8
We have a little sister
too young to have breasts.
What will we do for our sister
if someone asks to marry her?
9
If she is a virgin, like a wall,
we will protect her with a silver tower.
But if she is promiscuous, like a swinging door,
we will block her door with a cedar bar.
10
I was a virgin, like a wall;
now my breasts are like towers.
When my lover looks at me,
he is delighted with what he sees.
11
Solomon has a vineyard at Baal-hamon,
which he leases out to tenant farmers.
Each of them pays a thousand pieces of silver 1
for harvesting its fruit.
12
But my vineyard is mine to give,
and Solomon need not pay a thousand pieces of silver.
But I will give two hundred pieces
to those who care for its vines.
13
O my darling, lingering in the gardens,
your companions are fortunate to hear your voice.
Let me hear it, too!
14
Come away, my love! Be like a gazelle
or a young stag on the mountains of spices.