< Hawo 8 >
1 Ɖe nànɔ nam abe nɔviŋutsu si no danye ƒe no la ene! Ekema ne medo go wò le kpɔdome la, magbugbɔ nu na wò, eye ame aɖeke mado vlom o.
Oh that thou wert as my brother, that sucked the breasts of my mother! [when] I should find thee without, I would kiss thee; yea, and none would despise me.
2 Makplɔ wò adzoe, ayi ɖe danye, ame si fia num la ƒe aƒe me. Mana wain si me wode atike ʋeʋĩi kple atɔtɔŋutitsi la wò nàno.
I would lead thee, [and] bring thee into my mother’s house, who would instruct me; I would cause thee to drink of spiced wine, of the juice of my pomegranate.
3 Eƒe miabɔ le nye ta te, eye wòtsɔ eƒe ɖusibɔ kpla kɔ nam.
His left hand [should be] under my head, and his right hand should embrace me.
4 Yerusalem vinyɔnuwo, meta mi: migaʋuʋu alo mianyɔ lɔlɔ̃ o, va se ɖe esi eya ŋutɔ nalɔ̃ hafi.
I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, that ye stir not up, nor awaken love, until it please.
5 Ame kae nye esi gbɔna tso gbegbe, eye wòziɔ ɖe eƒe lɔlɔ̃tɔ ŋu? Menyɔ wò le apluti te; afi mae dawò fɔ wò fu le, afi mae ame si le ku lém la dzi wò ɖo.
Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness, leaning upon her beloved? Under the apple tree I awakened thee: there thy mother was in travail with thee, there was she in travail that brought thee forth.
6 Lém ɖe wò dzi kple wò abɔ ŋuti abe nutrenu ene. Elabena lɔlɔ̃ sesẽ wu ku, eye ŋuʋaʋã gbea tanana abe yɔdo ene. Ebina abe dzo ene, eye wòflana abe Yehowa ƒe dzo ene. (Sheol )
Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm: for love is strong as death; jealousy is cruel as the grave: the flashes thereof are flashes of fire, a very flame of the LORD. (Sheol )
7 Tsi geɖe mate ŋu atsi lɔlɔ̃ ƒe dzo o, eye tɔsisi aɖeke mate ŋu akplɔe dzoe o. Ne ame aɖe atsɔ eƒe aƒemekesinɔnuwo katã ana ɖe lɔlɔ̃ ta la, anye alɔmeɖenu wòawɔ.
Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it: if a man would give all the substance of his house for love, he would utterly be contemned.
8 Nɔvinyɔnu ɖetugbivi aɖe le mía si mekpɔ te no haɖe o. Nu ka míawɔ na mía nɔvinyɔnu la gbe si gbe woava bia eta?
We have a little sister, and she hath no breasts: what shall we do for our sister in the day when she shall be spoken for?
9 Nenye glie wònye la, míatsɔ klosalo atu xɔ tsrala ɖe edzi. Nenye agboe wònye la, míatsɔ sedaʋuƒowo aklã ɖe eŋuti godoo.
If she be a wall, we will build upon her a turret of silver: and if she be a door, we will enclose her with boards of cedar.
10 Menye gli, eye nye nowo le abe xɔ tsralawo ene. Ale mele eƒe ŋkume abe ame si tsɔ dzidzeme vɛ la ene.
I am a wall, and my breasts like the towers [thereof]: then was I in his eyes as one that found peace.
11 Waingble le Solomo si le Baal Hamon; eye wòtsɔ agble la de asi na agbledzikpɔlawo, be wo dometɔ ɖe sia ɖe nana klosalo kilogram wuiɖekɛ kple afã ɖe waintsetseawo ta.
Solomon had a vineyard at Baal-hamon; he let out the vineyard unto keepers; every one for the fruit thereof was to bring a thousand [pieces] of silver.
12 Nye ŋutɔ nye waingble le asinye be matsɔ ana; O Solomo, klosalo kilogram wuiɖekɛ kple afã la nye tɔwò, eye kilogram eve kple afã nye agbledzikpɔlawo tɔ.
My vineyard, which is mine, is before me: thou, O Solomon, shalt have the thousand, and those that keep the fruit thereof two hundred.
13 Wò ame si le abɔwo me, eye xɔlɔ̃wo ƒo xlã wò, na mase wò gbe!
Thou that dwellest in the gardens, the companions hearken for thy voice: cause me to hear it.
14 Nye lɔlɔ̃tɔ, si va, eye nànɔ abe sãde alo zivi si le gbe ʋeʋĩwo ƒe towo dzi la ene.
Make haste, my beloved, and be thou like to a roe or to a young hart upon the mountains of spices.