Song of Solomon 8
International Standard Version
8 If only you were like a brother to me,
like[a] one who nursed at my mother’s breasts.
If I found you outside I would kiss you,
and no one would view me with contempt.[b]
2 I would lead you,
I would bring you
to the house of my mother
who used to teach me.
I would give you some spiced wine to drink,
from the juice of my pomegranates.[c]
3 Let his left hand be under my head,
and let his right hand embrace me.
4 Swear to me, young women of Jerusalem,
that you won’t awaken or arouse love
before its proper time![d]
The Young Women
5 Who is this coming up from the desert,
leaning on her beloved?
The Loved One
Under the apple tree[e] I awakened you.
There your mother had gone into labor with you;
there she went into labor and gave birth to you.
6 Set me like a seal[f] over your heart,
like a seal on your arm.
For love is as strong as death,
passion[g] as intense as Sheol.[h]
The flames of love[i] are flames of fire,
a blaze that comes from the Lord.[j]
7 Mighty bodies of water cannot extinguish love,
rivers cannot put it out.
If a man were to give all the wealth of his house for love,
he would surely be viewed with contempt.
The Loved One’s Brothers
8 We[k] have a little sister,
and she has not yet reached maturity.[l]
What will we do for our sister
to prepare her for[m] her engagement?[n]
9 If she’s a wall,
on her we will build a battlement of silver.
If she’s a door,
we will enclose her with planks of cedar.
The Loved One
10 I was a wall and my breasts were like towers.
Then I became like one who finds peace[o] in his eyes.
11 Solomon has a vineyard in Baal-hamon.
He entrusted the vineyard to caretakers—
each one is to bring 1,000 pieces of silver
in exchange for its fruit.
12 My vineyard belongs to me and is at my disposal.[p]
The 1,000 are for you, Solomon,
and 200 are for those who take care of its fruit.
The Lover
13 You who sit in the gardens,
companions are listening for your voice,
but let me hear it.
The Loved One
14 Come quickly, my beloved, and be like a gazelle
or a young stag on the mountains of spices.
Footnotes
- Song of Solomon 8:1 The Heb. lacks like
- Song of Solomon 8:1 I.e. think badly of me
- Song of Solomon 8:2 Or some of my sweet pomegranate wine
- Song of Solomon 8:4 Lit. until it pleases
- Song of Solomon 8:5 Or apricot tree
- Song of Solomon 8:6 I.e. a cylinder seal or a signet ring used to indicate ownership or authority
- Song of Solomon 8:6 Or jealousy
- Song of Solomon 8:6 I.e. the realm of the dead
- Song of Solomon 8:6 Lit. its flames
- Song of Solomon 8:6 Or an intense blaze
- Song of Solomon 8:8 I.e. the bride’s brothers
- Song of Solomon 8:8 Lit. has no breasts
- Song of Solomon 8:8 Lit. sister on the day when she’s spoken for
- Song of Solomon 8:8 Or marriage
- Song of Solomon 8:10 Or contentment
- Song of Solomon 8:12 Lit. is before me
Song of Solomon 8
Lexham English Bible
Maiden’s Fanciful Wish
8 How I wish that you were my little brother,[a][b]
who nursed upon my mother’s breasts![c]
If I met you outside,[d] I would kiss you,
and no one would despise me![e]
2 I would surely bring you[f][g] to the house of my mother,
who would surely teach me;[h]
I would give you spiced wine to drink,[i]
the sweet wine[j] of my pomegranates.[k]
Double Refrain: Embrace and Adjuration
3 His left hand is under my head,
and his right hand embraces[l] me.
4 I adjure you, O maidens of Jerusalem,[m]
do not[n] arouse or awaken love until it pleases![o]
Up from the Wilderness and under the Apple Tree
5 Who is this coming up from the wilderness,
leaning upon her beloved?
Under the apple tree I awakened you;
there your mother conceived you;[p]
there she who was in labor gave birth to you.
The Nature of Genuine Romantic Love
6 Set me as a seal upon your heart,
as a seal upon your arm;
for love is strong as death;
passion is fierce as Sheol;
its flashes are flashes of fire;
it is a blazing flame.
