudly with flags/banners.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “O my darling, you are charming like Tirzah and beautiful like Jerusalem as majestic as an army with billowing banners.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “You (sing.) (are) beautiful, my beloved. You (sing.) (are) just (as)-beautiful-(as) the city of Tirza and of Jerusalem. You (sing.) (are) very breathtaking/awesome like soldiers who have banners/flags.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “My darling, you are beautiful, like Tirzah the capital city of Israel and Jerusalem the capital city of Judah are beautiful; you are as exciting as a group/battalion of troops holding up their banners.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
In verse 4 the young man uses three adjectives to describe the young woman, each linked to a parallel comparison.
You are beautiful … my love: see comments on 1.15 and 4.1. The adjective beautiful appears at the beginning of the clause and is thus emphasized. There is no verb “be” used in Hebrew here, only the emphatic pronoun You. In somewhat stilted English, we might translate “Beautiful you are….”
The pronoun You occurs only once in this verse but is the subject of each of the adjectives listed. In some languages the pronoun may have to be repeated, though this may rob the verse of some of its poetic character: “You are beautiful like Tirzah; you are lovely like Jerusalem; you are….”
As Tirzah … as Jerusalem: Tirzah was an ancient capital of northern Israel, and Jerusalem the continuing center of the nation. By comparing his lover with these two cities, the young man must be thinking of some abstract qualities about them which remind him of her. Tirzah became Jeroboam I’s capital when he separated Israel from the southern tribes (1 Kgs 14.17; 15.33). Other descriptions in the Song also use place names in a similar manner (1.5; and especially 7.4, 5). Jerusalem became David’s capital. Both Tirzah and Jerusalem were regarded as special because of their royal associations. On the adjective comely see comments in 1.5, 10.
In translation the simile should make clear that Tirzah is also a city, not a person. Good News Translation says “… as lovely as the city of Tirzah.” Additionally translators can aim to express the point of the comparison, namely that like royal cities there is something special and noble about her. “You have the regal beauty of such royal cities as Tirzah and Jerusalem” is one way of conveying that sense, or “you are as beautiful as the royal cities Tirzah and Jerusalem.”
Terrible as an army with banners: binding this subsection together (6.4-10) is an inclusio, the first part of which appears in this phrase. It follows the pattern of the previous two phrases, namely an adjective with the preposition “like” introducing the comparison, then the item being compared. However, in this third example it is not a city which the woman is compared to, but something called nidgaloth. Good News Translation gives the impression that she is likened to the cities themselves when it suggests she is “as breathtaking as these great cities.” The term nidgaloth occurs only in this phrase in the Old Testament, so its meaning is not easy to determine. Strangely New English Bible and Jerusalem Bible omit the phrase, but this is hardly the way to solve the problem. Some commentators believe the word is borrowed from verse 10 and inserted here, but that still leaves us with our basic question about its meaning. One ancient Jewish scholar, Ibn Ezra, suggests it refers to “banners.” Revised Standard Version, New American Bible, and others accept this suggestion, associating this with armies or troops. Perhaps there is a foreign influence present here. In Akkadian the root means “look,” leading to a meaning “something distinguished or astonishing.”
The phrase follows the adjective terrible. In Hebrew this term means something that strikes awe or deep respect in a person (see also Hab 1.7, “Dread”). From this point of view the young woman’s beauty so captivates the young man that he is awestruck. A possible translation then is “something wonderful to behold,” or “to see you is to be totally captivated by you,” or even “when I look at you my heart melts.” Some commentators, pointing to various mythical goddesses of love, suggest that “terrible” (in the sense of causing great fear) is part of the description here, but this hardly fits this context. We recommend avoiding words such as “terrible” or “formidable,” which are too negative and in no way complimentary. Clearly there is no way we can determine with certainty what the final phrase means. To omit it, however, as some do, is no solution to the problem. Translators can make an informed guess as to what it means and attempt to put that understanding into words. We shall need to have some kind of footnote to alert readers to the fact that the text is extremely difficult to translate adequately.
For translation we may suggest:
• My darling, you are as beautiful
As the royal city of Tirzah,
As lovely as Jerusalem,
And totally captivating!*
Footnote: * Hebrew uncertain
In order to preserve the literary inclusio of this unit, the same translation of the phrase terrible … banners should be adopted in the final verse (verse 10) as well.
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 .
The man praised the woman and sang about springtime
In this section the man described the woman in two separate speeches (6:4–10 and 7:1–10). Some verses are difficult to understand, especially 6:11–13, and it is important to think about them carefully. The woman responded to the man in 7:11 and continued to speak to the end of the section at 8:4.
The verse numbering in the Hebrew text is different from the Berean Standard Bible and a majority of English versions. The Hebrew text begins chapter 7 where the Berean Standard Bible begins 6:13, so in chapter 7 the verses in the Hebrew text are one number higher than the verse numbers in the Berean Standard Bible. For example, 6:13–7:13 in the Berean Standard Bible is 7:1–14 in the Hebrew text (and also in the New Jerusalem Bible and Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures). It is helpful to be aware that some commentaries follow the Hebrew verse numbering. The Notes will follow the verse numbers in the Berean Standard Bible (along with the majority of English versions).
