8 If 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.

2 I would lead you, I would take you,

to the house of my mother g who taught me. h

I would give you spiced wine to drink

from my pomegranate juice.

3 His left hand is under my head,

and his right arm embraces me. i

4 Young women of Jerusalem, I charge you:

do not stir up or awaken love

until the appropriate time. j

Y 5 Who is this k coming up from the wilderness,

leaning on the one she loves?

W I awakened you under the apricot tree. l

There your mother conceived you;

there she conceived and gave you birth.

6 Set 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

7 Mighty waters cannot extinguish love;

rivers cannot sweep it away.

If a man were to give all his wealth q for love, r

it would be utterly scorned.

B 8 Our sister is young;

she has no breasts. s

What will we do for our sister

on the day she is spoken for?

9 If she is a wall,

we will build a silver parapet on it.

If she is a door,

we will enclose it with cedar planks. t u

W 10 I am v a wall

and my breasts like towers.

So in his eyes I have become

like one who finds peace. w

11 Solomon 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

12 I have my own vineyard. a b

The 1,000 are for you, Solomon,

but 200 for those who guard its fruits.

M 13 You c who dwell in the gardens—

companions d are listening for your voice—

let me hear you! e

W 14 Hurry to me, my love,

and be like a gazelle

or a young stag

on the mountains of spices. f