Song of Solomon 8:12
My vineyard, which is mine, is before me: thou, O Solomon, must have a thousand, and those that keep the fruit thereof two hundred. My vineyard, which is mine, is before me: thou, O Solomon, must have a thousand, and those that keep the fruit thereof two hundred.
The keeper's vineyard is her own and stands before her under her care, while Solomon is to have a thousand and those who keep the fruit of it are to have two hundred. It is spoken in warm, figurative Eastern imagery that belongs to the time when it was written and is not to be judged by present-day objections to it. It is part of a poetic parable picturing Christ and His church. In that picture is displayed Christ's wonderful love and the church's answering love, which can lack faithfulness and constancy. It portrays the church moving from keeping another's vineyard to gaining a thousand pieces of silver from her own vineyard, reflecting her changing circumstances and the fruit of her own vineyard.