7 Many waters cannot quench love;
rivers cannot sweep it away.[q]
If a man were to give all the wealth of his house for love,[r]
he would be utterly scorned.[s]
Maiden’s Virtuous Chastity and Voluptuous Beauty
8 We have a little sister,[t]
and she does not yet have any breasts.[u]
What should we do for our sister
on the day when she is betrothed?[v][w]
9 If she is a wall,
we will adorn her with a turret of silver;[x][y]
but if she is a door,
we will barricade her with boards of cedar.[z]
10 I was a wall, and my breasts were like the towers,
so my betrothed viewed me with great delight.[aa]
Solomon’s Vineyard and the Maiden’s Gift
11 Solomon had a vineyard[ab] at Baal-hamon;
he entrusted his vineyard to the keepers;[ac]
people paid a thousand silver pieces for its fruit.[ad]
12 My own “vineyard” belongs to me;[ae]
the “thousand” are for you, O Solomon,
and “two hundred” for those who tend its fruit.[af]
Closing Words of Mutual Love
13 O you who dwell in the garden,
my companions are listening to your voice.
Let me hear it!
14 Flee, my beloved!
Be like a gazelle[ag] or a young stag[ah]
upon the perfumed mountains![ai]
Footnotes
- Song of Solomon 8:1 Literally “O that he would give you like a brother to me”
- Song of Solomon 8:1 The Hebrew construction (which is somewhat misleading if rendered in a woodenly literal sense) is an idiom expressing one’s fanciful wish
- Song of Solomon 8:1 Literally “at the breast of my mother”
- Song of Solomon 8:1 Literally “I will find you in the street”
- Song of Solomon 8:1 Literally “also they would not despise me”
- Song of Solomon 8:2 Literally “I would lead you and I would bring you”
- Song of Solomon 8:2 The combination of the two verbs creates a hendiadys which may be rendered more cogently as “I would surely bring you …”
- Song of Solomon 8:2 Literally “she will teach me”
- Song of Solomon 8:2 Literally “I would give you to drink from the wine of the spice”
- Song of Solomon 8:2 Or “juice”
- Song of Solomon 8:2 The traditional Hebrew reads the singular “my pomegranate.” However, the plural reading “my pomegranates” is attested in numerous medieval Hebrew manuscripts and is reflected in the ancient versions (Greek Septuagint, Aramaic Targum, Syriac Peshitta). The latter makes the most sense in this context as a euphemistic description of the maiden’s delights
- Song of Solomon 8:3 Or “embraced”
- Song of Solomon 8:4 Literally “O daughters of Jerusalem”
- Song of Solomon 8:4 Or “Why must you … before it pleases?”
- Song of Solomon 8:4 Or “Do not stir up or awaken the love until it is willing,” or “Do not disturb or interrupt our lovemaking until it is satisfied”
- Song of Solomon 8:5 Literally “was in labor with you”
- Song of Solomon 8:7 Or “and rivers cannot engulf it”
- Song of Solomon 8:7 Literally “in the love”
- Song of Solomon 8:7 Literally “they will utterly scorn him”
- Song of Solomon 8:8 Literally “a little sister for us”
- Song of Solomon 8:8 Literally “and there is no breast for her”
- Song of Solomon 8:8 Literally “on the day when it is spoken of her”
- Song of Solomon 8:8 Or “on the day when she is spoken for”
- Song of Solomon 8:9 Literally “we will build upon her a camp of silver”
- Song of Solomon 8:9 The term translated “turret” refers to the decorative parapet adorning the top of a building. This image is likely figurative for a silver tiara set upon the head
- Song of Solomon 8:9 Or “we will enclose her”
- Song of Solomon 8:10 Literally “then I was in his eyes as one who finds peace”
- Song of Solomon 8:11 Literally “A vineyard was for Solomon”
- Song of Solomon 8:11 Literally “he gave the vineyard to the keepers”
- Song of Solomon 8:11 Literally “each one brought a thousand silver pieces for his fruit”
- Song of Solomon 8:12 Literally “My vineyard that for me before my face”
- Song of Solomon 8:12 Literally “and two hundred for the keepers of his fruit”
- Song of Solomon 8:14 Literally “and be like for you to a gazelle”
- Song of Solomon 8:14 Literally “to the fawn of the stag”
- Song of Solomon 8:14 Literally “the mountains of spices”
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