Song of Solomon 8
American Standard Version
8 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 I would lead thee, and bring thee into my mother’s house,
[a]Who would instruct me;
I would cause thee to drink of spiced wine,
Of the [b]juice of my pomegranate.
3 His left hand should be under my head,
And his right hand should embrace me.
4 I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
[c]That ye stir not up, nor awake my love,
Until [d]he please.
5 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 [e]that brought thee forth.
6 Set me as a seal upon thy heart,
As a seal upon thine arm:
For love is strong as death;
Jealousy is [f]cruel as Sheol;
The flashes thereof are flashes of fire,
[g]A very flame of [h]Jehovah.
7 Many waters cannot quench love,
Neither can floods drown it:
If a man would give all the substance of his house for love,
[i]He would utterly be contemned.
8 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 If she be a wall,
We will build upon her [j]a turret of silver:
And if she be a door,
We will inclose her with boards of cedar.
10 I [k]am a wall, and my breasts like the towers thereof
Then was I in his eyes as one that found peace.
11 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 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 Thou that dwellest in the gardens,
The companions hearken [l]for thy voice:
Cause me to hear it.
14 [m]Make haste, my beloved,
And be thou like to a [n]roe or to a young hart
Upon the mountains of spices.
Footnotes
- Song of Solomon 8:2 Or, That thou mightest
- Song of Solomon 8:2 Or, sweet wine
- Song of Solomon 8:4 Hebrew Why should ye stir up? or why etc.
- Song of Solomon 8:4 Or, it. Or, she
- Song of Solomon 8:5 Or, and
- Song of Solomon 8:6 Hebrew hard.
- Song of Solomon 8:6 Or, A most vehement flame
- Song of Solomon 8:6 Hebrew Jah.
- Song of Solomon 8:7 Or, It
- Song of Solomon 8:9 Or, battlements
- Song of Solomon 8:10 Or, was
- Song of Solomon 8:13 Or, to
- Song of Solomon 8:14 Hebrew Flee.
- Song of Solomon 8:14 Or, gazelle
Song of Solomon 8
New American Standard Bible 1995
The Lovers Speak
8 “Oh that you were like a brother to me
Who nursed at my mother’s breasts.
If I found you outdoors, I would kiss you;
No one would despise me, either.
2 “I would lead you and (A)bring you
Into the house of my mother, who used to instruct me;
I would give you spiced wine to drink from the juice of my pomegranates.
3 “Let (B)his left hand be under my head
And his right hand embrace me.”
4 “[a](C)I want you to swear, O daughters of Jerusalem,
[b]Do not arouse or awaken my love
Until [c]she pleases.”
“[e]Beneath the [f](E)apple tree I awakened you;
There your mother was in labor with you,
There she was in labor and gave you birth.
6 “Put me like a [g]seal over your heart,
Like a (F)seal on your arm.
For love is as strong as death,
[h](G)Jealousy is as severe as Sheol;
Its flashes are flashes of fire,
[i]The very flame of the Lord.
7 “Many waters cannot quench love,
Nor will rivers overflow it;
(H)If a man were to give all the riches of his house for love,
It would be utterly despised.”
8 “[j]We have a little sister,
And she (I)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 on her a battlement of silver;
But if she is a door,
We will barricade her with (J)planks of cedar.”
10 “[k]I was a wall, and (K)my breasts were like towers;
Then I became in his eyes as one who finds peace.
11 “Solomon had a (L)vineyard at Baal-hamon;
He (M)entrusted the vineyard to (N)caretakers.
Each one was to bring a (O)thousand shekels of silver for its (P)fruit.
12 “My very own vineyard is [l]at my disposal;
The thousand shekels are for you, Solomon,
And two hundred are for those who take care of its fruit.”
13 “[m]O you who sit in the gardens,
My (Q)companions are listening for your voice—
(R)Let me hear it!”
14 “[n][o]Hurry, my beloved,
And be (S)like a gazelle or a young [p]stag
On the (T)mountains of spices.”
Footnotes
- Song of Solomon 8:4 BRIDEGROOM
- Song of Solomon 8:4 Or Why should you arouse
- Song of Solomon 8:4 Or it
- Song of Solomon 8:5 CHORUS
- Song of Solomon 8:5 BRIDE
- Song of Solomon 8:5 Or apricot
- Song of Solomon 8:6 Or signet
- Song of Solomon 8:6 Or Its ardor is as inflexible
- Song of Solomon 8:6 Another reading is A vehement flame
- Song of Solomon 8:8 CHORUS
- Song of Solomon 8:10 BRIDE
- Song of Solomon 8:12 Lit before me
- Song of Solomon 8:13 BRIDEGROOM
- Song of Solomon 8:14 BRIDE
- Song of Solomon 8:14 Lit Flee
- Song of Solomon 8:14 Lit of the stags
Public Domain (Why are modern Bible translations copyrighted?)
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
