A Country Girl in a Palace

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

The Beloved

Like a lily among thorns,
So is my love among the daughters.

The Shulamite

Like an apple tree among the trees of the woods,
So is my beloved among the sons.
I sat down in his shade with great delight,
And (A)his fruit was sweet to my taste.

The Shulamite to the Daughters of Jerusalem

He brought me to the [a]banqueting house,
And his banner over me was love.
Sustain me with cakes of raisins,
Refresh me with apples,
For I am lovesick.

(B)His left hand is under my head,
And his right hand embraces me.
(C)I [b]charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
By the gazelles or by the does of the field,
Do not stir up nor awaken love
Until it pleases.

The Beloved’s Request

The Shulamite

The voice of my beloved!
Behold, he comes
Leaping upon the mountains,
Skipping upon the hills.
(D)My beloved is like a gazelle or a young stag.
Behold, he stands behind our wall;
He is looking through the windows,
Gazing through the lattice.

10 My beloved spoke, and said to 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 singing has come,
And the voice of the turtledove
Is heard in our land.
13 The fig tree puts forth her green figs,
And the vines with the tender grapes
Give a good smell.
Rise up, my love, my fair one,
And come away!

14 “O my (E)dove, in the clefts of the rock,
In the secret places of the cliff,
Let me see your [c]face,
(F)Let me hear your voice;
For your voice is sweet,
And your face is lovely.”

Her Brothers

15 Catch us (G)the foxes,
The little foxes that spoil the vines,
For our vines have tender grapes.

The Shulamite

16 (H)My beloved is mine, and I am his.
He feeds his flock among the lilies.

(To Her Beloved)

17 (I)Until the day breaks
And the shadows flee away,
Turn, my beloved,
And be (J)like a gazelle
Or a young stag
Upon the mountains of [d]Bether.

Footnotes

  1. Song of Solomon 2:4 Lit. house of wine
  2. Song of Solomon 2:7 adjure
  3. Song of Solomon 2:14 Lit. appearance
  4. Song of Solomon 2:17 Lit. Separation

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]

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

Bruden

Jag är en ros i Saron, en lilja i dalen.

Brudgummen

Som en lilja bland törnen
    så är min älskade bland flickor.

Bruden

Som ett äppelträd bland skogens träd
så är min vän bland unga män.
    Jag längtar att få sitta i dess skugga,
söt är dess frukt i min mun.
I vinsalen har han fört mig in,
    kärleken är hans baner över mig.
Vederkvick mig med druvkakor,
    styrk mig med äpplen,
ty jag är sjuk av kärlek.
Hans vänstra arm vilar under mitt huvud,
och hans högra arm omfamnar mig.
Jag besvär er, ni Jerusalems döttrar,
vid gaseller och hindar på marken:
    Oroa inte kärleken, stör den inte,
förrän den själv vill.
Hör min väns röst!
    Se, där kommer han!
Han springer över bergen,
    han hoppar fram på höjderna.
Min älskade är lik en gasell
    eller en ung hjort.
Se, nu står han där
    bakom vår vägg,
han blickar in genom fönstret,
    han ser genom gallret.

Bruden anför brudgummens ord

10 Min vän börjar tala, han säger till mig:
Stå upp, min älskade,
    du min sköna, och kom.
11 Ty se, vintern är förliden,
    regntiden är över, den är förbi.
12 Blommorna visar sig på marken,
    sångens tid har kommit,
och turturduvans röst hörs åter i vårt land.
13 Fikonträdets gröna frukter skiftar färg,
vinstockarna står redan i blom,
    de sprider sin doft.
Stå upp, min vän, min sköna, och kom!

Brudgummen

14 Du min duva i bergsklyftan,
    i klippväggens gömsle,
låt mig se ditt ansikte,
    låt mig höra din röst,
ty din röst är så ljuv
    och ditt ansikte så skönt.

Om vingårdens fiender

15 Fånga rävarna åt oss,
    de små rävarna,
som fördärvar vingårdarna,
    våra vingårdar som nu står i blom.

Bruden

16 Min vän är min,
    och jag är hans,
där han för sin hjord i bet bland liljor.
17 När dagen blir sval
    och skuggorna flyr,
kom då tillbaka, min älskade,
    lik en gasell eller en ung hjort
på de kassiadoftande bergen.

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