The Song of Solomon, 8

¹ “O that you were like a brother of mine, sucking the breasts of my mother! Should I find you outside, I would kiss you. People would not even despise me.

² I would lead you, I would bring you into the house of my mother, who used to teach me. I would give you a drink of spiced wine, the fresh juice of pomegranates.

³ His left hand would be under my head; and his right hand—it would embrace me.

⁴ “I have put YOU under oath, O daughters of Jerusalem, that YOU try not to awaken or arouse love [in me] until it feels inclined.”

⁵ “Who is this woman coming up from the wilderness, leaning upon her dear one?” “Under the apple tree I aroused you.^*1 There your mother was in birth pangs with you. There she that was giving birth to you experienced birth pangs.

⁶ “Place me as a seal upon your^*1 heart, as a seal upon your arm; because love is as strong as death is, insistence on exclusive devotion is as unyielding as Sheʹol^*2 is. Its blazings are the blazings of a fire, the flame of Jah.^*3

⁷ Many waters themselves are not able to extinguish love, nor can rivers themselves wash it away. If a man^*1 would give all the valuable things of his house for love, persons would positively despise them.”^*2

⁸ “We have a little sister that does not have any breasts. What shall we do for our sister on the day that she will be spoken for?”

⁹ “If she should be a wall, we shall build upon her a battlement of silver; but if she should be a door, we shall block her up with a cedar plank.”

¹⁰ “I am a wall, and my breasts are like towers. In this case I have become in his eyes like her that is finding peace.

¹¹ “There was a vineyard that Solʹo·mon happened to have in Baʹal-haʹmon. He gave the vineyard over to the keepers. Each one would bring in for its fruitage a thousand silver pieces.^*1

¹² “My vineyard, which belongs to me, is at my disposal.^*1 The thousand belong to you, O Solʹo·mon, and two hundred to those keeping its fruitage.”

¹³ “O you who are dwelling in the gardens, the partners are paying attention to your^*1 voice. Let me hear it.”

¹⁴ “Run away, my dear one, and make yourself^*1 like a gazelle or like a young one of the stags upon the mountains of spices.”