THE SONG OF SONGS

THE SONG OF SONGS
Chapter 8:5-10
(A new translation by Ariel Bloch and Chana Bloch)

5
There, beneath the apricot tree,
Your mother conceived you,
There you were born.
In that very place, I awakened you.

6
Bind me as a seal upon your heart,
A sign upon your arm,
For love is as fierce as death,
Its jealousy bitter as the grave.
Even its sparks are a raging fire,
A devouring flame.

7
Great seas cannot extinguish love,
No river can sweep itaway
It a man tried to buy love
With all the wealth of his house
He would be despised.

8
We have a little sister
And she has no breasts,
What shall we do for our sister
When suitors besiege her?

9
If she is a wall, we will build
A silver turret upon her.
Is she is a door, we will bolt her
With beams of ledar wood.

10
I am a wall
And my breasts are towers
But for my lover I am
A city of peace