Because of changes in the personal pronouns used, this verse again causes problems for both interpreters and translators. Following on from verse 3, however, it is clear that the young woman is still speaking.

Draw me after you: the young woman speaks of her longing for her lover. The imperative Draw me shows how eager she is for him to take her away with him. Draw speaks of a power that can be for good (as in Hos 11.4) or for evil (Psa 10.9); it may also portray being in bondage to another person, being carried away forcibly. In this context we note the woman’s longing for her lover to carry her off to where they can be alone. We can say “Take me [away] with you” as in Revised English Bible and Good News Translation.

Let us make haste expresses the same feeling as the opening imperative. It is the first of four first person emphatic verb forms in this verse. There is urgency in the woman’s voice, which we can convey by “Let’s run [away],” or more generally, “Let’s hurry.” The plural “us” in this clause certainly must refer to the two young lovers. In languages that make a distinction between different first person plural pronouns, an inclusive “us” should be used. Or a dual form may be appropriate, meaning “you-and-I [we-two].”

The next lines again bring us to the problem of change of person. The first lines have an imperative sense, addressed to the lover: Draw me after you, let us make haste. But the rest of the verse includes several references that are difficult to deal with in translation. First, there is a third person comment, The king has brought me into his chambers. Next, there is another emphatic “we,” one that seems to exclude the lover, because he is in fact addressed: We will exult and rejoice in you; we will extol your love more than wine. Finally another group is introduced: rightly do they love you. These problems will be addressed as we examine each clause.

With the clause The king has brought me into his chambers, it is clear that the young woman is still speaking, but she no longer seems to be addressing her lover. Is this then a statement of fact, as Revised Standard Version suggests? Or is this something imagined by the young woman? Some have proposed a slight change in the Hebrew text and have translated an imperative “take me to your room.” Contemporary English Version says “Take me to your home” (compare Good News Translation). However, the verb form in the Hebrew describes a completed action. Therefore Revised Standard Version seems more correct. Another possibility is to translate the verb as a wish, “Oh, that he would take me to his room.” One French version (Pléiade) emphasizes her happy expectancy: “When he will bring me into his room…!”

In Egyptian love lyrics king or “prince” is a term of endearment for a lover. Following this tradition we understand king here not as a reference to Solomon or to a real king, nor as evidence for a royal wedding ritual; it is simply a term of endearment that the young woman uses when speaking of her lover. In some languages this metaphor will probably not have the same meaning, so we may need to render king as “my lover.” Good News Translation suggests “Be my king and…,” which actually means that the lover is “like a king” to her. Another possibility is to use “my ‘king’ ” within inverted commas to show that it was not a literal reference to a royal person. FRCL says “You are my king!” which clearly expresses the figurative meaning. Otherwise we can add a footnote to explain the meaning of the term, and retain the word “king” or an equivalent such as “chief” or “ruler” in the text.

His chambers is also a plural form in the Hebrew, though this is certainly not crucial to the translation. Perhaps because of the reference to a king, some English versions keep the word “chamber,” and some French versions use a term appropriate for a king’s palace. However, the real meaning is an inner, private room, thus referring to “his [bed]room.” In some cultures a direct reference like this may be inappropriate, so “his room” or “his home” may be more acceptable.

Translation of this clause can be:

• My lover took me to his room.

• My “king” took me to his room.

• My lover took me [to his] home.

We will exult and rejoice in you: this again leaves us with a problem about who is being spoken of. You is clearly the king, so who is we? There are at least three possibilities.
(1) We may be the couple. This is the meaning adopted by Bible en français courant and Good News Translation: “We will be happy together,” where we is the inclusive and dual pronoun form. This same understanding is reflected in New Jerusalem Bible “Let us delight and rejoice in your love,” and Traduction œcuménique de la Bible “Let’s be joyous and happy, thanks to you.”
(2) Others have seen the we as referring to the group of women who admire the young man. In this case the pronoun form will be an exclusive plural form.
(3) Another solution is to see the young woman as talking or referring to herself in the first person plural, a feature that is known to occur in Sumerian sacred marriage songs (Pope).

