complete verse (Song of Solomon 4:4)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Song of Solomon 4:4:

  • Kupsabiny: “Oh yes, you longnecked.
    Your neck is so beautiful,
    and it is straight
    like a slender gourd.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Your neck is like the high tower of David
    In it are hanging a thousand shields,
    all of them are shields of warriors.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “Your (sing.) neck (is) just like the tower of David which was-built beautifully. It has a necklace which (is) like a thousand shields of the soldiers.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “Your long neck is beautiful like the tower of King David
    that was built using layers/rows of stone.
    The ornaments on your necklaces are like 1,000 shields that are hanging on the walls of a tower;
    each one belongs to a warrior.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

David

The name that is transliterated as “David” in English is translated in Spanish Sign Language with the sign signifying king and a sling (referring to 1 Samuel 17:49 and 2 Samuel 5:4). (Source: John Elwode in The Bible Translator 2008, p. 78ff. )


“Elizabeth” in Spanish Sign Language, source: Sociedad Bíblica de España

In German Sign Language it is only the sling. (See here ).


“David” in German Sign Language (source )

For more information on translations of proper names with sign language see Sign Language Bible Translations Have Something to Say to Hearing Christians .

The (Protestant) Mandarin Chinese transliteration of “David” is 大卫 (衛) / Dàwèi which carries an additional meaning of “Great Protector.”

Click or tap here to see a short video clip about David (source: Bible Lands 2012)

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: David .

Translation commentary on Song of Songs 4:4

Your neck is like the tower of David: mention of the tower of David points to one of the fortresses built by this king. It cannot be identified today. The tower describes a tall solid structure, located either on the city wall or at a corner, or an independent structure within the city. Comparison with the young woman’s neck is possible because a long neck was then considered a thing of great beauty. In many cultures this is still true today. Otherwise translators can make this aspect clear, saying some thing like “your long neck is as beautiful as David’s tower.”

Built for an arsenal is a difficult phrase. The passive participle built is followed by a prepositional phrase of uncertain meaning. The problem is a long-standing one; even the Septuagint translators found it difficult to render this phrase, and so they simply preserved the Hebrew term. Scholars today have come to accept that it means “arranged in rows.” Thus the phrase seems to describe the way in which the stones forming the tower were built row upon row, or “in courses” (New English Bible). This is very different from Good News Translation “round and smooth,” an interpretation that seems to be without any basis. Other translations that have been used are “girt with battlements” (New American Bible), “built as a fortress” (Jerusalem Bible), “built for trophies” (Traduction œcuménique de la Bible), and “built to hold weapons” (New Jerusalem Bible).

We need to ask, however, what the phrase “row upon row” or “in courses” conveys. We imagine that this tower was admired for its skilled workmanship. It is possible, then, that the poet is trying to say that the young woman’s neck is “well-built,” or simply long and beautiful. However, it is more like that “row upon row” refers to the following image, her necklaces.

Whereon hang a thousand bucklers: the phrase describes a thousand shields hanging on the walls of the tower. A “buckler” is a shield to protect against sword and arrow attack. Ezek 27.11 describes a similar situation in which shields decorate the walls. Whereon can refer to the young woman’s neck or to the tower. But as this metaphor unfolds we see a picture of a tall and elegant woman with a beautiful necklace. The bucklers are a figure for ornaments worn around the young woman’s neck. Good News Translation turns this metaphor into a simile, “with a necklace like a thousand shields hung about it.”

In Hebrew a thousand is a general term for any large number difficult to count. Certainly thousand is an exaggeration here. We may render this as “countless” or “without number,” or any similar equivalent. Also we may be able to combine the previous figure, “row upon row,” which applied to the tower building, with the description of the necklaces. Drawings and statues from the ancient world show women with necklaces starting at the bottom of the neck, reaching to the chin.

All of them shields of warriors: the unusual word shields may also describe “darts” and similar weapons, so probably here it is an inclusive term for different kinds of armor. All can be rendered as “all kinds of.” On warriors see comments on 3.7. This is clearly a descriptive clause meant to add color to what has just been said. It seems to suggest that warriors’ shields are particularly beautiful. Again in many cultures these images will be difficult to understand, especially in those cultures where the mention of “warriors” and “battles” is anything but romantic! However, if we wish to conserve the flavor of the original, we will have to find some kind of compromise.

Translation can be:

• Your neck is tall and beautiful
like the Tower of David.
Your necklaces hang there
like rows and rows of shields and spears.

• David’s tower stands tall, built row upon row.
So your beautiful neck covered in necklaces
Shines with pendants like thousands of shields.

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 .

