Chapter 8

O that⁴ thou [wert] as my brother, that sucked⁶ the breasts of my mother! [when] I should find⁴ thee without, I would kiss⁴ thee; yea, I should not be despised.⁴

I would lead⁴ thee, [and] bring⁵⁵ thee into my mother's house, [who] would instruct¹⁷ me: I would cause thee to drink⁵⁵ of spiced wine of the juice of my pomegranate.

His left hand [should be] under my head, and his right hand should embrace¹⁷ me.

I charge⁵² you, O daughters of Jerusalem, that ye stir not up,⁵⁵ nor awake³⁴ [my] love, until he please.⁴

Who [is] this that cometh up⁶ from the wilderness, leaning¹⁰² upon her beloved? I raised thee up³¹ under the apple tree: there thy mother brought thee forth:¹⁴ there she brought thee forth¹⁴ [that] bare¹ thee.

Set³ me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm: for love [is] strong as death; jealousy [is] cruel as the grave: the coals thereof [are] coals of fire, [which hath a] most vehement flame.

Many waters cannot ^{3201 4} quench¹⁵ love, neither can the floods drown⁴ it: if [a] man would give⁴ all the substance of his house for love, it would utterly² be contemned.⁴

We have a little sister, and she hath no breasts: what shall we do⁴ for our sister in the day when she shall be spoken for?²⁹

If she [be] a wall, we will build⁴ upon her a palace of silver: and if she [be] a door, we will inclose⁴ her with boards of cedar.

I [am] a wall, and my breasts like towers: then was I in his eyes as one that found⁶ favour.

Solomon had a vineyard at Baalhamon; he let out¹ the vineyard unto keepers;⁶ every one for the fruit thereof was to bring⁵⁵ a thousand [pieces] of silver.

My vineyard, which [is] mine, [is] before me: thou, O Solomon, [must have] a thousand, and those that keep⁶ the fruit thereof two hundred.

Thou that dwellest⁶ in the gardens, the companions hearken⁵⁶ to thy voice: cause me to hear⁵⁴ [it].

Make haste,³ my beloved, and be thou like³ to a roe or to a young hart upon the mountains of spices.