Quote:
Originally Posted by Ea
Interesting. But I wondered if you happen to have a translation that's written more for accuracy that poetry (as far as I understand, the King James version is not) - ...
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I can't speak of the Danish versions, but here are a few various English translations of
Solomon 2:16:
The
King James Version I quoted in the original post was first published in 1611. The older
Geneva Bible (1599) reads virtually the same as the King James:
.....I am my welbeloueds, and my welbeloued is mine, who feedeth among the lilies.
Most modern Christian versions have a different take on that verse:
A fairly recent Catholic translation,
New Jerusalem Bible (1985), reads:
.....My love is mine and I am his. He pastures his flock among the lilies.
The
New Revised Standard version (1989)
.....My beloved is mine and I am his; he pastures his flock among the lilies.
When making their new translation in 1985 (The
TaNaKh), the Jewish Publication Society chose to go with the older rendering:
.....My beloved is mine And I am his Who browses among the lilies.
And finally, the
New King James Version (1982) reads:
.....My beloved
is mine, and I
am his. He feeds
his flock among the lilies.
Note that the phrase "his flock" is in parenthesis. The New King James version follows in the tradition of the original King James version. Whenever you see a word or phrase in parenthesis in either version, it indicates that word or phrase is not in the original, but has been added by the translators, presumably for clarity.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ea
...because I couldn't resist checking a Danish version (a 1931 translation), which gives the word as: 'vogter' - which translates to watcher, keeper, guardian, shepherd, herdsman, custodian - and as far as I read it, the most accurate translation is 'watcher'.
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The occupation of her lover seems to me to be irrelevant, unless the remainder of the verse is referring to his flock, and the words "his flock" don't appear to be in the original. I'm sure there are one or two shepherds out there somewhere who enjoy performing cunnilingus as well as the rest of us!
Not that I'm saying that's the undisputed truth concerning the meaning of that verse. All I'm saying it that it has had me wondering for quite a while. It is, after all, a
very erotic collection of poetry.