This last solution seems promising, so we can say “Let me rejoice and take pleasure in you.” Alternatively we can use New Jerusalem Bible and Traduction œcuménique de la Bible as models, where “we” refers to the couple.

Exult and rejoice: the two verbal phrases occur together and have the same meaning, “rejoice.” If necessary we can use one combined or intensive term in the translation, “greatly rejoice.” Otherwise two terms of similar meaning may be used: “Let us rejoice and take pleasure in your love.”

In you is a masculine singular form. It refers to the young man, or to his love. Good News Translation translates in more general terms, “We will … lose ourselves in love.”

We will extol your love more than wine: we have already noted the association between love and wine in verse 2. Wine is figurative for all that is pleasurable (see comments above in verse 2). The young woman remarks that the young man’s love makes her happier than any wine could. We will extol is another example of the plural with singular meaning; the young woman speaks of her strong feelings toward the young man. Revised Standard Version extol is one possible meaning of the Hebrew verb, whose root meaning is “remember.” In the particular verb form used here, it can mean “recall,” “mention,” or “celebrate.” Hence Jerusalem Bible and New English Bible suggest “praise.” Other possibilities are “boast” as in Psa 20.8 (“Some boast of…”), or “inhale” in the sense of savoring something. Gordis cites examples of the latter meaning in Lev 24.7; Isa 66.3; Hos 14.7.

Various possibilities for translation exist:

• Let me celebrate your love [for me].

• I will recall your love [for me].

• I will praise your love.

Revised Standard Version more than wine indicates the extent of her affection. However, as the phrase stands, it is unclear what it qualifies in the sentence, whether the verb “extol” or the noun phrase “your love.” Will she praise his love for her more than she will praise the pleasures of wine? Or will she celebrate his love, which itself is better than the pleasures of wine? This may seem a fine distinction to make, but the Hebrew text allows both possibilities. If it is necessary to choose one, then probably she intends to say that the pleasure he gives her is greater than the pleasure wine offers.

Two possibilities for rendering this line are:

• I will praise your love, which is more delightful than wine.

• Let me taste your love; it is more enjoyable than wine.

Good News Translation “drink deep and lose ourselves in love” seems to miss the thrust of the comparison. Where reference to wine is a problem (see comments on verse 2), we may say “Let me enjoy your love; it is more enjoyable than anything on earth.”

Rightly do they love you: the initial Hebrew term comes from the root meaning “upright, straight.” Early versions and modern commentators reflect a variety of interpretations. The majority, however, view it as an adverb, “rightly” or “correctly.” This suggests that it is natural to fall in love with a young man like this. Fox and Gordis both follow the ancient Jewish scholar Ibn Ezra and divide the sentence differently, bringing wine together with the word for “right” and explaining the meaning as “smooth,” “good,” or “strong wine.” This interpretation results in a translation, “more than smooth wine do they love you.” They will of course refer to the “maidens” or “other women” mentioned in verse 3. In many translations the pronoun they will have to be expressed as a noun, if it is not immediately clear who is being talked about. Another acceptable solution may be to use the general expression “every woman.” Following this statement the young woman confesses that her lover is irresistible, and even other women find him so.

In translating the last line of the verse, we may follow Good News Translation “No wonder all women love you,” which captures the spirit of the saying well. Other possibilities are “It is natural that any woman would love you”; “It is not surprising that every woman loves you.”

With the variety of possible interpretations, many translation models for the verse as a whole can be considered. Two possibilities are:

• “Take me away with you! Let’s hurry.”
My king took me to his room.
“Let me rejoice and be glad in your love!
I will praise your love more than wine!
No wonder all the women love you!”

• Take me away with you! Let’s hurry!
Oh, [or, I wish] that my king would take me to his room.
Let’s rejoice and enjoy our love!
Your caresses are smoother than wine.
It’s not surprising every woman adores you!

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 .