LUX VERITAS

Old Testament · Chapter 8 of 8

Song of Solomon 8

Shir HaShirim

O that thou {wert} as my brother, that sucked the breasts of my mother! {when} I should find thee without, I would kiss thee; yea, I should not be despised. {I should not...: Heb. they should not despise me}

2I would lead thee, {and} bring thee into my mother's house, {who} would instruct me: I would cause thee to drink of spiced wine of the juice of my pomegranate.

3His left hand {should be} under my head, and his right hand should embrace me.

4I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, that ye stir not up, nor awake {my} love, until he please. {that...: Heb. why should ye stir up, or, why, etc}

5Who {is} this that cometh up from the wilderness, leaning upon her beloved? I raised thee up under the apple tree: there thy mother brought thee forth: there she brought thee forth {that} bare thee.

6Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm: for love {is} strong as death; jealousy {is} cruel as the grave: the coals thereof {are} coals of fire, {which hath a} most vehement flame. {cruel: Heb. hard}

7Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it: if {a} man would give all the substance of his house for love, it would utterly be contemned.

8We have a little sister, and she hath no breasts: what shall we do for our sister in the day when she shall be spoken for?

9If she {be} a wall, we will build upon her a palace of silver: and if she {be} a door, we will inclose her with boards of cedar.

10I {am} a wall, and my breasts like towers: then was I in his eyes as one that found favour. {favour: Heb. peace}

11Solomon had a vineyard at Baalhamon; he let out the vineyard unto keepers; every one for the fruit thereof was to bring a thousand {pieces} of silver.

12My vineyard, which {is} mine, {is} before me: thou, O Solomon, {must have} a thousand, and those that keep the fruit thereof two hundred.

13Thou that dwellest in the gardens, the companions hearken to thy voice: cause me to hear {it}.

14Make haste, my beloved, and be thou like to a roe or to a young hart upon the mountains of spices. {Make...: Heb. Flee away}

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About Song of Solomon

Love poetry between two lovers, with no explicit moral and no mention of God. Read as an allegory of the covenant by Jews and Christians, and as what it appears to be by nearly everyone else.