Song of Solomon Chapter 8
Showing all 14 verses for Song of Solomon Chapter 8.
The People's Bible is written by people, for the people. Each verse below shows:
"O that thou wert as my brother, that sucked the breasts of my mother! when I should find thee without, I would kiss thee; yea, I should not be despised. "
"I wish you were like a brother to me, one who had nursed at my mother's breast — then if I found you outside, I could kiss you openly, and no one would think less of me for it."
I don't want you living in fear of what others will think of who you love, so long as that love is honest and faithful. Genuine, committed love shouldn't have to hide from the world out of shame.
"I would lead thee, and bring thee into my mother’s house, who would instruct me: I would cause thee to drink of spiced wine of the juice of my pomegranate. "
"I would lead you and bring you into my mother's house, where she taught me; I would give you spiced wine to drink, made from my own pomegranate juice."
Real love wants to share someone's whole world — their family, their history, the things that shaped them — not just the exciting moments. Offer people you love access to your actual life, not just a curated version of it.
"His left hand should be under my head, and his right hand should embrace me. "
"His left arm would be under my head, and his right arm would hold me close."
Don't underestimate the power of simply holding someone close. Passion matters, but so does the quiet safety of being physically comforted by someone you trust — both are part of real love.
"I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, until he please. "
"I urge you, women of Jerusalem — don't stir up or awaken love before its proper time."
Be patient with love — your own and other people's. Don't push someone into intimacy or a relationship before they're genuinely ready; respecting timing is a form of real care, not a lack of desire.
"Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness, leaning upon her beloved? I raised thee up under the apple tree: there thy mother brought thee forth: there she brought thee forth that bare thee. "
"Who is this, coming up from the wilderness, leaning on her beloved's arm? — I woke you under the apple tree; there your mother went into labour with you, there she gave birth to you."
Love someone's whole story, not just the parts that are easy to admire right now. Real love takes in a person's whole history and origins, and accepts them fully because of it, not despite it.
"Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm: for love is strong as death; jealousy is cruel as the grave: the coals thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame. "
"Place me like a seal over your heart, like a seal on your arm — for love is as strong as death, and jealous devotion as unrelenting as the grave. Love burns like a blazing fire, a flame that nothing can put out."
This is exactly the kind of unbreakable, permanent devotion I want from those who love me, and it's the kind I offer in return — sealed, not casual, not conditional. Want to be that inseparably marked on someone's heart, and let that same fierce constancy shape how you love.
"Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it: if a man would give all the substance of his house for love, it would utterly be contemned. "
"Vast oceans cannot put love out, and floods cannot sweep it away. If a man offered all his wealth to buy love, it would be laughed at as worthless."
You can't purchase your way into being loved — with money, status, or gifts — and you don't need to. Real love holds through hard times rather than being swept away by them; trust that kind of love, and offer it rather than trying to buy affection.
"We have a little sister, and she hath no breasts: what shall we do for our sister in the day when she shall be spoken for? "
"We have a young sister who isn't yet grown up. What will we do for her on the day someone asks to marry her?"
Looking out for people younger or less ready than you is real love in action. Protect people from being rushed into intimacy or relationships before they're ready — out of care, never out of control.
"If she be a wall, we will build upon her a palace of silver: and if she be a door, we will inclose her with boards of cedar. "
"If she stands firm like a wall, we will build a silver tower on her; but if she's easily opened like a door, we will secure her firmly with cedar boards."
Care for people in a way that actually fits who they are, not a one-size-fits-all rule. Pay attention to a person's real maturity and needs before deciding how much freedom or protection genuinely serves them.
"I am a wall, and my breasts like towers: then was I in his eyes as one that found favour. "
"I am a wall, and my breasts are like towers — so in his eyes, I was one who brought him peace and delight."
Self-respect and inner strength are genuinely attractive, not something to soften for someone else's comfort. A partner worth having values your maturity and sense of self — don't shrink yourself to be more easily managed.
"Solomon had a vineyard at Baalhamon; he let out the vineyard unto keepers; every one for the fruit thereof was to bring a thousand pieces of silver. "
"Solomon had a vineyard at Baal-hamon. He rented it out to caretakers, and each one was to pay a thousand pieces of silver for its fruit."
Notice the difference between something valued for what it earns and someone valued and given freely for who they are. Keep that distinction clear in how you treat the people you love.
"My vineyard, which is mine, is before me: thou, O Solomon, must have a thousand, and those that keep the fruit thereof two hundred. "
"But my own vineyard is mine to give — it's before me, mine to offer. You, Solomon, may keep your thousand pieces of silver, and let the caretakers keep their two hundred."
Who you love, and how you give your love, is a free gift you choose to give — never something someone else can buy, assign, or take from you. Guard that freedom, and give your love where you actually choose to, not where you're pressured to.
"Thou that dwellest in the gardens, the companions hearken to thy voice: cause me to hear it. "
"You who live among the gardens — my companions are listening for your voice; let me hear it too."
Don't let physical closeness replace real conversation. Keep wanting to hear the voice of the person you love — their thoughts, their words — long after the first excitement of a relationship has settled.
"Make haste, my beloved, and be thou like to a roe or to a young hart upon the mountains of spices. "
"Hurry, my beloved — come to me swiftly, like a young gazelle or a stag bounding over the spice-covered mountains."
Love isn't a destination you arrive at once and then stop working towards — it's an ongoing pursuit, a continual calling-out and reaching for the person and the life you love. And for anyone who wants to read this as a picture of the soul's longing for God, it closes on exactly that same note: keep calling, keep longing, keep coming.