Song of Solomon 8

8If only I could treat you like my brother, ^f

one who nursed at my mother’s breasts,

I would find you in public and kiss you,

and no one would scorn me.

²I would lead you, I would take you,

to the house of my mother ^gwho taught me. ^h

I would give you spiced wine to drink

from my pomegranate juice.

³His left hand is under my head,

and his right arm embraces me. ⁱ

⁴Young women of Jerusalem, I charge you:

do not stir up or awaken love

until the appropriate time. ^j

Y⁵Who is this ^kcoming up from the wilderness,

leaning on the one she loves?

WI awakened you under the apricot tree. ^l

There your mother conceived you;

there she conceived and gave you birth.

⁶Set me as a seal on your heart,

as a seal on your arm. ^m

For love is as strong as death; ⁿ

ardent love is as unrelenting as Sheol.

Love’s flames are fiery flames ^o—

the fiercest of all. ^p

⁷Mighty waters cannot extinguish love;

rivers cannot sweep it away.

If a man were to give all his wealth ^qfor love, ^r

it would be utterly scorned.

B⁸Our sister is young;

she has no breasts. ^s

What will we do for our sister

on the day she is spoken for?

⁹If she is a wall,

we will build a silver parapet on it.

If she is a door,

we will enclose it with cedar planks. ^tu

W¹⁰I am ^va wall

and my breasts like towers.

So in his eyes I have become

like one who finds peace. ^w

¹¹Solomon owned a vineyard in Baal-hamon. ^x

He leased the vineyard to tenants. ^y

Each was to bring for his fruit

1,000 pieces of silver. ^z

¹²I have my own vineyard. ^ab

The 1,000 are for you, Solomon,

but 200 for those who guard its fruits.

M¹³You ^cwho dwell in the gardens—

companions ^dare listening for your voice—

let me hear you! ^e

W¹⁴Hurry to me, my love,

and be like a gazelle

or a young stag

on the mountains of spices. ^f