Song of Solomon 7:1–8:14
Solomon’s Praise of His Dancing Maiden
7 How beautiful are your feet in sandals,
O royal princess!a
The curves of your ⌊thighs⌋b are like ⌊jewels⌋,c
the work of the hands of a craftsman.
2 Your navel is ⌊a round wine-mixing bowl⌋d
that does not lack mixede wine!
Your belly is a heap of wheat
encircled with lilies.
3 Your two breasts are like two fawns,
twins of a gazelle.
4 Your neck is like a tower of ivory;
your eyes are pools in Heshbon at the gate of Beth Rabbim.
Your nose is like the tower of Lebanon
⌊looking out over Damascus⌋.f
5 ⌊Your head crowns you like Carmel⌋;g h
the flowing locks of your head are like ⌊purple tapestry⌋;i
a king is held captive in the tresses!
6 How beautiful you are and how pleasant,
O loved one in the delights!
7 ⌊Your stature⌋j is like the palm tree,
and your breasts are like clusters.
8 I say, “I will climb up the palm tree;
I will lay hold of its fruit clusters.”
Let your breasts be pleasing like clusters of the vine
and the scent of your breath like the apples.
9 Your palate is like the best wine that goes down for my beloved,
smoothly gliding over my lips and teeth.k
10 ⌊I belong to my beloved⌋,l
⌊and he desires me⌋!m
11 Come, my beloved, let us ⌊go out to the countryside⌋;n
let us spend the nighto in the villages.
12 Let us rise early to gop to the vineyards;
let us see whether the vine has budded,q
whether the grape blossom has opened,
and whether the pomegranates ⌊are in bloom⌋;r
there I will give my love to you.
13 The mandrakes give off their fragrance,
and ⌊over our doorway is every kind of delicious fruit⌋;s
both ⌊fresh and dried fruit I have stored up⌋t for you, O my beloved.
8 ⌊How I wish that you were my little brother⌋,a b
who nursed ⌊upon my mother’s breasts⌋!c
If ⌊I met you outside⌋,d I would kiss you,
⌊and no one would despise me⌋!e
2 ⌊I would surely bring you⌋f g to the house of my mother,
⌊who would surely teach me⌋;h
⌊I would give you spiced wine to drink⌋,i
the ⌊sweet wine⌋j of my pomegranates.k
Double Refrain: Embrace and Adjuration
3 His left hand is under my head,
and his right hand embracesl me.
4 I adjure you, ⌊O maidens of Jerusalem⌋,m
do notn arouse or awaken love until it pleases!o
Up from the Wilderness and under the Apple Tree
5 Who is this coming up from the wilderness,
leaning upon her beloved?
Under the apple tree I awakened you;
there your mother ⌊conceived you⌋;p
there she who was in labor gave birth to you.
The Nature of Genuine Romantic Love
6 Set me as a seal upon your heart,
as a seal upon your arm;
for love is strong as death;
passion is fierce as Sheol;
its flashes are flashes of fire;
it is a blazing flame.
7 Many waters cannot quench love;
rivers cannot sweep it away.q
If a man were to give all the wealth of his house ⌊for love⌋,r
he would be utterly scorned.s
The Maiden’s Virtuous Chastity and Voluptuous Beauty
8 ⌊We have a little sister⌋,t
⌊and she does not yet have any breasts⌋.u
What should we do for our sister
⌊on the day when she is betrothed⌋?v w
⌊we will adorn her with a turret of silver⌋;x y
but if she is a door,
we will barricade her with boards of cedar.z
10 I was a wall, and my breasts were like the towers,
⌊so my betrothed viewed me with great delight⌋.a
Solomon’s Vineyard and the Maiden’s Gift
11 ⌊Solomon had a vineyard⌋b at Baal-hamon;
⌊he entrusted his vineyard to the keepers⌋;c
⌊people paid a thousand silver pieces for its fruit⌋.d
12 ⌊My own “vineyard” belongs to me⌋;e
the “thousand” are for you, O Solomon,
⌊and “two hundred” for those who tend its fruit⌋.f
13 O you who dwell in the garden,
my companions are listening to your voice.
Let me hear it!
⌊Be like a gazelle⌋g or ⌊a young stag⌋h
upon ⌊the perfumed mountains⌋!i