8 I wish you were like my brother
who ·fed [L sucked] at my mother’s breasts [C so she could be affectionate toward him in public].
If I found you outside,
I would kiss you,
and no one would ·look down on [shame] me.
2 I would lead you and bring you
to my mother’s house;
she is the one who taught me.
I would give you a drink of spiced wine
from my pomegranates.
The Woman Speaks to the Friends
3 My lover’s left hand is under my head,
and his right arm ·holds me tight [embraces me; 2:6].
4 ·Women [L Daughters] of Jerusalem [1:5],
·promise [I adjure you] not to awaken
or ·excite [arouse] love
until it ·is ready [so desires; C likely a warning to the women to wait for love until the right person comes along; 2:7; 3:5].
The Friends Speak
5 Who is this coming out of the ·desert [wilderness; 3:6],
leaning on her lover?
The Man Speaks to the Woman
I ·woke [aroused] you under the apple tree
where ·you were born [L your mother conceived you];
there ·your mother gave birth to you [L the one who gave you birth conceived you].
6 ·Put [Set] me like a seal [C leaving an impression on clay, showing ownership] on your heart [C inside],
like a seal on your arm [C outside].
Love is as strong as death;
·jealousy [or passion] is as ·strong [tenacious] as the grave.
·Love bursts into flames [L Its flame is an intense fire]
·and burns like a hot fire [or a godlike flame].
7 Even much water cannot put out the flame of love;
floods cannot ·drown [flood] love.
If a man offered ·everything [L all the wealth] in his house for love,
·people would totally reject it [or he would be completely despised].
The Woman’s Brothers Speak
8 We have a ·little [small] sister,
and ·her breasts are not yet grown [L she has no breasts].
What should we do for our sister
on the day she ·becomes engaged [L is spoken for; C brothers were in charge of marriage negotiations]?
9 If she is a wall [C chaste],
we will put silver towers on her [C support and honor her].
If she is a door [C promiscuous],
we will ·protect [enclose] her with cedar boards [C put a stop to her sexual activity].
The Woman Speaks
10 I am a wall [C chaste],
and my breasts are like towers [C she is mature].
So I ·was to him [or will be in his eyes],
as one who brings ·happiness [peace; contentment].
11 Solomon had a vineyard at Baal Hamon.
He ·rented [entrusted] the vineyards ·for others to tend [or to guards],
and everyone who rented had to pay
·twenty-five pounds [L a thousand pieces] of silver for the fruit.
12 But my own vineyard is mine ·to give [alone].
Solomon, the ·twenty-five pounds [L thousand pieces] of silver are for you,
and ·five pounds [L two hundred] are for those who ·tend [guard] the fruit.
The Man Speaks to the Woman
13 You who live in the gardens,
my friends are listening for your voice;
let me hear it.
The Woman Speaks to the Man
14 ·Hurry [Sneak away], my lover,
be like a gazelle
or a young deer
on the mountains where spices grow.