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Song of Solomon 3:2
New English Translation
Song of Solomon 3:2
New English Translation
2 “I will arise[a] and look all around[b] throughout the town,
and throughout the streets[c] and squares;
I will search for my beloved.”
I searched for him but I did not find him.[d]
Footnotes
- Song of Solomon 3:2 sn Three first person common singular cohortatives appear in verse 2: אָקוּמָה (ʾaqumah, “I will arise”), אֲסוֹבְבָה (ʾasovevah, “I will go about”), and אֲבַקְשָׁה (ʾavaqeshah, “I will seek”). These cohortatives have been taken in two basic senses: (1) resolve: “I will arise…I will go about…I will seek” (KJV, NIV) or (2) necessity: “I must arise…I must go about…I must seek” (NASB, NJPS). There is no ethical or moral obligation/necessity, but the context emphasizes her intense determination (e.g., 3:4b). Therefore, they should be classified as cohortatives of resolve, expressing the speaker’s determination to pursue a course of action. The three-fold repetition of the cohortative form emphasizes the intensity of her determination.tn The emphatic particle of exhortation נא appears in the expression אָקוּמָה נָּא (ʾaqumah nah, “I will arise…”). This particle is used with first person common singular cohortatives to emphasize self-deliberation and a determined resolve to act (BDB 609 s.v. נָא b.3.a) (e.g., Gen 18:21; Exod 3:3; 2 Sam 14:15; Isa 5:1; Job 32:21).
- Song of Solomon 3:2 tn The root סָבַב (savav) in the Qal stem means “to go around, to do a circuit” (1 Sam 7:16; 2 Chr 17:9; 23:2; Eccl 12:5; Song 3:3; Isa 23:16; Hab 2:16), while the Polel stem means “to prowl around” (Ps 59:7, 15; Song 3:2) (HALOT 739-740 s.v. סבב). The idea here is that the Beloved is determined to “look all around” until she finds her beloved.
- Song of Solomon 3:2 sn There is a consonantal wordplay in 3:2 between the roots בקשׁ and בשׁק, that is, between אֲבַקְשָׁה (ʾavaqeshah, “I will seek [him]”) and בַּשְּׁוָקִים (bashevaqim, “streets”). The wordplay emphasizes that she searched in every nook and cranny.
- Song of Solomon 3:2 sn The statement בִּקַּשְׁתִּיו וְלֹא מְצָאתִיו (biqqashtiv veloʾ metsaʾtiv, “I sought him but I did not find him”) appears twice in 3:1-2. In both cases it concludes a set of cola. The repetition depicts her mounting disappointment in her failure to locate her beloved. It stands in strong contrast with 3:4.
Song of Solomon 3:3
New English Translation
Song of Solomon 3:3
New English Translation
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Footnotes
- Song of Solomon 3:3 tn Heb “those who go around the city” or “those who go around in the city.” The expression הַסֹּבְבִים בָּעִיר (hassovevim baʿir, “those who go around the city”) probably refers to the watchmen of the city walls rather than night city street patrol (e.g., Ps 127:1; Song 5:7; Isa 21:11; 62:6). The Israelite night watchmen of the walls is paralleled by the Akkadian sahir duri (“one who goes around the wall”) which appears in a lexical text as the equivalent of ma-sar musi (“night watchman”) (CAD 4:192). See M. H. Pope, Song of Songs (AB), 419. There is a wordplay in 3:2-3 between the verb וַאֲסוֹבְבָה (vaʾasovevah, “I will go about”) and הַסֹּבְבִים (hassovevim, “those who go around”). This wordplay draws attention to the ironic similarity between the woman’s action and the action of the city’s watchmen. Ironically, she failed to find her beloved as she went around in the city, but the city watchmen found her. Rather than finding the one she was looking for, she was found.
- Song of Solomon 3:3 tn Heb “the one whom my soul loves—have you seen [him]?” The normal Hebrew word-order (verb-subject-direct object) is reversed in 3:3 (direct object-verb-subject) to emphasize the object of her search: אֵת שֶׁאָהֲבָה נַפְשִׁי רְאִיתֶם (’et she’ahavah nafshi re’item, “The one whom my soul loves—have you seen [him]?”).
Revelation 11:2
New English Translation
Revelation 11:2
New English Translation
2 But[a] do not measure the outer courtyard[b] of the temple; leave it out,[c] because it has been given to the Gentiles,[d] and they will trample on the holy city[e] for forty-two months.
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- Revelation 11:2 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.
- Revelation 11:2 tn On the term αὐλήν (aulēn) BDAG 150 s.v. αὐλή 1 states, “(outer) court of the temple…Rv 11:2.”
- Revelation 11:2 tn The precise meaning of the phrase ἔκβαλε ἔξωθεν (ekbale exōthen) is difficult to determine.
- Revelation 11:2 tn Or “to the nations” (the same Greek word may be translated “Gentiles” or “nations”).
- Revelation 11:2 sn The holy city appears to be a reference to Jerusalem. See also Luke 21:24.
New English Translation (NET)
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