I am a rose[a] of Sharon,
    (A)a lily of the valleys.

He

As a lily among brambles,
    so is (B)my love among the young women.

She

As an apple tree among the trees of the forest,
    so is my (C)beloved among the young men.
With great delight I sat (D)in his shadow,
    and his (E)fruit was sweet to my taste.
He (F)brought me to the banqueting house,[b]
    and his (G)banner over me was love.
Sustain me with (H)raisins;
    refresh me with apples,
    (I)for I am sick with love.
His (J)left hand is under my head,
    and his right hand (K)embraces me!
I (L)adjure you,[c] O (M)daughters of Jerusalem,
    by (N)the gazelles or the does of the field,
that you not stir up or awaken love
    until it pleases.

The Bride Adores Her Beloved

The voice of my beloved!
    Behold, he comes,
leaping (O)over the mountains,
    bounding over the hills.
My beloved is like (P)a gazelle
    or a young stag.
Behold, there he stands
    behind our wall,
gazing through the windows,
    looking through the lattice.
10 My beloved speaks and says to me:
(Q)“Arise, my love, my beautiful one,
    and come away,
11 for behold, the winter is past;
    (R)the rain is over and gone.
12 (S)The flowers appear on the earth,
    the time of singing[d] has come,
and the voice of (T)the turtledove
    is heard in our land.
13 (U)The fig tree ripens its figs,
    and (V)the vines are in blossom;
    they give forth fragrance.
(W)Arise, my love, my beautiful one,
    and come away.
14 O my (X)dove, in the (Y)clefts of the rock,
    in the crannies of the cliff,
let me see your face,
    let me (Z)hear your voice,
for your voice is sweet,
    and your face is (AA)lovely.
15 Catch (AB)the foxes[e] for us,
    the little foxes
that spoil the vineyards,
    (AC)for our vineyards are in blossom.”

16 (AD)My beloved is mine, and I am his;
    he (AE)grazes[f] among the lilies.
17 Until (AF)the day breathes
    and (AG)the shadows flee,
turn, my beloved, be like (AH)a gazelle
    or a young stag on cleft mountains.[g]

The Bride's Dream

On my bed (AI)by night
I sought (AJ)him whom my soul loves;
    (AK)I sought him, but found him not.
I will rise now and go about the city,
    in (AL)the streets and in the squares;
I will seek (AM)him whom my soul loves.
    I sought him, but found him not.
(AN)The watchmen found me
    as they went about in the city.
“Have you seen him whom my soul loves?”
Scarcely had I passed them
    when I found (AO)him whom my soul loves.
I (AP)held him, and would not let him go
    until I had (AQ)brought him into my mother's house,
    and into the chamber of (AR)her who conceived me.
(AS)I adjure you, (AT)O daughters of Jerusalem,
    (AU)by the gazelles or the does of the field,
that you not stir up or awaken love
    until it pleases.

Solomon Arrives for the Wedding

(AV)What is that coming up from the wilderness
    like (AW)columns of smoke,
perfumed with (AX)myrrh and frankincense,
    with all the fragrant powders of a merchant?
Behold, it is the litter[h] of Solomon!
Around it are (AY)sixty (AZ)mighty men,
    some of the mighty men of Israel,
all of them wearing swords
    and expert in war,
each with his (BA)sword at his thigh,
    against (BB)terror by night.
King Solomon made himself a carriage[i]
    from the wood of Lebanon.
10 He made its posts of silver,
    its back of gold, its seat of purple;
its interior was inlaid with love
    by (BC)the daughters of Jerusalem.
11 Go out, O (BD)daughters of Zion,
    and look upon King Solomon,
with the crown with which his mother crowned him
    on (BE)the day of his wedding,
    on the day of the gladness of his heart.

Solomon Admires His Bride's Beauty

He

Behold, (BF)you are beautiful, my love,
    behold, you are beautiful!
(BG)Your eyes are doves
    (BH)behind your veil.
(BI)Your hair is like a flock of goats
    leaping down (BJ)the slopes of Gilead.

