# Song 8
## Longing for Her Beloved
- 1 O that you were to me like a brother
- who nursed at my mother’s breasts!
- If I found you outdoors, I would kiss you,
- and no one would despise me.
- 2 I would lead you and bring you
- to the house of my mother who taught me.
- I would give you spiced [[H3196|wine]] to drink,
- the nectar of my pomegranates.
- 3 His left hand is under my head,
- and his right arm embraces me.
- 4 O daughters of Jerusalem, I adjure you:
- Do not arouse or awaken love
- until the time is right.
*The Friends*
- 5 Who is this coming up from the wilderness,
- leaning on her beloved?
*The Bride*
- I roused you under the apple tree;
- there your mother conceived you;
- there she travailed and brought you forth.
- 6 Set me as a seal over your heart,
- as a seal upon your arm.
- For love is as strong as death,
- its jealousy {[[#^bsb-22-08-a| bsb-a ]], [[#^niv-22-08-a| niv-a ]]} as unrelenting as Sheol.
- Its sparks are fiery flames,
- the fiercest blaze of all. {[[#^niv-22-08-b| niv-b ]]}
- 7 Mighty waters cannot quench love;
- rivers cannot sweep it away.
- If a man were to give all the wealth of his house for love,
- his {[[#^niv-22-08-c| niv-c ]]} offer would be utterly scorned.
*The Friends*
- 8 We have a little sister,
- and her breasts are not yet grown.
- What shall we do for our sister
- on the day she is spoken for?
- 9 If she is a wall,
- we will build a tower of silver upon her.
- If she is a door,
- we will enclose her with panels of cedar.
*The Bride*
- 10 I am a wall,
- and my breasts are like towers.
- So I have become in his eyes
- like one who brings peace.
- 11 Solomon had a vineyard in Baal-hamon.
- He leased it to the tenants.
- For its fruit, each was to bring
- a thousand shekels {[[#^niv-22-08-d| niv-d ]]} of silver. {[[#^bsb-22-08-b| bsb-b ]]}
- 12 But my own vineyard is mine to give;
- the thousand shekels are for you, O Solomon,
- and two hundred {[[#^niv-22-08-e| niv-e ]]} are for those who tend its fruit.
*The Bridegroom*
- 13 You who dwell in the gardens,
- my companions are listening for your voice.
- Let me hear it!
*The Bride*
- 14 Come away, my beloved,
- and be like a gazelle
- or a young stag
- on the mountains of spices.
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### Footnotes:
- BSB
- 6 a Or passion ^bsb-22-08-a
- 11 b Hebrew a thousand of silver ; that is, approximately 25.1 pounds or 11.4 kilograms of silver ^bsb-22-08-b
- NIV
- a 6 Or *ardor* ^niv-22-08-a
- b 6 Or *fire; like the very flame of the Lord* ^niv-22-08-b
- c 7 Or he ^niv-22-08-c
- d 11 That is, about 25 pounds or about 12 kilograms; also in **verse 12** ^niv-22-08-d
- e 12 That is, about 5 pounds or about 2.3 kilograms ^niv-22-08-e
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- Previous chapter: [[Song_07]]
- Next chapter: [[Isaiah_01]]
- TOC: [[TOC_Song]]
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