La amada

Yo soy una rosa de Sarón,
    una azucena de los valles.

El amado

Como azucena entre las espinas
    es mi amada entre las doncellas.

La amada

Cual manzano entre los árboles del bosque
    es mi amado entre los jóvenes.
Me encanta sentarme a su sombra;
    dulce a mi paladar es su fruto.
Me llevó a la sala del banquete,
    y sobre mí enarboló su estandarte de amor.
¡Fortalézcanme con pasas,
    susténtenme con manzanas,
    porque desfallezco de amor!
¡Ojalá pudiera mi cabeza reposar sobre su izquierda!
    ¡Ojalá su derecha me abrazara!

El amado

Yo les ruego, doncellas de Jerusalén,
    por las gacelas y cervatillas del bosque,
que no desvelen ni molesten a mi amada
    hasta que quiera despertar.

Segundo Canto

La amada

¡La voz de mi amado!
    ¡Mírenlo, aquí viene!,
saltando por las colinas,
    brincando por las montañas.
Mi amado es como un venado;
    se parece a un cervatillo.
¡Mírenlo, de pie tras nuestro muro,
    espiando por las ventanas,
    atisbando por las celosías!
10 Mi amado me habló y me dijo:
    «¡Levántate, amada mía;
    ven conmigo, mujer hermosa!
11 ¡Mira, el invierno se ha ido
    y con él han cesado y se han ido las lluvias!
12 Ya brotan flores en los campos;
    ¡el tiempo de la canción ha llegado!
Ya se escucha por toda nuestra tierra
    el arrullo de las tórtolas.
13 La higuera ofrece sus primeros frutos;
    las viñas florecen y esparcen su fragancia.
¡Levántate, amada mía;
    ven conmigo, mujer hermosa!».

El amado

14 Paloma mía, que te escondes en las grietas de las rocas,
    en las hendiduras de las montañas,
muéstrame tu rostro,
    déjame oír tu voz;
pues tu voz es placentera
    y hermoso tu semblante.
15 Atrapen a las zorras,
    a esas zorras pequeñas
que arruinan nuestros viñedos,
    nuestros viñedos en flor.

La amada

16 Mi amado es mío y yo soy suya;
    él apacienta su rebaño entre azucenas.
17 Antes de que el día despunte
    y se desvanezcan las sombras,
regresa a mí, amado mío.
    Corre como un venado,
como un cervatillo
    por colinas escarpadas.[a]

Footnotes

  1. 2:17 por colinas escarpadas. Alt. por las colinas de Beter.

I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys.

As the lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters.

As the apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the sons. I sat down under his shadow with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste.

He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love.

Stay me with flagons, comfort me with apples: for I am sick of love.

His left hand is under my head, and his right hand doth embrace me.

I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes, and by the hinds of the field, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, till he please.

The voice of my beloved! behold, he cometh leaping upon the mountains, skipping upon the hills.

My beloved is like a roe or a young hart: behold, he standeth behind our wall, he looketh forth at the windows, shewing himself through the lattice.

10 My beloved spake, and said unto me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away.

11 For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone;

12 The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land;

13 The fig tree putteth forth her green figs, and the vines with the tender grape give a good smell. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.

14 O my dove, that art in the clefts of the rock, in the secret places of the stairs, let me see thy countenance, let me hear thy voice; for sweet is thy voice, and thy countenance is comely.

15 Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines have tender grapes.

16 My beloved is mine, and I am his: he feedeth among the lilies.

17 Until the day break, and the shadows flee away, turn, my beloved, and be thou like a roe or a young hart upon the mountains of Bether.

Chapter 2

W I am a flower of Sharon,[a]
    a lily of the valleys.
M Like a lily among thorns,
    so is my friend among women.
W Like an apple tree among the trees of the woods,
    so is my lover among men.
In his shadow[b] I delight to sit,
    and his fruit is sweet to my taste.
(A)He brought me to the banquet hall[c]
    and his glance at me signaled love.
(B)Strengthen me with raisin cakes,[d]
    refresh me with apples,
    for I am sick with love.
(C)His left hand is under my head
    and his right arm embraces me.
(D)I adjure you, Daughters of Jerusalem,[e]
    by the gazelles and the does of the field,
Do not awaken, or stir up love
    until it is ready.

Her Lover’s Visit Remembered

W The sound of my lover! here he comes[f]
    springing across the mountains,
    leaping across the hills.
My lover is like a gazelle[g]
    or a young stag.
See! He is standing behind our wall,
    gazing through the windows,
    peering through the lattices.
10 My lover speaks and says to me,
    M “Arise, my friend, my beautiful one,
    and come!
11 For see, the winter is past,
    the rains are over and gone.
12 The flowers appear on the earth,
    the time of pruning the vines has come,
    and the song of the turtledove is heard in our land.
13 The fig tree puts forth its figs,
    and the vines, in bloom, give forth fragrance.
Arise, my friend, my beautiful one,
    and come!
14 My dove in the clefts of the rock,[h]
    in the secret recesses of the cliff,
Let me see your face,
    let me hear your voice,
For your voice is sweet,
    and your face is lovely.”
15 W Catch us the foxes,[i] the little foxes
    that damage the vineyards; for our vineyards are in bloom!
16 (E)My lover belongs to me and I to him;
    he feeds among the lilies.
17 (F)Until the day grows cool[j] and the shadows flee,
    roam, my lover,
Like a gazelle or a young stag
    upon the rugged mountains.

Footnotes

  1. 2:1 Flower of Sharon: probably the narcissus, which grows in the fertile Plain of Sharon lying between Mount Carmel and Jaffa on the Mediterranean coast. Lily: the lotus plant.
  2. 2:3 Shadow: suggestive of protection (cf. Jgs 9:15; Ez 17:23; Ps 17:8; 121:5) and, here, of the woman’s joy in the presence of her lover.
  3. 2:4–6 The banquet hall: the sweet things of the table, the embrace of the woman and man, express the richness of their affection and the intimacy of their love.
  4. 2:5 Raisin cakes: perhaps pastries used in the worship of the fertility goddess (cf. Hos 3:1; Jer 7:18; 44:19). Apples: this is the common translation of a fruit that cannot be identified (cf. 2:3; 8:5); it appears frequently in Sumerian love poetry associated with the worship of the goddess Inanna. Sick: love-sickness is a popular motif in ancient love poetry.
  5. 2:7 Cf. 3:5; 5:8; 8:4. By the gazelles and the does: perhaps a mitigated invocation of the divinity based on the assonance in Hebrew of the names of these animals with terms for God.
  6. 2:8–13 In this sudden change of scene, the woman describes a rendezvous and pictures her lover hastening toward her dwelling until his voice is heard calling her to him.
  7. 2:9 Gazelle: a frequent motif in ancient poems from Mesopotamia.
  8. 2:14 The woman is addressed as though she were a dove in a mountain cleft out of sight and reach.
  9. 2:15 A snatch of song in answer to the request of 2:14; cf. 8:13–14. Foxes: they threaten to disturb the security of vineyards. The vineyards are women sought after by young lovers, i.e., foxes.
  10. 2:17 Grows cool: in the evening when the sun is going down. Cf. Gn 3:8. Rugged: Hebrew obscure; some interpret it as a geographical name; others, in the sense of spices (cf. 8:14); still others, of sacrifice (Gn 15:10); the image probably refers here to the woman herself.

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)

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