Song of Songs 8

Song of Songs 8
Christian Standard Bible
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8 If only I could treat you like my brother,
one who nursed at my mother’s breasts,
I would find you in public and kiss you,
and no one would scorn me.
2 I would lead you, I would take you,
to the house of my mother who taught me.
I would give you spiced wine to drink
from the juice of my pomegranate.
3 May his left hand be under my head,
and his right arm embrace me.
4 Young women of Jerusalem, I charge you,
do not stir up or awaken love
until the appropriate time.

Young Women
5 Who is this coming up from the wilderness,
leaning on the one she loves?

Woman
I awakened you under the apricot tree.
There your mother conceived you;
there she conceived and gave you birth.
6 Set me as a seal on your heart,
as a seal on your arm.
For love is as strong as death;
jealousy is as unrelenting as Sheol.
Love’s flames are fiery flames--
an almighty flame!
7 A huge torrent cannot extinguish love;
rivers cannot sweep it away.
If a man were to give all his wealth for love,
it would be utterly scorned.

Brothers
8 Our sister is young;
she has no breasts.
What will we do for our sister
on the day she is spoken for?
9 If she is a wall,
we will build a silver barricade on her.
If she is a door,
we will enclose her with cedar planks.

Woman
10 I am a wall
and my breasts like towers.
So to him I have become
like one who finds peace.

11 Solomon owned a vineyard in Baal-hamon.
He leased the vineyard to tenants.
Each was to bring for his fruit
one thousand pieces of silver.
12 I have my own vineyard.
The one thousand are for you, Solomon,
but two hundred for those who take care of its fruits.

Man
13 You who dwell in the gardens,
companions are listening for your voice;
let me hear you!

Woman
14 Run away with me, my love,
and be like a gazelle
or a young stag
on the mountains of spices.

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The Woman wishes she should show affection to her husband in public without it drawing scorn.  She wonders why such affection towards her brother is acceptable, but it's unacceptable to show such affection to her husband.  She also once again warns the young women to not stir up or awaken love too quickly.  It is something for those who are mature enough to handle the strong emotions and desires that go with it.  It is not for the immature to have to deal with.

The young women see the two of the Man and the Woman returning together have he has found her (after she went out looking for him).  They begin talking about it so that everyone knows the king and his bride are returning.  The one who was lost has been found, and there is celebration among the people.

The brothers that the Woman just spoke of now join the chorus.  They speak of her as if she is still a little girl to them.  They imagine that one day far off they will need to speak for her when she gets married, but they have missed it that it already happened because they did not recognize or treat her like the woman that she already was.  They speak as if they still need to protect her virginity, but she has already given herself to her husband.  They are more than a little late.

The Woman proclaims to her brothers that she has protected her virginity, and she is a mature woman, and she has been joined with her husband so that the two have become one flesh, and she has given herself to Solomon.

Solomon calls to hear his wife sing once more, and she sings that they might run away (probably on their honeymoon) that they might be wild at heart like the gazelle or young stag on the mountain that is full of spices.

Again, this is a book that has been far different than any other book of the Bible before or after it.  It ends the books of Poetry and sets us up well for the books of Prophecy where the LORD speaks to Isreal as a lover who has been scored by a cheating spouse.  He loves Isreal deeply, but the more He loves her, the more they turn to idols and do and say things to hurt Him and act like all the good things He gives them are from themselves or other gods.  In the book of Hosea, God actually says that He deserves a divorce--to nullify the covenant He made with them, but that there are larger issues at play and for the sake of not just His people, but all the nations of the world, He will take them back over and over again because He continued to look forward to Jesus who would one day come through this broken people, and one day be the solution to all of our brokenness.