1 If only I could treat you like my brother,
one who nursed at my mother’s breasts,
I would find you in public and kiss you,
and no one would scorn me.
2 I would lead you, I would take you,
to the house of my mother g who taught me.
I would give you spiced wine to drink
from the juice of my pomegranate.
3 May his left hand be under my head,
and his right arm embrace me. h
4 Young women of Jerusalem, I charge you,
do not stir up or awaken love
until the appropriate time. i
Young Women
5 Who is this j coming up from the wilderness,
leaning on the one she loves?
Woman
I awakened you under the apricot tree. k
There your mother conceived you;
there she conceived and gave you birth.
6 Set me as a seal on your heart,
as a seal on your arm. l
For love is as strong as death; m
jealousy is as unrelenting as Sheol.
Love’s flames are fiery flames n—
an almighty flame!
7 A huge torrent cannot extinguish love;
rivers cannot sweep it away.
If a man were to give all his wealth for love, o
it would be utterly scorned.
Brothers
8 Our sister is young;
she has no breasts. p
What will we do for our sister
on the day she is spoken for?
9 If she is a wall,
we will build a silver barricade on her.
If she is a door,
we will enclose her with cedar planks. q
Woman
10 I am a wall
and my breasts like towers.
So in his eyes I have become
like one who finds peace.
11 Solomon owned a vineyard in Baal-hamon. r
He leased the vineyard to tenants. s
Each was to bring for his fruit
one thousand pieces of silver. t
12 I have my own vineyard. ,u
The one thousand are for you, Solomon,
but two hundred for those who take care of its fruits.
Man
13 You who dwell in the gardens,
companions v are listening for your voice;
let me hear you! w
Woman
14 Run away with me, my love,
and be like a gazelle
or a young stag
on the mountains of spices. x
8:1–4. Verses 1–4 describe the woman’s frustration over social constraints about expressing their love. Kissing one’s brother in public was apparently acceptable, while kissing a lover—or even a spouse—was not. “Sister” was used earlier as a term of endearment (e.g., 4:9–12; 5:1), but here “brother” refers to a blood relative (8:1). The woman imagines giving her lover spiced wine and the nectar of her pomegranates, with its erotic associations, likely as a prelude to intimacy (8:2). The refrain of 2:7 and 3:5 is again repeated in 8:4.
8:5b–7. “Awaken” and “conceived” (8:5b) have strong sexual connotations, and the woman is likely reflecting back on the time when their love was first stirred.
8:8–10. Verses 8–10 describe a conflict with the woman’s brothers regarding her readiness for a romantic relationship. The woman’s brothers think their little sister is too immature for marriage and want to guard her chastity (8:8). She and her lover vigorously disagree with them (8:10).
8:11–12. Verses 11–12 contrast Solomon’s “vineyard” with the couple’s relationship. Song of Songs 8:11 probably refers to an actual vineyard that Solomon placed into the care of managers, perhaps like an arrangement between an owner and a tenant farmer. In the light of verse 12, it is possible that Solomon’s great number of wives are also in view. Presumably, each tenant had to pay Solomon a “thousand pieces of silver” for the use of the vineyard and then received “two hundred” in compensation for the work.
8:13–14. Verses 13–14 end the book but leave the story open ended as the woman sends the man away but then calls him back to her as she did in 2:17. She responds to his request to hear her voice (8:13) by inviting him to join her (8:14). The reference to “mountains of spices” is probably an allusion to her breasts, as representative of all her charms and the delight they will bring him. The Song ends without finality or closure.