The Lovers Speak

1“Oh that you were like a brother to me
         Who nursed at my mother’s breasts.
         If I found you outdoors, I would kiss you;
         No one would despise me, either.

2“I would lead you and bring you
         Into the house of my mother, who used to instruct me;
         I would give you spiced wine to drink from the juice of my pomegranates.

3“Let his left hand be under my head
         And his right hand embrace me.”

4“I want you to swear, O daughters of Jerusalem,
         Do not arouse or awaken my love
         Until she pleases.”

5“Who is this coming up from the wilderness
         Leaning on her beloved?”
         
      “Beneath the apple tree I awakened you;
         There your mother was in labor with you,
         There she was in labor and gave you birth.

6“Put me like a seal over your heart,
         Like a seal on your arm.
         For love is as strong as death,
         Jealousy is as severe as Sheol;
         Its flashes are flashes of fire,
         The very flame of the LORD.

7“Many waters cannot quench love,
         Nor will rivers overflow it;
         If a man were to give all the riches of his house for love,
         It would be utterly despised.”

8“We have a little sister,
         And she has no breasts;
         What shall we do for our sister
         On the day when she is spoken for?

9“If she is a wall,
         We will build on her a battlement of silver;
         But if she is a door,
         We will barricade her with planks of cedar.”

10“I was a wall, and my breasts were like towers;
         Then I became in his eyes as one who finds peace.

11“Solomon had a vineyard at Baal-hamon;
         He entrusted the vineyard to caretakers.
         Each one was to bring a thousand shekels of silver for its fruit.

12“My very own vineyard is at my disposal;
         The thousand shekels are for you, Solomon,
         And two hundred are for those who take care of its fruit.”

13“O you who sit in the gardens,
         My companions are listening for your voice—
         Let me hear it!”

14“Hurry, my beloved,
         And be like a gazelle or a young stag
         On the mountains of spices.”

NASB ©1995

American Standard Version
Oh that thou wert as my brother, That sucked the breasts of my mother! When I should find thee without, I would kiss thee; Yea, and none would despise me.

Douay-Rheims Bible
Who shall give thee to me for my brother, sucking the breasts of my mother, that I may find thee without, and kiss thee, and now no man may despise me?

Darby Bible Translation
Oh that thou wert as my brother, That sucked the breasts of my mother! Should I find thee without, I would kiss thee; And they would not despise me.

English Revised Version
Oh that thou wert as my brother, that sucked the breasts of my mother! when I should find thee without, I would kiss thee; yea, and none would despise me.

Webster's Bible Translation
O that thou wert as my brother, that was nourished at the breasts of my mother! when I should find thee without, I would kiss thee; yes, I should not be despised.

World English Bible
Oh that you were like my brother, who nursed from the breasts of my mother! If I found you outside, I would kiss you; yes, and no one would despise me.

Young's Literal Translation
Who doth make thee as a brother to me, Sucking the breasts of my mother? I find thee without, I kiss thee, Yea, they do not despise me,Song of Songs
The contents of this book justify the description of it in the title, i. 1, as the "loveliest song"--for that is the meaning of the Hebrew idiom "song of songs." It abounds in poetical gems of the purest ray. It breathes the bracing air of the hill country, and the passionate love of man for woman and woman for man. It is a revelation of the keen Hebrew delight in nature, in her vineyards and pastures, flowers and fruit trees, in her doves and deer and sheep and goats. It is a song tremulous from …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

Song of Solomon 8:1 NIV • Song of Solomon 8:1 NLT • Song of Solomon 8:1 ESV • Song of Solomon 8:1 NASB • Song of Solomon 8:1 KJV • Song of Solomon 8:1 Bible Apps • Song of Solomon 8:1 Parallel • Bible Hub