Song of Solomon 8

¹⌞How I wish that you were my little brother⌟, who nursed ⌞upon my mother’s breasts⌟! If ⌞I met you outside⌟, I would kiss you, ⌞and no one would despise me⌟! ²⌞I would surely bring you⌟ to the house of my mother, ⌞who would surely teach me⌟; ⌞I would give you spiced wine to drink⌟, the ⌞sweet wine⌟ of my pomegranates. ³His left hand is under my head, and his right hand embraces me. ⁴I adjure you, ⌞O maidens of Jerusalem⌟, do not arouse or awaken love until it pleases! ⁵Who is this coming up from the wilderness, leaning upon her beloved? Under the apple tree I awakened you; there your mother ⌞conceived you⌟; there she who was in labor gave birth to you. ⁶Set 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. ⁷Many waters cannot quench love; rivers cannot sweep it away. If a man were to give all the wealth of his house ⌞for love⌟, he would be utterly scorned. ⁸⌞We have a little sister⌟, ⌞and she does not yet have any breasts⌟. What should we do for our sister ⌞on the day when she is betrothed⌟? ⁹If she is a wall, ⌞we will adorn her with a turret of silver⌟; but if she is a door, we will barricade her with boards of cedar. ¹⁰I was a wall, and my breasts were like the towers, ⌞so my betrothed viewed me with great delight⌟. ¹¹⌞Solomon had a vineyard⌟ at Baal-hamon; ⌞he entrusted his vineyard to the keepers⌟; ⌞people paid a thousand silver pieces for its fruit⌟. ¹²⌞My own “vineyard” belongs to me⌟; the “thousand” are for you, O Solomon, ⌞and “two hundred” for those who tend its fruit⌟. ¹³O you who dwell in the garden, my companions are listening to your voice. Let me hear it! ¹⁴Flee, my beloved! ⌞Be like a gazelle⌟ or ⌞a young stag⌟ upon ⌞the perfumed mountains⌟!