31 The simile if she is a wall draws a comparison between the impregnability of a city fortified with a strong outer wall and a virtuous young woman who successfully resists any assaults against her virginity. The term חוֹמָה (khomah, “wall”) often refers to an outside fortress wall that protects the city from enemy military attacks (e.g., Lev 25:29–30; Josh 6:5; 1 Kgs 3:1; Neh 2:8; 12:27; Jer 1:8; 15:20).
32 The term טִירָה (tirah, “battlement, turret”) refers to the row of stones along the top of a fortress wall, set for the defense and stability of the wall (Ezek 46:23; cf. טִירָה). This structure is connected with military operations set in defense of a siege.
33 The verb צוּר (tsur, “to surround, encircle, enclose”) is often used in military contexts in reference to the siege or defense of a fortress city: (1) setting up military positions (siege walls) to surround a besieged city (e.g., Isa 29:3); (2) encircling and laying siege to a city (e.g., Deut 20:12, 19; 2 Sam 11:1; 1 Kgs 15:27; 16:17; 20:1; 2 Kgs 6:24–25; 17:5; 19:9; 24:11; 1 Chr 20:1; Isa 21:2; 29:3; Jer 21:4, 9; 32:2; 37:5; 39:1; Ezek 4:3; Dan 1:1); (3) enclosing a city with sentries (e.g., Isa 29:3); (4) shutting a person within a city (1 Sam 23:8; 2 Sam 20:15; 2 Kgs 16:5); and (5) barricading a city door shut to prevent the city from being broken into and conquered (e.g., Song 8:7) ( I צור).
34 Heb “a board.” The singular noun לוּחַ (lukha, “board, plank”) may denote a singular of number or a collective.
35 An interesting semantic parallel involving the “door/bar” motif in ancient Near Eastern texts comes from an Assyrian charm against an enemy: “If he is a door, I will open your mouth; but if he is a bar, I will open your tongue.” Obviously, the line in the Song is not an incantation; the formula is used in a love motif. Cited by J. Ebeling, “Aus dem Tagewerk eines assyrischen Zauberpriesters,” 5 (1931): 19.
36 The noun מִגְדָּל (migdal, “tower”) can refer to the watchtowers of a fortified city (2 Kgs 17:9; 18:8; 2 Chr 26:9), projecting median towers along the fortified city wall which were crucial to the defense of the city (2 Chr 14:6; 26:15; 32:5), or fortress towers in the countryside set for the defense of the land (Judg 9:52; 2 Chr 27:4; Ezek 27:11) ( I מִגְדָּל). The Beloved mixes metaphors by describing her breasts with a comparison of sense and a comparison of sight: (1) Comparison of sense: She successfully defended her virginity and sexual purity from seduction, as fortress towers defended the city. (2) Comparison of sight: Just as the fortress towers along a city wall projected out at the corners of the wall, the Beloved’s breasts finally developed into beautiful “towers” (see 8:8 when she had no breasts as a young girl).
37 Heb “peace.” An eloquent wordplay is created by the use of the noun שָׁלוֹם (shalom, “peace, favor”) in 8:10b and the name שְׁלֹמֹה (shélomoh, “Solomon”) in 8:11a. The Beloved found “favor” (שָׁלוֹם) in the eyes of Solomon (שְׁלֹמֹה). She won his heart because she was not only a beautiful young woman (“my breasts were like fortress towers”), but a virtuous woman (“I was a wall”).
38 Heb “Then I became in his eyes as one who finds peace.”

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

If she is a wall,

we will build on her a battlement of silver,

but if she is a door,

we will enclose her with boards of cedar.

I was a wall,

and my breasts were like towers;

then I was in his eyes

as one who finds peace.

NIVNew International Version (2011)

If she is a wall,

we will build towers of silver on her.

If she is a door,

we will enclose her with panels of cedar.

I am a wall,

and my breasts are like towers.

Thus I have become in his eyes

like one bringing contentment.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

If she is a wall,

we will build a silver barricade on her.

If she is a door,

we will enclose her with cedar planks.

I am a wall

and my breasts like towers.

So to him I have become

like one who finds peace.

NLTNew Living Translation

If she is a virgin, like a wall,

we will protect her with a silver tower.

But if she is promiscuous, like a swinging door,

we will block her door with a cedar bar.

I was a virgin, like a wall;

now my breasts are like towers.

When my lover looks at me,

he is delighted with what he sees.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

If she is a wall,

we will adorn her with a turret of silver;

but if she is a door,

we will barricade her with boards of cedar.

I was a wall, and my breasts were like the towers,

so my betrothed viewed me with great delight.

KJV 1900King James Version

If she be a wall, we will build upon her a palace of silver:

And if she be a door, we will inclose her with boards of cedar.

I am a wall, and my breasts like towers:

Then was I in his eyes as one that found favour.

Public Domain