Song of Solomon 8

Longing for Her Beloved

¹O 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.

²I would lead you and bring you

to the house of my mother who taught me.

I would give you spiced wine to drink,

the nectar of my pomegranates.

³His left hand is under my head,

and his right arm embraces me.

⁴O daughters of Jerusalem, I adjure you:

Do not arouse or awaken love

until the time is right.

• SONG 8:4[NOTABLE]The third and last time the refrain is said. See 2:7.

The Friends

⁵Who 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.

⁶Set me as a seal over your heart,

as a seal upon your arm.

For love is as strong as death,

its jealousy as unrelenting as Sheol.

Its sparks are fiery flames,

the very flame of Yahweh.

• SONG 8:6[HEART]Set me as a seal over your heart. True love belongs to one person and is stamped for keeps.
• SONG 8:6[NOTABLE]The big line of the whole book. True love does not quit and cannot be bought.
• SONG 8:6[TEXT]THE FLAME OF YAHWEH. The Hebrew word shalhevetyah ends in yah, the short form of Yahweh, as in Hallelujah. Like the ESV and ASV, this Bible says the very flame of Yahweh. Many Bibles read yah as a way to say mighty: a mighty flame. If it is God's name, this is the only time it shows up in the Song.
• SONG 8:6[NOTE]A SEAL. A seal was a stone carved with the owner's mark, worn on a cord over the heart or as a ring. It said: this belongs to me.

⁷Mighty waters cannot quench love;

rivers cannot sweep it away.

If a man were to give all the wealth of his house for love,

his offer would be utterly scorned.

• SONG 8:7[NOTE]NOT FOR SALE. A man could offer everything he owns and still not buy love. Real love can only be given.

The Friends

⁸We 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?

• SONG 8:8[NOTE]THE LITTLE SISTER. Her brothers plan to protect their young sister until she is ready to marry. A wall stands for keeping herself pure. In 8:10 the bride says: I was a wall.

⁹If 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

¹⁰I am a wall,

and my breasts are like towers.

So I have become in his eyes

like one who brings peace.

¹¹Solomon had a vineyard in Baal-hamon.

He leased it to the tenants.

For its fruit, each was to bring

25 pounds of silver.

• SONG 8:11[TEXT]25 POUNDS OF SILVER. In the Hebrew, the numbers are a thousand pieces of silver here and two hundred in 8:12. This Bible gives the weight in pounds.

¹²But my own vineyard is mine to give;

the 25 pounds are for you, O Solomon,

and five pounds are for those who tend its fruit.

• SONG 8:12[NOTE]MY OWN VINEYARD. Solomon's huge vineyard at Baal Hamon, a place no one has found, earns him a fortune. Many read the next words as the bride's: her own vineyard, herself, is hers to give, and she gives it to her beloved.

The Bridegroom

¹³You who dwell in the gardens,

my companions are listening for your voice.

Let me hear it!

The Bride

¹⁴Come away, my beloved,

and be like a gazelle

or a young stag

on the mountains of spices.

• SONG 8:14[NOTE]COME AWAY. The Song ends with love still calling. Many Christians hear the last prayer of the Bible: Come, Lord Jesus, Revelation 22:20.