Song of Solomon 8
Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition
8 O that you were like a brother to me,
that nursed at my mother’s breast!
If I met you outside, I would kiss you,
and none would despise me.
2 I would lead you and bring you
into the house of my mother,
and into the chamber of her that conceived me.[a]
I would give you spiced wine to drink,
the juice of my pomegranates.
3 O that his left hand were under my head,
and that his right hand embraced me!
4 I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
that you stir not up nor awaken love
until it please.
Homecoming
5 Who is that coming up from the wilderness,
leaning upon her beloved?
Under the apple tree I awakened you.
There your mother was in travail with you,
there she who bore you was in travail.
6 Set me as a seal upon your heart,
as a seal upon your arm;
for love is strong as death,
jealousy is cruel as the grave.
Its flashes are flashes of fire,
a most vehement flame.
7 Many waters cannot quench love,
neither can floods drown it.
If a man offered for love
all the wealth of his house,
it would be utterly scorned.
8 We have a little sister,
and she has no breasts.
What shall we do for our sister,
on the day when she is spoken for?
9 If she is a wall,
we will build upon her a battlement of silver;
but if she is a door,
we will enclose her with boards of cedar.
10 I was a wall,
and my breasts were like towers;
then I was in his eyes
as one who brings[b] peace.
11 Solomon had a vineyard at Ba′al-ha′mon;
he let out the vineyard to keepers;
each one was to bring for its fruit a thousand pieces of silver.
12 My vineyard, my very own, is for myself;
you, O Solomon, may have the thousand,
and the keepers of the fruit two hundred.
13 O you who dwell in the gardens,
my companions are listening for your voice;
let me hear it.
14 Make haste, my beloved,
and be like a gazelle
or a young stag
upon the mountains of spices.
Footnotes
- Song of Solomon 8:2 Gk Syr: Heb mother; she (or you) will teach me
- Song of Solomon 8:10 Or finds
Song of Songs 8
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 8
1 Would that you were a brother to me,
nursed at my mother’s breasts!
If I met you out of doors, I would kiss you
and none would despise me.
2 (A)I would lead you, bring you to my mother’s house,
where you would teach me,
Where I would give you to drink
spiced wine, my pomegranate[a] juice.
3 (B)His left hand is under my head,
and his right arm embraces me.
4 (C)I adjure you, Daughters of Jerusalem,
do not awaken or stir up love
until it is ready!
The Return from the Desert
5 D?(D) Who is this coming up from the desert,
leaning upon her lover?
W Beneath the apple tree I awakened you;[b]
there your mother conceived you;
there she who bore you conceived.
True Love
6 Set me as a seal[c] upon your heart,
as a seal upon your arm;
For Love is strong as Death,
longing is fierce as Sheol.
Its arrows are arrows of fire,
flames of the divine.
7 (E)Deep waters[d] cannot quench love,
nor rivers sweep it away.
Were one to offer all the wealth of his house for love,
he would be utterly despised.
An Answer to the Brothers
8 W “We have a little sister;[e]
she has no breasts as yet.
What shall we do for our sister
on the day she is spoken for?
9 If she is a wall,
we will build upon her a silver turret;
But if she is a door,
we will board her up with cedar planks.”
10 I am a wall,[f]
and my breasts are like towers.
I became in his eyes
as one who brings peace.
A Boast
11 M? Solomon had a vineyard at Baal-hamon;[g]
he gave over the vineyard to caretakers.
For its fruit one would have to pay
a thousand silver pieces.
12 My vineyard is at my own disposal;
the thousand pieces are for you, Solomon,
and two hundred for the caretakers of its fruit.
The Lovers’ Yearnings
13 M You who dwell in the gardens,[h]
my companions are listening for your voice—
let me hear it!
14 W(F) Swiftly, my lover,
be like a gazelle or a young stag
upon the mountains of spices.
Footnotes
- 8:2 Wine…pomegranate: sexual connotations are implied, since the root “drink” (shaqah) is a wordplay on “kiss” (nashaq) in v. 1; cf. 1:2.
- 8:5 Awakened you: the speakers in this verse are difficult to identify. Someone (the poet? Daughters?) hails the couple in v. 5a. According to the Masoretic vocalization, the woman is the speaker in v. 5b.
- 8:6 Seal: this could be worn bound to the arm, as here, or suspended at the neck, or as a ring (Jer 22:24). It was used for identification and signatures. Strong…fierce: in human experience, Death and Sheol are inevitable, unrelenting; in the end they always triumph. Love, which is just as certain of its victory, matches its strength against the natural enemies of life; waters cannot extinguish it nor floods carry it away. It is more priceless than all riches. Flames of the divine: the Hebrew is difficult: the short form (-Yah) of the divine name Yhwh found here may associate love with the Lord, or it may be acting as a superlative—i.e., god-sized flames.
- 8:7 Deep waters: often used to designate chaos (Ps 93:4; 144:7; Is 17:12–13; Hb 3:15). The fires of love cannot be extinguished, even by waters of chaos. Wealth: love cannot be bought.
- 8:8–9 The woman quotes the course of action her elder brothers had decided on. While she is yet immature, they will shelter her in view of eventual marriage. Wall…door: if she is virtuous, she will be honored; if she is not, she will be kept under strict vigilance. Silver turret: a precious ornament.
- 8:10 In reply to the officious and meddling attitude of the brothers, she answers with their terms: she is mature (“wall,” “towers”). Brings peace: or, “finds peace.”
- 8:11–12 These enigmatic verses have been variously interpreted, depending on who is taken to be the speaker. In v. 11, if the woman, she boasts that she is a vineyard of great value. If the man, he boasts over his possession of her.
- 8:13–14 As in 2:14, her lover asks for a word or a song and she replies in words similar to those found in 2:17.
Song of Solomon 8
Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition
8 Who shall give thee to me for my brother, sucking the breasts of my mother, that I may find thee without, and kiss thee, and now no man may despise me?
2 I will take hold of thee, and bring thee Into my mother's house: there thou shalt teach me, and I will give thee a cup of spiced wine and new wine of my pomegranates.
3 His left hand under my head, and his right hand shall embrace me.
4 I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, that you stir not up, nor awake my love till she please.
5 Who is this that cometh up from the desert, flowing with delights, leaning upon her beloved? Under the apple tree I raised thee up: there thy mother was corrupted, there she was defloured that bore thee.
6 Put me as a seal upon thy heart, as a seal upon thy arm, for love is strong as death, jealousy as hard as hell, the lamps thereof are fire and flames.
7 Many waters cannot quench charity, neither can the floods drown it: if a man should give all the substance of his house for love, he shall despise it as nothing.
8 Our sister is little, and hath no breasts. What shall we do to our sister in the day when she is to be spoken to?
9 If she be a wall: let us build upon it bulwarks of silver: if she be a door, let us join it together with boards or cedar.
10 I am a wall: and my breasts are as a tower since I am become in his presence as one finding peace.
11 The peaceable had a vineyard, in that which hath people: he let out the same to keepers, every man bringeth for the fruit thereof a thousand pieces of silver.
12 My vineyard is before me. A thousand are for thee, the peaceable, and two hundred for them that keep the fruit thereof.
13 Thou that dwellest in the gardens, the friends hearken: make me hear thy voice.
14 Flee away, O my beloved, and be like to the roe, and to the young hart upon the mountains of aromatical spices.
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