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Place me like a seal over your heart,
    like a seal on your arm.
For love is as strong as death,
    its jealousy[a] as enduring as the grave.[b]
Love flashes like fire,
    the brightest kind of flame.
Many waters cannot quench love,
    nor can rivers drown it.
If a man tried to buy love
    with all his wealth,
    his offer would be utterly scorned.

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Footnotes

  1. 8:6a Or its passion.
  2. 8:6b Hebrew as Sheol.

The Woman

6-8 Hang my locket around your neck,
    wear my ring on your finger.
Love is invincible facing danger and death.
    Passion laughs at the terrors of hell.
The fire of love stops at nothing—
    it sweeps everything before it.
Flood waters can’t drown love,
    torrents of rain can’t put it out.
Love can’t be bought, love can’t be sold—
    it’s not to be found in the marketplace.
My brothers used to worry about me:

8-9 “Our little sister has no breasts.
    What shall we do with our little sister
    when men come asking for her?
She’s a virgin and vulnerable,
    and we’ll protect her.
If they think she’s a wall, we’ll top it with barbed wire.
    If they think she’s a door, we’ll barricade it.”

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