Longing for Her Beloved
1O that you were to me like a brother
who nursed at my mother’s breasts!
If I found you outdoors, I would kiss you,
and no one would despise me.
2I would lead you and bring you
to the house of my mother who taught me.
I would give you spiced wine to drink,
the nectar of my pomegranates.
3His left hand is under my head,
and his right arm embraces me.
The Friends
4O daughters of Jerusalem, I adjure you:
Do not arouse or awaken love
until the time is right.
The Bride
5Who is this coming up from the wilderness,
leaning on her beloved?
I roused you under the apple tree;
there your mother conceived you;
there she travailed and brought you forth.
6Set me as a seal over your heart,
as a seal upon your arm.
For love is as strong as death,
its jealousya as unrelenting as Sheol.
Its sparks are fiery flames,
the fiercest blaze of all.
The Friends
7Mighty waters cannot quench love;
rivers cannot sweep it away.
If a man were to give all the wealth of his house for love,
his offer would be utterly scorned.
8We have a little sister,
and her breasts are not yet grown.
What shall we do for our sister
on the day she is spoken for?
The Bride
9If she is a wall,
we will build a tower of silver upon her.
If she is a door,
we will enclose her with panels of cedar.
10I am a wall,
and my breasts are like towers.
So I have become in his eyes
like one who brings peace.
11Solomon had a vineyard in Baal-hamon.
He leased it to the tenants.
For its fruit, each was to bring
a thousand shekels of silver.b
The Bridegroom
12But my own vineyard is mine to give;
the thousand shekels are for you, O Solomon,
and two hundred are for those who tend its fruit.
The Bride
13You who dwell in the gardens,
my companions are listening for your voice.
Let me hear it!
14Come away, my beloved,
and be like a gazelle
or a young stag
on the mountains of spices.