6:4–10 The man described the woman
In 6:4–10, the man spoke to the woman. In 6:4–7, he spoke directly to her with forms like “you” and “your.” But in 6:8–10, he spoke about her, using forms like “she” and “her.” In 6:10 the man probably quoted what the other women said to praise her beauty.
This section begins and ends with the same phrase. The Berean Standard Bible translates the phrase in 6:4c as “as majestic as troops with banners,” and in 6:10 it repeats this phrase. However, the context is different, so scholars are not certain whether the meaning of the phrase is the same or different in the two verses. The notes for 6:10 will discuss this issue.
In 6:4–10 the man sang his second praise song to describe the woman. This song is similar in some ways to his first praise song in 4:1–5, and it repeats some portions of that song. However, here his words seem less intimate. In 4:9 the man indicated that she is superior to all other women.
6:4–10 The man spoke
6:4a–c
The two lines, 6:4a and 6:4b, are parallel. In each line the man compared the woman’s beauty to the beauty of an important city. In 6:4a he compared her beauty to Tirzah, and in 6:4b he compared it to Jerusalem. In the third line, he compared the woman to troops carrying banners.
When the man compared the woman to cities and armies, he implied that she was beautiful, grand, splendid, and strong like those cities and armies. He felt awe when he was with her, just as he felt awe when he was in the royal cities or looked at the powerful armies. Be sure that your translation communicates this meaning.
6:4a
You are as beautiful, my darling, as Tirzah: Here the man used the phrase my darling as a loving name for the woman, as he did in 1:9. You can translate it in the same way here. In some languages it is more natural to translate the phrase in a different place in the sentence. For example:
My darling, you are as beautiful as Tirzah (NET Bible) -or-
You are beautiful, my true love, like Tirzah (God’s Word)
You are as beautiful…as Tirzah: Here the man compared the woman’s beauty to an important city called Tirzah. It had beautiful streets and grand buildings. The man implied that the woman was as grand and beautiful as that city. Some other ways to translate this comparison are:
as lovely as the city of Tirzah (Good News Translation) -or-
you are beautiful…like the splendid/magnificent city of Tirzah
beautiful: The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as beautiful is a common word that is used often in the Song. It is used in the phrase “most beautiful of women” in 6:1. Here it compares the woman’s beauty to the beauty of a city. In some languages it is natural to use different words to refer to the beauty of a woman and the beauty of a city. For example:
You are as beautiful as the grand city of Tirzah
Tirzah:Tirzah was the name of a city that King Solomon favored. It was known for its royal splendor and beauty. It became the capital city of the northern kingdom of Israel soon after Solomon died. To many people, the name Tirzah is not familiar, so it may be helpful to make explicit that it is the name of a city. For example:
as lovely as the city of Tirzah (Good News Translation) -or-
beautiful like Tirzah city is beautiful
my darling: The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as my darling literally means “my friend” or “my companion.” But in a context like the Song, it has a romantic sense. This word is the most common way the man used to refer to the woman in the Song. It was first used in 1:10–11, and you may translate it as you did there.
6:4b
as lovely as Jerusalem: Here the man compared the woman to the city of Jerusalem. He used a different Hebrew word from the word “beautiful” in 6:4a. This word refers to a type of beauty that is appropriate for what is being described. In this situation it is the kind of beauty that is fitting for the woman and also for those great cities.
This word was also used in Song 1:4, 2:14, and 4:3. Refer to how you translated it in these verses. Some other ways to translate the comparison here are:
you are as comely as Jerusalem -or-
you are awesome/grand like the city of Jerusalem.
Jerusalem:Jerusalem was the capital city of the southern kingdom of Judah. It was known for its royal splendor and was famous for its great beauty.
6:4c
as majestic as troops with banners: In this clause the man continued to describe the woman. There are several ways to interpret the clause:
(1) It refers to being as awe-inspiring as an army of soldiers, in which some of the soldiers carried large flags (banners). For example:
as majestic as troops with banners. (New International Version)
(2) It refers to being as awe-inspiring as the sky and all its stars. For example:
more powerful than all of the stars in the heavens. (Contemporary English Version)
(3) It refers to the splendor of these cities without mentioning an army or banners. For example:
as breathtaking as these great cities. (Good News Translation)
It is recommended that you follow option (1) along with most English versions.
majestic: In this context the Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as majestic probably indicates that the woman was awesome and imposing. The man respected her and felt awed by her great beauty. Some other ways to translate this meaning are:
awesome as an army with banners. (English Standard Version) -or-
as awe-inspiring as bannered armies! (NET Bible)
In some languages it may be distracting or strange to compare a woman to an army. If that is true in your language, you may be able to compare her to a queen leading her army. For example:
You are as ⌊majestic⌋ as ⌊a queen coming with⌋ an army waving flags.
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