Song of Solomon 8
1If only I could treat you like my brother, ▼▼Lit Would that you were like a brother to me
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 b who taught me. ▼
▼LXX adds and into the chamber of the one who bore me
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. d
4 Young women of Jerusalem, I charge you:
do not stir up or awaken love
until the appropriate time. e
5 Y : Who is this f coming up from the wilderness,
leaning on the one she loves?
W : I awakened you under the apricot tree. g
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. h
For love is as strong as death; i
ardent love is as unrelenting as ▼
▼Sheol: A Hebrew word for either the grave or the realm of the dead
Sheol.Love’s flames are fiery flames k –
the fiercest of all. ▼
▼Or the blaze of the Lord
7 Mighty waters cannot extinguish love;
rivers cannot sweep it away.
If a man were to give all his wealth ▼
▼Lit all the wealth of his house
for love nit would be utterly scorned.
8 B : Our sister is young;
she has no breasts. o
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. p , q
10 W : I am ▼
▼Or was
a walland my breasts like towers.
So in his eyes I have become
like one who finds peace. ▼
▼In Hb, the word for peace sounds similar to Solomon and Shulammite.
11 Solomon owned a vineyard in Baal-hamon. t
He leased the vineyard to tenants. u
Each was to bring for his fruit
1,000 pieces of silver. v
12 I have my own vineyard. ▼ , x
The 1,000 are for you, Solomon,
but 200 for those who guard its fruits.
13 M : You ▼
▼In Hb, the word for You is feminine.
who dwell in the gardens – companions z are listening for your voice –
let me hear you! aa
14 W : Hurry to me, my love,
and be like a gazelle
or a young stag
on the mountains of spices. ab
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