8
‘I wish you were like a brother to me. I wish my mother's breasts had fed you.
Then if I found you outside,
I could kiss you.
No one would look down on me.
2 I'd bring you to my mother's house.
She taught me everything I know.
I'd give you spiced wine to drink.
It's the juice of my pomegranates.
3 Your left arm is under my head.
Your right arm is around me.
4 Women of Jerusalem, make me a promise.
Don't stir up love.
Don't wake it up until it's ready.’
The other women say,
5 ‘Who is this woman coming up from the desert?
She's leaning on the one who loves her.’
The woman says to the king,
‘Under the apple tree I woke you up.
That's where your mother became pregnant with you.
She went into labour, and you were born there.
6 Hold me close to your heart where your royal seal is worn.
Keep me as close to yourself as the bracelet on your arm.
My love for you is so strong it won't let you go.
Love is as powerful as death.
Love's jealousy is as strong as the grave.
Love is like a blazing fire.
Love burns like a mighty flame.
7 No amount of water can put it out.
Rivers can't sweep it away.
Suppose someone offers
all their wealth to buy love.
That won't even come close to being enough.’
The woman's brothers say,
8 ‘We have a little sister.
Her breasts are still small.
What should we do for our sister
when she gets engaged?
9 If she were a wall,
we'd build silver towers on her.
If she were a door,
we'd cover her with cedar boards.’
The woman says to the king,
10 ‘I am a wall.
My breasts are like well-built towers.
So in your eyes I've become
like someone who makes you happy.
11 Solomon, you had a vineyard in Baal Hamon.
You rented your vineyard to others.
They had to pay 12 kilograms
of silver for its fruit.
12 But I can give my own vineyard to anyone I want to.
So I give my 12 kilograms of silver to you, Solomon.
Give 2.5 kilograms to those who take care of its fruit.’
The king says,
13 ‘My love, you live in the gardens.
My friends listen for your voice.
But let me hear it now.’
The woman says,
14 ‘Come away with me, my love.
Be like an antelope
or like a young deer
on mountains that are full of spices.’
1:1–8:14 The woman is the first one to speak in Song of Songs. Both she and the man she loves are shepherds. For hundreds of years, this job was very common among the people of Israel. The woman and the man are both adults. This is true even though the woman's brothers treat her like she is still young. The woman and the man both have very strong desires for each other. For the woman, everything about the man is delightful. For the man, the woman is so beautiful and so delightful. They are completely committed to each other. Three times the woman talks about how she and the man belong to one another. This shows that they don't love anyone else the way they love each other. It also shows that neither of them owns or controls the other. They both choose to do things to please the other. They each invite the other to come away with them. They desire to be together. They look for ways to find each other and spend time together. Most of the woman's and the man's poems are about the sexual hopes they have. They hope to enjoy each other's body fully. The poems are about what they imagine doing together. They imagine these things freely and they explain these things very carefully. But they can't yet fully take action on their sexual desires. Three times the woman talks about not waking up love. This means that they must wait to do what they imagine doing with each other. It's very hard for them to wait. The woman and the man compare each other's bodies to many different things. These include things in creation like animals, gardens, mountains, flowers, fruit and spices. They include things in cities like towers, pillars, armies, gates, ivory, gold and silk. The woman compares love to many things. It can't be stopped by anything in creation or by death. It can't be controlled by money. These words are a picture of how strong love is.