Song of Songs 8

Christian Standard Bible

8 If only I could treat you like my brother,^[a]
one who nursed at my mother’s breasts,
I would find you in public and kiss you,
and no one would scorn me.
²I would lead you, I would take you,
to the house of my mother^(A) who taught me.^[b]
I would give you spiced wine to drink
from the juice of my pomegranate.
³May his left hand be under my head,
and his right arm embrace me.^(B)
⁴Young women of Jerusalem, I charge you,
do not stir up or awaken love
until the appropriate time.^(C)

Young Women

⁵Who is this^(D) coming up from the wilderness,
leaning on the one she loves?

Woman

I awakened you under the apricot tree.^(E)
There your mother conceived you;
there she conceived and gave you birth.
⁶Set me as a seal on your heart,
as a seal on your arm.^(F)
For love is as strong as death;^(G)
jealousy is as unrelenting as Sheol.
Love’s flames are fiery flames^(H)—
an almighty flame!^[c]
⁷A huge torrent cannot extinguish love;
rivers cannot sweep it away.
If a man were to give all his wealth^[d] for love,^(I)
it would be utterly scorned.

Brothers

⁸Our sister is young;
she has no breasts.^(J)
What will we do for our sister
on the day she is spoken for?
⁹If she is a wall,
we will build a silver barricade on her.
If she is a door,
we will enclose her with cedar planks.^(K)

Woman

¹⁰I am^[e] a wall
and my breasts like towers.
So to him I have become
like one who finds^[f] peace.^[g]

¹¹Solomon owned a vineyard in Baal-hamon.^(L)
He leased the vineyard to tenants.^(M)
Each was to bring for his fruit
one thousand pieces of silver.^(N)
¹²I have my own vineyard.^[h]^(O)
The one thousand are for you, Solomon,
but two hundred for those who take care of its fruits.

Man

¹³You^[i] who dwell in the gardens,
companions^(P) are listening for your voice;
let me hear you!^(Q)

Woman

¹⁴Run away with me,^[j] my love,
and be like a gazelle
or a young stag
on the mountains of spices.^(R)

Footnotes

8:1 Lit Would that you were like a brother to me
8:2 LXX adds and into the chamber of the one who bore me
8:6 Or the blaze of the Lord
8:7 Lit all the wealth of his house
8:10 Or was
8:10 Or brings
8:10 In Hb, the word for peace sounds similar to Solomon and Shulammite.
8:12 Lit My vineyard, which is mine, is before me; Sg 1:6
8:13 In Hb, the word for You is feminine.
8:14 Lit Flee

Christian Standard Bible (CSB)

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