Footnotes

  1. Song of Solomon 2:1 Probably a bulb, such as a crocus, asphodel, or narcissus
  2. Song of Solomon 2:4 Hebrew the house of wine
  3. Song of Solomon 2:7 That is, I put you on oath; so throughout the Song
  4. Song of Solomon 2:12 Or pruning
  5. Song of Solomon 2:15 Or jackals
  6. Song of Solomon 2:16 Or he pastures his flock
  7. Song of Solomon 2:17 Or mountains of Bether
  8. Song of Solomon 3:7 That is, the couch on which servants carry a king
  9. Song of Solomon 3:9 Or sedan chair

She[a]

I am a rose[b](A) of Sharon,(B)
    a lily(C) of the valleys.

He

Like a lily among thorns
    is my darling among the young women.

She

Like an apple[c] tree among the trees of the forest
    is my beloved(D) among the young men.
I delight(E) to sit in his shade,
    and his fruit is sweet to my taste.(F)
Let him lead me to the banquet hall,(G)
    and let his banner(H) over me be love.
Strengthen me with raisins,
    refresh me with apples,(I)
    for I am faint with love.(J)
His left arm is under my head,
    and his right arm embraces me.(K)
Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you(L)
    by the gazelles and by the does of the field:
Do not arouse or awaken love
    until it so desires.(M)

Listen! My beloved!
    Look! Here he comes,
leaping across the mountains,
    bounding over the hills.(N)
My beloved is like a gazelle(O) or a young stag.(P)
    Look! There he stands behind our wall,
gazing through the windows,
    peering through the lattice.
10 My beloved spoke and said to me,
    “Arise, my darling,
    my beautiful one, come with me.
11 See! The winter is past;
    the rains are over and gone.
12 Flowers appear on the earth;
    the season of singing has come,
the cooing of doves
    is heard in our land.
13 The fig tree forms its early fruit;(Q)
    the blossoming(R) vines spread their fragrance.
Arise, come, my darling;
    my beautiful one, come with me.”

He

14 My dove(S) in the clefts of the rock,
    in the hiding places on the mountainside,
show me your face,
    let me hear your voice;
for your voice is sweet,
    and your face is lovely.(T)
15 Catch for us the foxes,(U)
    the little foxes
that ruin the vineyards,(V)
    our vineyards that are in bloom.(W)

She

16 My beloved is mine and I am his;(X)
    he browses among the lilies.(Y)
17 Until the day breaks
    and the shadows flee,(Z)
turn, my beloved,(AA)
    and be like a gazelle
or like a young stag(AB)
    on the rugged hills.[d](AC)

All night long on my bed
    I looked(AD) for the one my heart loves;
    I looked for him but did not find him.
I will get up now and go about the city,
    through its streets and squares;
I will search for the one my heart loves.
    So I looked for him but did not find him.
The watchmen found me
    as they made their rounds in the city.(AE)
    “Have you seen the one my heart loves?”
Scarcely had I passed them
    when I found the one my heart loves.
I held him and would not let him go
    till I had brought him to my mother’s house,(AF)
    to the room of the one who conceived me.(AG)
Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you(AH)
    by the gazelles and by the does of the field:
Do not arouse or awaken love
    until it so desires.(AI)

Who is this coming up from the wilderness(AJ)
    like a column of smoke,
perfumed with myrrh(AK) and incense
    made from all the spices(AL) of the merchant?
Look! It is Solomon’s carriage,
    escorted by sixty warriors,(AM)
    the noblest of Israel,
all of them wearing the sword,
    all experienced in battle,
each with his sword at his side,
    prepared for the terrors of the night.(AN)
King Solomon made for himself the carriage;
    he made it of wood from Lebanon.
10 Its posts he made of silver,
    its base of gold.
Its seat was upholstered with purple,
    its interior inlaid with love.
Daughters of Jerusalem, 11 come out,
    and look, you daughters of Zion.(AO)
Look[e] on King Solomon wearing a crown,
    the crown with which his mother crowned him
on the day of his wedding,
    the day his heart rejoiced.(AP)

He

How beautiful you are, my darling!
    Oh, how beautiful!
    Your eyes behind your veil(AQ) are doves.(AR)
Your hair is like a flock of goats
    descending from the hills of Gilead.(AS)

Footnotes

  1. Song of Songs 2:1 Or He
  2. Song of Songs 2:1 Probably a member of the crocus family
  3. Song of Songs 2:3 Or possibly apricot; here and elsewhere in Song of Songs
  4. Song of Songs 2:17 Or the hills of Bether
  5. Song of Songs 3:11 Or interior lovingly inlaid / by the daughters of Jerusalem. / 11 Come out, you daughters of Zion, / and look