Song of Solomon 8
New King James Version
Lovers Reunited at Their Country Home
8 Oh, that you were like my brother,
Who nursed at my mother’s breasts!
If I should find you outside,
I would kiss you;
I would not be despised.
2 I would lead you and bring you
Into the (A)house of my mother,
She who used to instruct me.
I would cause you to drink of (B)spiced wine,
Of the juice of my pomegranate.
(To the Daughters of Jerusalem)
3 (C)His left hand is under my head,
And his right hand embraces me.
4 (D)I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
Do not stir up nor awaken love
Until it pleases.
Love Renewed in Lebanon
A Relative
5 (E)Who is this coming up from the wilderness,
Leaning upon her beloved?
I awakened you under the apple tree.
There your mother brought you forth;
There she who bore you brought you forth.
The Shulamite to Her Beloved
6 (F)Set me as a seal upon your heart,
As a seal upon your arm;
For love is as strong as death,
(G)Jealousy as [a]cruel as [b]the grave;
Its flames are flames of fire,
[c]A most vehement flame.
7 Many waters cannot quench love,
Nor can the floods drown it.
(H)If a man would give for love
All the wealth of his house,
It would be utterly despised.
The Shulamite’s Brothers
8 (I)We have a little sister,
And she has no breasts.
What shall we do for our sister
In the day when she is spoken for?
9 If she is a wall,
We will build upon her
A battlement of silver;
And if she is a door,
We will enclose her
With boards of cedar.
The Shulamite
10 I am a wall,
And my breasts like towers;
Then I became in his eyes
As one who found peace.
11 Solomon had a vineyard at Baal Hamon;
(J)He leased the vineyard to keepers;
Everyone was to bring for its fruit
A thousand silver coins.
(To Solomon)
12 My own vineyard is before me.
You, O Solomon, may have a thousand,
And those who tend its fruit two hundred.
The Beloved
13 You who dwell in the gardens,
The companions listen for your voice—
(K)Let me hear it!
The Shulamite
Footnotes
- Song of Solomon 8:6 severe, lit. hard
- Song of Solomon 8:6 Or Sheol
- Song of Solomon 8:6 Lit. A flame of Yah, poetic form of YHWH, the Lord
- Song of Solomon 8:14 Hurry, lit. Flee
Song of Solomon 8
Young's Literal Translation
8 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,
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,
3 His left hand [is] under my head, And his right doth embrace me.
4 I have adjured you, daughters of Jerusalem, How ye stir up, And how ye wake the love till she please!
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.
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!
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.
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?
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.
10 I [am] a wall, and my breasts as towers, Then I have been in his eyes as one finding peace.
11 Solomon hath a vineyard in Baal-Hamon, He hath given the vineyard to keepers, Each bringeth for its fruit a thousand silverlings;
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!
13 The companions are attending to thy voice, Cause me to hear. Flee, my beloved, and be like to a roe,
14 Or to a young one of the harts on mountains of spices!
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
