OEB SNG Chapter 8

◄ SNG 8 ║ ©

8 O that thou wert my brother,

That nursed at the breasts of my mother!

If I found thee without, I would kiss thee,

Nor fear the contempt of another.

2 To my mother’s house I would bring thee,

To the chamber of her that conceived me.

Spiced wine would I give thee to drink,

A draught of my pomegranate wine.

The Incomparable Power of Love

5 Who is this that comes up from the wilderness,

Leaning upon her beloved?

"’Neath the apple-tree yonder I woke thee,

Just there, where a babe thou wast swaddled–

Yes, there – by the mother that bore thee."

6 "Set me as seal on thy heart

Like the ring on thy hand.

For love is strong as death,

Its passion is fierce as the grave;

Its flashes are flashes of fire,

Its flames are like the lightning.

7 No waters can quench it,

Nor floods overwhelm it.

If a man should give all in his house for it,

Utterly scorned would he be.

The Bride’s Proud Reply to her Brothers

8 "A sister have we, but she’s little–

No breasts hath she yet.

What then shall we do with our sister,

The day she is spoken for?

9 If she should prove a wall,

We will build her a turret of silver.

But if she should prove a door,

We will fence her with boards of cedar."

10 "I was a wall,

My breasts were the turrets;

And he, as he looked at me,

Won me my happiness."

The Two Vineyards

11 Solomon had a vineyard at Baal-hamon–

He let out the vineyard to keepers;

And each man brought in for the fruit thereof

One thousand shekels of silver.

12 I, too, have a vineyard, mine own:

I leave thee the thousand, O Solomon;

Yea, and two hundred besides

For the men who kept watch on the fruit thereof,

Conclusion

13 "O thou that hauntest the gardens,

My comrades are all attention:

Come, let us hear thy voice."

14 "Hasten, beloved,

And flee like the roe

Or the playful gazelle

On the mountains of spices."

◄ SNG 8 ║ ©

SNG C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7 C8