1
O that you were like a brother to me,
who nursed at my mother's breast!
If I met you outside, I would kiss you,
and no one would despise me.
2
I would lead you and bring you
into the house of my mother,
and into the chamber of the one who bore me. 1
I would give you spiced wine to drink,
the juice of my pomegranates.
3
O that his left hand were under my head,
and that his right hand embraced me!
4
I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
do not stir up or awaken love
until it is ready!
5
Who is that coming up from the wilderness,
leaning upon her beloved?
Under the apple tree I awakened you.
There your mother was in labor with you;
there she who bore you was in labor.
6
Set me as a seal upon your heart,
as a seal upon your arm;
for love is strong as death,
passion fierce as the grave.
Its flashes are flashes of fire,
a raging flame.
7
Many waters cannot quench love,
neither can floods drown it.
If one offered for love
all the wealth of one's house,
it would be utterly scorned.