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·As soon as [or A little while after] I had left them,
    I found the one ·I love [L my soul loves].
I ·held [seized; grabbed] him and would not let him go
    until I brought him to my mother’s house,
to the room where ·I was born [L she conceived me; 8:2].

The Woman Speaks to the Friends

·Women [L Daughters] of Jerusalem [1:5], ·promise me [I adjure you]
    by the gazelles and the deer of the field [C in Hebrew sounds like “by the (Lord) of Hosts” or “by God Almighty”]
not to awaken
    or ·excite [arouse] love
    until it ·is ready [so desires; C likely a warning to the women to wait for love until the right person comes along; 2:7; 8:4].
·Who [or What] is this coming out of the ·desert [wilderness]
    like a ·cloud [pillar] of smoke?
·Who is this that smells like [L …perfumed with] myrrh, ·incense [frankincense],
    and ·other spices [L from all the scented powders of the trader]?

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