1 The Power and Preciousness of Love “Oh that you were like a brother to meWho nursed at my mother’s breasts.IfI found you outside, I would kiss you;No one would despise me, either.
2 “I would lead youandbring youInto the house of my mother, who used to teach me;I would give you spiced wine to drink from the sweet wine of my pomegranates.
3 “Let his left hand be under my headAnd his right hand embrace me.”
4 ¶“ 8:4 BRIDEGROOM I call you tosolemnlyswear, O daughters of Jerusalem, 8:4 Or Do not arouse Why should you arouse or awakenmyloveUntil 8:4 Or it she pleases?”
5 ¶“ 8:5CHORUS Who is this coming up from the wildernessLeaning on her beloved?”“ 8:5BRIDE Beneath the 8:5Or apricot apple tree I awakened you;There your mother was in labor with you;There she was in laborandgave you birth.
6 “Put me like a 8:6Or signet seal over your heart,Like a seal on your arm.For love is as strong as death, 8:6Or Its ardor is as inflexible Jealousy is as severe as Sheol;Its flashes are flashes of fire, 8:6Or A vehement flame Theveryflame of 8:6The shortened form of Yahweh, found in poetry and praise (e.g. Hallelujah), and in names (e.g. Zechariah) Yah.
7 “Many waters cannot quench love,Nor will rivers overflow it;If a man were to give all the riches of his house for love,It would be utterly despised.”
8 ¶“ 8:8CHORUS We have a little sister,And she has no breasts;What shall we do for our sisterOn 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 planks of cedar.”
10 ¶“ 8:10BRIDE I was a wall, and my breasts were like towers;Then I became in his eyes as one who finds peace.
11 “Solomon had a vineyard at Baal-hamon;He gave the vineyard to caretakers.Each one was to bring 8:11Approx. 25 lb. or11.3kg, a shekel was approx.0.4oz. or 11 gm one thousandshekelsof silver for its fruit.
12 “My very own vineyard is before me;The thousandshekelsare for you, Solomon,And two hundred are for those who take care of its fruit.”
13 ¶“ 8:13 BRIDEGROOM O you who sit in the gardens,Mycompanions are giving heed to your voice—Let me hear it!”
14 ¶“ 8:14 BRIDE 8:14 Lit Flee Hurry, my beloved,And be like a gazelle or a young 8:14 Lit of the stags stagOn the mountains of spices.”