Song of Solomon 8:1-2
World English Bible
8 Oh that you were like my brother,
who nursed from the breasts of my mother!
If I found you outside, I would kiss you;
yes, and no one would despise me.
2 I would lead you, bringing you into the house of my mother,
who would instruct me.
I would have you drink spiced wine,
of the juice of my pomegranate.
Song of Solomon 8:1-2
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]
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
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