Song of Solomon 2
Common English Bible
Love in bloom
[Woman]
2 I’m a rose of the Sharon plain,
a lily of the valleys.
[Man]
2 Like a lily among thornbushes,
so is my dearest among the young women.
[Woman]
3 Like an apple tree among the wild trees,
so is my lover among the young men.
In his shade I take pleasure in sitting,
and his fruit is sweet to my taste.
4 He has brought me to the house of wine;
his banner raised over me is love.
5 Sustain me with raisin cakes,
strengthen me with apples,
for I’m weak with love!
6 His left arm is beneath my head,
his right embraces me.
7 Make a solemn pledge, daughters of Jerusalem,
by the gazelles or the wild deer:
Don’t rouse, don’t arouse love
until it desires.
8 Listen! It’s my lover: here he comes now,
leaping upon the mountains,
bounding over the hills.
9 My lover is like a gazelle
or a young stag.
Here he stands now,
outside our wall,
peering through the windows,
peeking through the lattices.
10 My lover spoke and said to me,
“Rise up, my dearest,
my fairest, and go.
11 Here, the winter is past;
the rains have come and gone.
12 Blossoms have appeared in the land;
the season of singing[a] has arrived,
and the sound of the turtledove is heard in our land.
13 The green fruit is on the fig tree,
and the grapevines in bloom are fragrant.
Rise up,[b] my dearest,
my fairest, and go.
14 My dove—in the rock crevices,
hidden in the cliff face—
let me catch sight of you;
let me hear your voice!
The sound of your voice is sweet,
and the sight of you is lovely.”
15 Catch foxes for us—
those little foxes
that spoil vineyards,
now that our vineyards are in bloom!
16 I belong to my lover and he belongs to me—
the one grazing among the lilies.
17 Before the day breeze blows
and the shadows flee,
turn about, my love; be like a gazelle
or a young stag
upon the jagged mountains.[c]
Footnotes
- Song of Solomon 2:12 Or pruning
- Song of Solomon 2:13 LXX and Kethib add go; but Qere, DSS, Vulg, Syr, and Tg lack the verb; cf 2:10.
- Song of Solomon 2:17 Or upon the mountains of Bether; cf 8:14 mountains of spice
Song of Songs 2
Christian Standard Bible Anglicised
Man
2 Like a lily among thorns,
so is my darling among the young women.
Woman
3 Like an apricot[c] tree among the trees of the forest,
so is my love among the young men.
I delight to sit in his shade,
and his fruit is sweet to my taste.
4 He brought me to the banquet hall,[d](B)
and he looked on me with love.[e](C)
5 Sustain me with raisins;
refresh me with apricots,[f]
for I am lovesick.(D)
6 May his left hand be under my head,
and his right arm embrace me.(E)
7 Young women of Jerusalem, I charge you
by the gazelles and the wild does of the field,
do not stir up or awaken love
until the appropriate time.[g](F)
8 Listen! My love is approaching.
Look! Here he comes,
leaping over the mountains,(G)
bounding over the hills.
9 My love is like a gazelle
or a young stag.(H)
See, he is standing behind our wall,
gazing through the windows,
peering through the lattice.
10 My love calls to me:
Man
Arise,(I) my darling.
Come away, my beautiful one.
11 For now the winter is past;
the rain has ended and gone away.
12 The blossoms appear in the countryside.
The time of singing[h] has come,
and the turtledove’s cooing is heard in our land.(J)
13 The fig tree ripens its figs;(K)
the blossoming vines give off their fragrance.(L)
Arise, my darling.
Come away, my beautiful one.
14 My dove,(M) in the clefts of the rock,(N)
in the crevices of the cliff,
let me see your face,[i]
let me hear your voice;(O)
for your voice is sweet,
and your face is lovely.(P)
Woman[j]
15 Catch the foxes for us(Q) –
the little foxes that ruin the vineyards –
for our vineyards are in bloom.(R)
Woman
16 My love is mine and I am his;(S)
he feeds among the lilies.
17 Until the day breaks[k]
and the shadows flee,
turn around, my love, and be like a gazelle
or a young stag(T) on the divided mountains.[l](U)
Footnotes
- 2:1 Traditionally rose
- 2:1 Or lotus
- 2:3 Or apple
- 2:4 Lit the house of wine
- 2:4 Or and his banner over me is love
- 2:5 Or apples
- 2:7 Lit until it pleases
- 2:12 Or pruning
- 2:14 Or form
- 2:15 The speaker could be the woman, the man, or both.
- 2:17 Lit breathes
- 2:17 Or the Bether mountains, or the mountains of spices; Hb obscure
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