The Song of Solomon
8 “If only you were like my brother,
Who nursed at my mother’s breasts!
Then if I found you outside, I would kiss you,+
And no one would despise me.
I would give you spiced wine to drink,
The fresh juice of pomegranates.
4 I put you under oath, O daughters of Jerusalem:
Do not try to awaken or arouse love in me until it feels inclined.”+
5 “Who is this coming up from the wilderness,
Leaning upon her dear one?”
“Under the apple tree I awakened you.
There your mother was in labor with you.
There she who gave birth to you was in labor.
6 Place me as a seal upon your heart,
As a seal upon your arm,
For love is as strong as death is,+
And exclusive devotion is as unyielding as the Grave.*
Its flames are a blazing fire, the flame of Jah.*+
If a man would offer all the wealth of his house for love,
It* would be utterly despised.”
What will we do for our sister
On the day when she is spoken for?”
9 “If she is a wall,
We will build upon her a battlement of silver,
But if she is a door,
We will board her up with a cedar plank.”
10 “I am a wall,
And my breasts are like towers.
So in his eyes I have become
As one who finds peace.
11 Solʹo·mon had a vineyard+ in Baʹal-haʹmon.
He entrusted the vineyard to caretakers.
Each one would bring in a thousand pieces of silver for its fruit.
12 I have my own vineyard at my disposal.
The thousand pieces of silver* belong to you, O Solʹo·mon,
And two hundred to those who care for its fruit.”
Let me hear it.”+