| King James Bible | Holman Christian Standard Bible |
| 1O 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. | 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. |
| 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. | 2I would lead you, I would take you, to the house of my mother who taught me. I would give you spiced wine to drink from my pomegranate juice. |
| 3His left hand should be under my head, and his right hand should embrace me. | 3His left hand is under my head, and his right arm embraces me. |
| 4I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, until he please. | 4Young women of Jerusalem, I charge you: do not stir up or awaken love until the appropriate time. Y |
| 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. | 5Who is this coming up from the wilderness, leaning on the one she loves? W I awakened you under the apricot tree. There your mother conceived you; there she conceived and gave you birth. |
| 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. | 6Set me as a seal on your heart, as a seal on your arm. For love is as strong as death; ardent love is as unrelenting as Sheol. Love's flames are fiery flames-- the fiercest of all. |
| 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. | 7Mighty waters cannot extinguish love; rivers cannot sweep it away. If a man were to give all his wealth for love, it would be utterly scorned. B |
| 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? | 8Our sister is young; she has no breasts. What will we do for our sister on the day she is 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. | 9If she is a wall, we will build a silver parapet on it. If she is a door, we will enclose it with cedar planks. W |
| 10I am a wall, and my breasts like towers: then was I in his eyes as one that found favour. | 10I am a wall and my breasts like towers. So in his eyes I have become like one who finds 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. | 11Solomon owned a vineyard in Baal-hamon. He leased the vineyard to tenants. Each was to bring for his fruit 1,000 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. | 12I have my own vineyard. The 1,000 are for you, Solomon, but 200 for those who guard its fruits. M |
| 13Thou that dwellest in the gardens, the companions hearken to thy voice: cause me to hear it. | 13You who dwell in the gardens-- companions are listening for your voice-- let me hear you! W |
| 14Make haste, my beloved, and be thou like to a roe or to a young hart upon the mountains of spices. | 14Hurry to me, my love, and be like a gazelle or a young stag on the mountains of spices. |
|