SIL Translator’s Notes on Song of Songs 4:4

4:4

In 4:4 the man used a simile that has two parts. He began by comparing the woman’s neck to the tower of David (4:4a–b). Then he compared her jewelry to shields, which were hanging on the tower (4:4c–d).

4:4a–b

Your neck is like the tower of David, built with rows of stones: Here the man compared the woman’s neck to the tower of David. The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as rows of stones seems to describe the way that the tower was built, but the meaning of the Hebrew word is unknown. It occurs only here in the OT. There are at least three ways to interpret it:

(1) It means that woman’s neck is similar in some way to the impressive way that the tower of David was designed and constructed. For example:

Your neck is like David’s beautifully-designed tower. (God’s Word)

(2) It means “built in rows.” This may refer to the woman’s necklaces as being like rows of shields (4:4c–d) or like the way the tower was built with rows of stones. (These rows are called “courses” in some English versions.) For example:

Your neck is like the tower of David, built in courses… (New Revised Standard Version)

(3) It describes the function of the tower, either as a storage place for weapons or as a defensive structure. For example:

Your neck is like the tower of David, built for an arsenal… (Revised Standard Version)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). The woman’s beautiful neck and necklaces were like the tower of David, which was tall, majestic, and beautiful. The shields that hung from it were also beautiful. They were probably decorated with gold and jewels that shone in the sun like the woman’s necklaces described in 4:4c–d.

Because the Berean Standard Bible does not follow interpretation (1), the Notes uses the New International Version as the source text for the Notes and Display of 4:4a–b.

(New International Version) Your neck is like the tower of David, built with elegance: In this comparison the author indicates that the woman’s neck was beautiful and elegant. Some other ways to translate this meaning are:

Your neck is more graceful than the tower of David. (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
Your neck is as beautiful as the tower of David (New Living Translation (2004))

(New International Version) the tower of David: The phrase tower of David refers here to one of the towers that King David caused to be built. It does not refer to the tower near Jerusalem that is known today as the “tower of David.” That tower was built a long time after the Song of Songs was written. The tower in this verse refers to an older tower. Scholars do not have any information about this tower except what is said here in the Song, and the Bible does not refer to it anywhere else.

The Song implies that the tower was large, impressive, and beautiful. Probably David did not actually build it himself. He provided the money and instructions for it to be built. Some other ways to translate the phrase the tower of David are:

the tower that David ⌊built⌋
-or-
the tower which David ⌊caused to be built⌋

tower: A tower in ancient Israel was a building that was much taller (and often not as wide) as the buildings around it. Most towers were made of stone, but some of the towers that King David built were made of white marble. Marble is a beautiful, smooth, expensive stone. It is also hard and durable.

A tower was usually used to watch for signs that enemies were coming to attack. It was also a place that was hard for enemies to enter, so it protected the soldiers and other people during battle. In some languages it may be helpful to make the meaning more explicit. For example:

watchtower
-or-
tall building ⌊where men⌋ guarded ⌊the city⌋

(New International Version) built with elegance: The meaning of the Hebrew word that the New International Version translates as built with elegance is unknown. However, the context indicates that the tower was beautiful and well-built. Another way to translate this meaning is:

beautifully designed (God’s Word)

4:4c–d

In 4:4c–d the author continued to compare the woman’s neck to the watchtower. Here he compared the jewelry on her neck to the shields that hung from the tower. These shields were impressive and beautiful. They were probably decorated with gold and jewels to make them shine in the sun. The woman’s jewelry was also impressive and beautiful. Translate in a way that communicates that picture.

on it hang a thousand shields, all of them shields of warriors: The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as shields refers to small round shields that soldiers (warriors) carried in battle. The phrase on it hang a thousand shields indicates that a thousand of these shields were hanging from the tower. The text indicates that the woman’s necklaces or ornaments and these shields were similar to each other in some way.

Some other way to translate the whole comparison are:

Your neck is like the tower of David, round and smooth, with a necklace like a thousand shields hung around it. (Good News Translation)
-or-
Your neck is as beautiful as the tower of David, jeweled with the shields of a thousand heroes. (New Living Translation (2004))

all of them shields of warriors: The phrase all of them shields of warriors is parallel to a thousand shields. It repeats the idea of shields and adds the information that they were warriors’ shields. It was common to hang shields on walls for decoration. They were considered beautiful ornaments.

The author probably focused here on the beauty of the ornamental shields that he compared to the beauty of the woman’s jewelry and to her own beauty. The magnificence of the tower with military shields suggests that the woman was like a beautiful queen.

See the preceding note for examples of how to translate this comparison.

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