1If only you were like a brother to me,

likea one who nursed at my mother’s breasts.

If I found you outside I would kiss you,

and no one would view me with contempt.b

2I would lead you,

I would bring you

to the house of my mother

who used to teach me.

I would give you some spiced wine to drink,

from the juice of my pomegranates.c

3Let his left hand be under my head,

and let his right hand embrace me.

4Swear to me, young women of Jerusalem,

that you won’t awaken or arouse love

before its proper time!d

The Young Women

5Who is this coming up from the desert,

leaning on her beloved?

The Loved One

Under the apple treee I awakened you.

There your mother had gone into labor with you;

there she went into labor and gave birth to you.

6Set me like a sealf over your heart,

like a seal on your arm.

For love is as strong as death,

passiong as intense as Sheol.h

The flames of lovei are flames of fire,

a blaze that comes from the LORD.j

7Mighty bodies of water cannot extinguish love,

rivers cannot put it out.

If a man were to give all the wealth of his house for love,

he would surely be viewed with contempt.

The Loved One’s Brothers

8Wek have a little sister,

and she has not yet reached maturity.l

What will we do for our sister

to prepare her form her engagement?n

9If she’s a wall,

on her we will build a battlement of silver.

If she’s a door,

we will enclose her with planks of cedar.

The Loved One

10I was a wall and my breasts were like towers.

Then I became like one who finds peaceo in his eyes.

11Solomon has a vineyard in Baal-hamon.

He entrusted the vineyard to caretakers—

each one is to bring 1,000 pieces of silver

in exchange for its fruit.

12My vineyard belongs to me and is at my disposal.p

The 1,000 are for you, Solomon,

and 200 are for those who take care of its fruit.

The Lover

13You who sit in the gardens,

companions are listening for your voice,

but let me hear it.

The Loved One

14Come quickly, my beloved, and be like a gazelle

or a young stag on the mountains of spices.