Song of Solomon 2-3

New American Standard Bible

The Bride’s Admiration

2 “I am the ^[a]^(A)rose of ^(B)Sharon,
The ^(C)lily of the valleys.”

The Groom

²“Like a lily among the thorns,
So is ^(D)my darling among the ^[b]young women.”

The Bride

³“Like an ^(E)apple tree among the trees of the forest,
So is my beloved among the ^[c]young men.
In his shade I took great delight and sat down,
And his ^(F)fruit was sweet to my ^[d]taste.
⁴He has ^(G)brought me to his ^[e]banquet hall,
And his ^(H)banner over me is love.
⁵Refresh me with ^(I)raisin cakes,
Sustain me with ^(J)apples,
Because ^(K)I am lovesick.
⁶^(L)His left hand is under my head,
And ^(M)his right hand ^(N)embraces me.”

The Groom

⁷“^(O)Swear to me, you ^(P)daughters of Jerusalem,
By the ^(Q)gazelles or by the ^(R)does of the field,
^(S)That you will not disturb or awaken my love
Until she pleases.”

The Bride

⁸“Listen! My beloved!
Behold, he is coming,
Leaping ^(T)on the mountains,
Jumping on the hills!
⁹My beloved is like a ^(U)gazelle or a ^(V)young ^[f]stag.
Behold, he is standing behind our wall,
He is looking through the windows,
He is peering ^(W)through the lattice.

¹⁰“My beloved responded and said to me,
‘^(X)Arise, my darling, my beautiful one,
And come along.
¹¹For behold, the winter is past,
The rain is over and gone.
¹²The blossoms have already appeared in the land;
The time has arrived for ^[g]pruning the vines,
And the voice of the ^(Y)turtledove has been heard in our land.
¹³The ^(Z)fig tree has ripened its fruit,
And the ^(AA)vines in blossom have given forth their fragrance.
Arise, my darling, my beautiful one,
And come along!’”

The Groom

¹⁴“^(AB)My dove, ^(AC)in the clefts of the ^[h]rock,
In the hiding place of the mountain pathway,
Let me see ^[i]how you look,
^(AD)Let me hear your voice;
For your voice is pleasant,
And ^[j]you look ^(AE)delightful.”

The Chorus

¹⁵“^(AF)Catch the ^[k]foxes for us,
The ^[l]little ^[m]foxes that are ruining the vineyards,
While our ^(AG)vineyards are in blossom.”

The Bride

¹⁶“^(AH)My beloved is mine, and I am his;
He ^(AI)pastures his flock among the lilies.
¹⁷^(AJ)Until the cool of the day, when the shadows flee,
Turn, my beloved, and be like a ^(AK)gazelle
Or a young stag ^(AL)on the mountains of ^[n]Bether.”

The Bride’s Troubled Dream

3 “On my bed night after night I sought him
^(AM)Whom my soul loves;
I ^(AN)sought him but did not find him.
²‘^[o]I must arise now and ^[p]go around in the city;
In the ^(AO)streets and in the public squares
^[q]I must seek him whom my soul loves.’
I sought him but did not find him.
³^(AP)The watchmen who make the rounds in the city found me,
And I said, ‘Have you seen him whom my soul loves?’
⁴^(AQ)Hardly had I ^[r]left them
When I found him whom my soul loves;
I ^(AR)held on to him and would not let him go
Until I had ^(AS)brought him to my mother’s house,
And into the room of her who conceived me.”

The Groom

⁵“^(AT)Swear to me, you daughters of Jerusalem,
By the ^(AU)gazelles or by the does of the field,
That you will not disturb or awaken my love
Until she pleases.”

Solomon’s Wedding Day

The Bride

⁶“^[s]^(AV)What is this coming up from the wilderness
Like ^(AW)columns of smoke,
Perfumed with ^(AX)myrrh and ^(AY)frankincense,
With all the scented powders of the merchant?

The Chorus

⁷Behold, it is ^[t]the traveling couch of Solomon;
Sixty warriors around it,
Of the warriors of Israel.
⁸All of them are wielders of the sword,
^(AZ)Expert in war;
Each man has his ^(BA)sword at his side,
Guarding against the ^[u]^(BB)terrors of the night.
⁹King Solomon has made for himself a ^[v]sedan chair
From the timber of Lebanon.
¹⁰He made its posts of silver,
Its ^[w]back of gold
And its seat of purple fabric,
With its interior lovingly inlaid
By the ^(BC)daughters of Jerusalem.
¹¹Go out, you ^(BD)daughters of Zion,
And look at King Solomon with the ^[x]crown
With which his mother has crowned him
On the ^(BE)day of his wedding,
And on the day of the joy of his heart.”