| English Standard Version | International Standard Version |
| 1Oh that you were like a brother to me who nursed at my mother’s breasts! If I found you outside, I would kiss you, and none would despise me. | 1If only you were like a brother to me, like one who nursed at my mother's breasts. If I found you outside I would kiss you, and no one would view me with contempt. |
| 2I would lead you and bring you into the house of my mother— she who used to teach me. I would give you spiced wine to drink, the juice of my pomegranate. | 2I would lead you, I would bring you to the house of my mother who used to teach me. I would give you some spiced wine to drink, from the juice of my pomegranates. |
| 3His left hand is under my head, and his right hand embraces me! | 3Let his left hand be under my head, and let his right hand embrace me. |
| 4I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, that you not stir up or awaken love until it pleases. | 4Swear to me, young women of Jerusalem, that you won't awaken or arouse love before its proper time! |
| 5Who is that coming up from the wilderness, leaning on 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. | 5Who is this coming up from the desert, leaning on her beloved? Under the apple tree I awakened you. There your mother had gone into labor with you; there she went into labor and gave birth to you. |
| 6Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm, for love is strong as death, jealousy is fierce as the grave. Its flashes are flashes of fire, the very flame of the LORD. | 6Set me like a seal over your heart, like a seal on your arm. For love is as strong as death, passion as intense as Sheol. The flames of love are flames of fire, a blaze that comes from the LORD. |
| 7Many waters cannot quench love, neither can floods drown it. If a man offered for love all the wealth of his house, he would be utterly despised. | 7Mighty bodies of water cannot extinguish love, rivers cannot put it out. If a man were to give all the wealth of his house for love, he would surely be viewed with contempt. |
| 8We have a little sister, and she has no breasts. What shall we do for our sister on the day when she is spoken for? | 8We have a little sister, and she has not yet reached maturity. What will we do for our sister to prepare her for her engagement? |
| 9If she is a wall, we will build on her a battlement of silver, but if she is a door, we will enclose her with boards of cedar. | 9If she's a wall, on her we will build a battlement of silver. If she's a door, we will enclose her with planks of cedar. |
| 10I was a wall, and my breasts were like towers; then I was in his eyes as one who finds peace. | 10I was a wall and my breasts were like towers. Then I became like one who finds peace in his eyes. |
| 11Solomon had a vineyard at Baal-hamon; he let out the vineyard to keepers; each one was to bring for its fruit a thousand pieces of silver. | 11Solomon has a vineyard in Baal-hamon. He entrusted the vineyard to caretakers— each one is to bring 1,000 pieces of silver in exchange for its fruit. |
| 12My vineyard, my very own, is before me; you, O Solomon, may have the thousand, and the keepers of the fruit two hundred. | 12My vineyard belongs to me and is at my disposal. The 1,000 are for you, Solomon, and 200 are for those who take care of its fruit. |
| 13O you who dwell in the gardens, with companions listening for your voice; let me hear it. | 13You who sit in the gardens, companions are listening for your voice, but let me hear it. |
| 14Make haste, my beloved, and be like a gazelle or a young stag on the mountains of spices. | 14Come quickly, my beloved, and be like a gazelle or a young stag on the mountains of spices. |
| ESV Text Edition: 2016. The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. The ESV® text has been reproduced in cooperation with and by permission of Good News Publishers. Unauthorized reproduction of this publication is prohibited. All rights reserved. | The Holy Bible: International Standard Version® Release 2.1 Copyright © 1996-2012 The ISV Foundation
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