The Song of Solomon 8:1-14

  • Young woman (1-4)

    • “If only you were like my brother” (1)

  • Young woman’s brothers (5a)

    • ‘Who is this, leaning upon her dear one?’

  • Young woman (5b-7)

    • “Love is as strong as death is” (6)

  • Young woman’s brothers (8, 9)

    • “If she is a wall, . . . but if she is a door, . . .” (9)

  • Young woman (10-12)

    • “I am a wall” (10)

  • Shepherd (13)

    • ‘Let me hear your voice’

  • Young woman (14)

    • “Be swift like a gazelle”

8  “If only you were like my brother,Who nursed at my mother’s breasts! Then if I found you outside, I would kiss you,+And no one would despise me.  2  I would lead you;I would bring you into the house of my mother,+She who taught me. I would give you spiced wine to drink,The fresh juice of pomegranates.  3  His left hand would be under my head,And his right hand would embrace me.+  4  I put you under oath, O daughters of Jerusalem: Do not try to awaken or arouse love in me until it feels inclined.”+  5  “Who is this coming up from the wilderness,Leaning upon her dear one?” “Under the apple tree I awakened you. There your mother was in labor with you. There she who gave birth to you was in labor.  6  Place me as a seal upon your heart,As a seal upon your arm,For love is as strong as death is,+And exclusive devotion is as unyielding as the Grave.* Its flames are a blazing fire, the flame of Jah.*+  7  Surging waters cannot extinguish love,+Nor can rivers wash it away.+ If a man would offer all the wealth of his house for love,It* would be utterly despised.”  8  “We have a little sister,+And she has no breasts. What will we do for our sisterOn the day when she is spoken for?”  9  “If she is a wall,We will build upon her a battlement of silver,But if she is a door,We will board her up with a cedar plank.” 10  “I am a wall,And my breasts are like towers. So in his eyes I have becomeAs one who finds peace. 11  Solʹo·mon had a vineyard+ in Baʹal-haʹmon. He entrusted the vineyard to caretakers. Each one would bring in a thousand pieces of silver for its fruit. 12  I have my own vineyard at my disposal. The thousand pieces of silver* belong to you, O Solʹo·mon,And two hundred to those who care for its fruit.” 13  “O you who are dwelling in the gardens,+The companions listen for your voice. Let me hear it.”+ 14  “Hurry, my dear one,And be swift like a gazelle+Or a young stagUpon the mountains of spices.”

Footnotes

Or “Sheol,” that is, the common grave of mankind. See Glossary.
“Jah” is a shortened form of the name Jehovah.
Or possibly, “He.”
Lit., “The thousand.”