Song of Solomon 8

CHAPTER 8

The Power and Preciousness of Love

¹“Oh that you were like a brother to me

Who nursed at my mother’s breasts.

If I found you outside, I would kiss you;

No one would despise me, either.

²“I would lead you and ^abring you

Into the house of my mother, who used to teach me;

I would give you spiced wine to drink from the sweet wine of my pomegranates.

³“Let ^ahis left hand be under my head

And his right hand embrace me.”

⁴“^1aI call you to solemnly swear, O daughters of Jerusalem,

²Why should you arouse or awaken my love

Until ³she pleases?”

⁵“^1aWho is this coming up from the wilderness

Leaning on her beloved?”

“²Beneath the ^3bapple tree I awakened you;

There your mother was in labor with you;

There she was in labor and gave you birth.

⁶“Put me like a ¹seal over your heart,

Like a ^aseal on your arm.

For love is as strong as death,

^2bJealousy is as severe as Sheol;

Its flashes are flashes of fire,

³The very flame of ⁴Yah.

⁷“Many waters cannot quench love,

Nor will rivers overflow it;

^aIf a man were to give all the riches of his house for love,

It would be utterly despised.”

⁸“¹We have a little sister,

And she ^ahas no breasts;

What shall we do for our sister

On the day when she is spoken for?

⁹“If she is a wall,

We will build on her a battlement of silver;

But if she is a door,

We will barricade her with ^aplanks of cedar.”

¹⁰“¹I was a wall, and ^amy breasts were like towers;

Then I became in his eyes as one who finds peace.

¹¹“Solomon had a ^avineyard at Baal-hamon;

He ^bgave the vineyard to ^ccaretakers.

Each one was to bring ¹one ^dthousand shekels of silver for its ^efruit.

¹²“My very own vineyard is before me;

The thousand shekels are for you, Solomon,

And two hundred are for those who take care of its fruit.”

¹³“¹O you who sit in the gardens,

My ^acompanions are giving heed to your voice—

^bLet me hear it!”

¹⁴“¹²Hurry, my beloved,

And be ^alike a gazelle or a young ³stag

On the ^bmountains of spices.”