1 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.
Laiti ungekuwa kama ndugu yangu, Aliyeyanyonya matiti ya mamangu! Kama ningekukuta huko nje, Ningekubusu, asinidharau mtu.
2 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.
Ningekuongoza nyumbani mwa mamangu, Naye angenifundisha; Ningekunywesha divai iliyokolea, Divai mpya ya mkomamanga wangu.
3 His left hand should be under my head,
And his right hand should embrace me.
Mkono wake wa kushoto ungekuwa chini ya kichwa changu, Nao wa kuume ungenikumbatia.
4 I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
That ye stir not up, nor awake my love,
Until he please.
Nawasihi, enyi binti za Yerusalemu, Kwani kuyachochea mapenzi, au kuyaamsha, Hata yatakapoona vema?
5 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.
Ni nani huyu apandaye kutoka nyikani, Akimtegemea mpendwa wake? Nalikuamsha chini ya huo mpera; Huko mama yako alikuonea utungu, Aliona utungu aliyekuzaa.
6 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.
Nitie kama muhuri moyoni mwako, Kama muhuri juu ya mkono wako; Kwa maana upendo una nguvu kama mauti, Na wivu ni mkali kama ahera. Mwako wake ni mwako wa moto, Na miali yake ni miali ya Yahu.
7 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.
Maji mengi hayawezi kuuzimisha upendo, Wala mito haiwezi kuuzamisha; Kama mtu angetoa badala ya upendo Mali yote ya nyumbani mwake, Angedharauliwa kabisa.
8 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?
Kwetu sisi tuna umbu mdogo, Wala hana maziwa; Tumfanyieje umbu letu, Siku atakapoposwa?
9 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.
Kama akiwa tu ukuta, Tumjengee buruji za fedha; Na kama akiwa ni mlango, Tumhifadhi kwa mbao za mierezi.
10 I am a wall,
And my breasts like towers:
Then was I in his eyes
As one that found favour.
Mimi nalikuwa ukuta, Na maziwa yangu kama minara; Ndipo nikawa machoni pake Kama mtu aliyeipata amani.
11 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.
Sulemani alikuwa na shamba la mizabibu huko Baal-hamomi Akawakodisha walinzi hilo shamba lake la mizabibu; Kila mtu atoe vipande elfu vya fedha kwa matunda yake.
12 My vineyard, which is mine, is before me:
Thou, O Solomon, must have a thousand,
And those that keep the fruit thereof two hundred.
Shamba langu la mizabibu, lililo langu mimi, li mbele yangu. Basi, Sulemani, wewe uwe na elfu zako, Na hao wayalindao matunda yake wapewe mia mbili.
13 Thou that dwellest in the gardens,
The companions hearken to thy voice:
Cause me to hear it .
Wewe ukaaye bustanini, Hao rafiki huisikiliza sauti yako; Unisikizishe mimi.
14 Make haste, my beloved,
And be thou like to a roe
Or to a young hart
Upon the mountains of spices.
Ukimbie, mpendwa wangu, Nawe uwe kama paa, au ayala, Juu ya milima ya manukato.
