Song of Solomon 8
1 Who doth make thee as a brother to me, Sucking the breasts of my mother? I find thee without, I kiss thee, Yea, they do not despise me,
Bride to Groom: Who will give you to me as my brother, feeding from the breasts of my mother, so that I may discover you outside, and may kiss you, and so that now no one may despise me?
2 I lead thee, I bring thee in unto my mother's house, She doth teach me, I cause thee to drink of the perfumed wine, Of the juice of my pomegranate,
I will take hold of you and lead you into my mother’s house. There you will teach me, and I will give you a cup of spiced wine, and of new wine from my pomegranates.
3 His left hand [is] under my head, And his right doth embrace me.
His left hand is under my head, and his right hand shall embrace me.
4 I have adjured you, daughters of Jerusalem, How ye stir up, And how ye wake the love till she please!
Groom to Chorus: I bind you by oath, O daughters of Jerusalem, not to disturb or awaken the beloved, until she wills.
5 Who [is] this coming from the wilderness, Hasting herself for her beloved? Under the citron-tree I have waked thee, There did thy mother pledge thee, There she gave a pledge [that] bare thee.
Chorus to Groom: Who is she, who ascends from the desert, flowing with delights, leaning upon her beloved? Groom to Bride: Under the apple tree, I awakened you. There your mother was corrupted. There she who bore you was violated.
6 Set me as a seal on thy heart, as a seal on thine arm, For strong as death is love, Sharp as Sheol is jealousy, Its burnings [are] burnings of fire, a flame of Jah! (Sheol h7585)
Set me like a seal upon your heart, like a seal upon your arm. For love is strong, like death, and envy is enduring, like hell: their lamps are made of fire and flames. (Sheol h7585)
7 Many waters are not able to quench the love, And floods do not wash it away. If one give all the wealth of his house for love, Treading down — they tread upon it.
A multitude of waters cannot extinguish love, nor can a river overwhelm it. If a man were to give all the substance of his house in exchange for love, he would despise it as nothing.
8 We have a little sister, and breasts she hath not, What do we do for our sister, In the day that it is told of her?
Chorus: Our sister is little and has no breasts. What shall we do for our sister on the day when she is called upon?
9 If she is a wall, we build by her a palace of silver. And if she is a door, We fashion by her board-work of cedar.
If she is a wall, let us build a rampart of silver upon it. If she is a door, let us join it together with boards of cedar.
10 I [am] a wall, and my breasts as towers, Then I have been in his eyes as one finding peace.
Bride to Chorus: I am a wall, and my breasts are like towers, since, in his presence, I have become like one who has discovered peace.
11 Solomon hath a vineyard in Baal-Hamon, He hath given the vineyard to keepers, Each bringeth for its fruit a thousand silverlings;
The peaceful one had a vineyard, in that which held the peoples. He handed it on to the caretakers; a man brought, in exchange for its fruit, a thousand pieces of silver.
12 My vineyard — my own — is before me, The thousand [is] for thee, O Solomon. And the two hundred for those keeping its fruit. O dweller in gardens!
Groom: My vineyard is before me. The thousand is for your peacefulness, and two hundred is for those who care for its fruit.
13 The companions are attending to thy voice, Cause me to hear. Flee, my beloved, and be like to a roe,
Bride to Groom: Your friends are attentive to those who have been dwelling in the gardens. Cause me to heed your voice.
14 Or to a young one of the harts on mountains of spices!
Flee away, my beloved, and become like the doe and the young stag upon the mountains of aromatic plants.
