10I am my lover’s,

and he claims me as his own.

11Come, my love, let us go out to the fields

and spend the night among the wildflowers.*7:11 Or in the villages.

12Let us get up early and go to the vineyards

to see if the grapevines have budded,

if the blossoms have opened,

and if the pomegranates have bloomed.

There I will give you my love.

13There the mandrakes give off their fragrance,

and the finest fruits are at our door,

new delights as well as old,

which I have saved for you, my lover.

Song of Songs 8

Young Woman

1Oh, I wish you were my brother,

who nursed at my mother’s breasts.

Then I could kiss you no matter who was watching,

and no one would criticize me.

2I would bring you to my childhood home,

and there you would teach me.*8:2 Or there she will teach me.

I would give you spiced wine to drink,

my sweet pomegranate wine.

3Your left arm would be under my head,

and your right arm would embrace me.

4Promise me, O women of Jerusalem,

not to awaken love until the time is right.*8:4 Or not to awaken love until it is ready.

Young Women of Jerusalem

5Who is this sweeping in from the desert,

leaning on her lover?

Young Woman

I aroused you under the apple tree,

where your mother gave you birth,

where in great pain she delivered you.

6Place me like a seal over your heart,

like a seal on your arm.

For love is as strong as death,

its jealousy*8:6a Or its passion. as enduring as the grave.*8:6b Hebrew as Sheol.

Love flashes like fire,

the brightest kind of flame.

7Many waters cannot quench love,

nor can rivers drown it.

If a man tried to buy love

with all his wealth,

his offer would be utterly scorned.