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The Lovers Speak

¹ "Oh, that you were like a brother to me,
Who nursed at the breasts of my mother.
If I found you out of doors, I would kiss you;
No one would blame me or despise me, either. ^(VR1)

² "I would lead you and ^(C1)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 ^(C1)his left hand be under my head
And his right hand embrace me." ^(VR1)

(The Bridegroom)

⁴ "^(C1)I command you to take an oath, O daughters of Jerusalem,
That you do not rouse nor awaken my love
Until she pleases."

(The Chorus)

⁵ "^(C1)Who is this coming up from the wilderness
Leaning upon her beloved?"

(The Shulammite Bride)

"Under the ^(C2)apple tree I awakened you to my love;
There your mother was in labor with you,
There she was in labor and gave you birth.

⁶ "Put me like a seal on your heart,
Like a ^(C1)seal on your arm;
For love is as strong as death,
^(C2)Jealousy is as severe and cruel as Sheol (the place of the dead).
Its flashes are flashes of fire,
A most vehement flame the very flame of the ^(F1)LORD! ^(VR1)

⁷ "Many waters cannot quench love,
Nor can rivers drown it.
^(C1)If a man would offer all the riches of his house for love,
It would be utterly scorned and despised."

(The Chorus)

⁸ "We have a little sister
And she ^(C1)has no breasts.
What shall we do for our sister
On the day when she is spoken for in marriage?

⁹ "If she is a wall (discreet, womanly),
We will build on her a turret (dowry) of silver;
But if she is a door (bold, flirtatious),
We will enclose her with ^(C1)planks of cedar."

(The Shulammite Bride)

¹⁰ "I was a wall, and ^(C1)my breasts were like the towers.
Then I became in the king's eyes
As one to be respected and allowed to find peace.

¹¹ "Solomon had a ^(C1)vineyard at Baal-hamon;
He ^(C2)entrusted the vineyard to ^(C3)caretakers;
Each one was to bring him a ^(C4)thousand shekels of silver for its ^(C5)fruit.

¹² "My very own vineyard is at my disposal;
The thousand shekels of silver are for you, O Solomon,
And two hundred are for those who tend the fruit."

(The Bridegroom)

¹³ "O you who sit in the gardens,
My ^(C1)companions are listening for your voice—
Let me ^(C2)hear it."

(The Shulammite Bride)

¹⁴ "Hurry, my beloved and come quickly,
^(C1)Like a gazelle or a young stag taking me home
On the ^(C2)mountains of spices."