8 If only you were as my brother—
        the one who nursed at my mother’s breast.
I would find you in the street and kiss you,
        and no one would shame me for it.
² I would lead you, I would bring you
        to my mother’s house;
        she would teach me what to do.^[a]
I would give you spiced wine to drink,
        some of my fresh pomegranate juice.

⁵ Who is this coming up from the wilderness
        leaning against her lover?

Under the apple tree I aroused you—
        there, where your mother labored with you,
        there where, laboring, she bore you.
⁶ Set me as a seal over your heart,
        as a seal upon your arm,
for love is as strong as death,
        passionate love unrelenting as the grave.^[b]
Its darts are darts of fire—
        divine flame!
⁷ Rushing waters can’t quench love;
        rivers can’t wash it away.
If someone gave
        all his estate in exchange for love,
        he would be laughed to utter shame.

⁸ Our sister is small;
        she has no breasts.
What will we do for our sister
        on the day that she is spoken for?
⁹ If she is a city wall,
        then we will build a turret of silver on her.^[c]
And if she is a door,
        then we will barricade her^[d] with a panel of cedar.

¹⁰ I’m a city wall,
        and my breasts are the towers.
So now I’m in his eyes
        as one who brings peace.

¹¹ Solomon had a vineyard
        in Baal-hamon.
He gave charge of the vineyard to keepers;
        one would bring in exchange for its fruit
            a thousand pieces of silver.
¹² My vineyard, my very own, is before me.
You can have the thousand, Solomon^[e]—
        with two hundred for those who tend the fruit!

¹⁴ “Take flight, my love,
        and be like a gazelle
        or a young stag
        on the mountains of spice!”