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2.0 KiB
lay on his couch
"sat eating his special meal." This probably refers to one of the couches on which people would lie around a table at a banquet. You could translate using the common word for what people do with their bodies when they eat special meals.
nard
an oil that people got from the expensive nard or spikenard (valerian plant with small pink or white flowers) and used to make their skin soft and to have a pleasant odor.
emitted its fragrance
"gave off its good smell"
My beloved is to me like a bag of myrrh ... breasts
Women would place a small bag or pouch of myrrh on a necklace so it would lie between their breasts and they could enjoy its pleasant fragrance. This woman enjoys having her beloved close to her. She adds "to me" to show that she does not expect anyone else to enjoy her beloved in this way. AT: "I enjoy my beloved as much as I enjoy having a bag of myrrh ... breasts" (See: rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-simile)
beloved
Some versions such as the UDB understand this word to refer to the one who loves the woman, but the ULB understands it to refer to the one whom the woman loves.
lying between my breasts
If this phrase would offend your readers, you could use a euphemism. AT: "close to me" (See: rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-euphemism)
My beloved is to me like a cluster of henna flowers
Henna flowers have a fragrance that people enjoy. The woman enjoys her beloved. She adds "to me" to show that she does not expect anyone else to enjoy her beloved in this way. AT: "I enjoy my beloved as much as I enjoy the smell of clusters of henna flowers" (See: rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-simile)
henna flowers
flowers from a small desert tree that people used as a perfume