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I’m a flower[a] from Sharon,
a lily of the valleys.

The Lover

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

The Loved One

Like an apple[b] tree among the trees of the forest,
    so is my beloved among the young men.
In his shade I take delight and sit down,
    and his fruit is sweet to my taste.[c]
He has brought me to the banquet hall,
    and his banner over me is love.
Sustain me with raisin cakes,
    refresh me with apples,[d]
        for I’m weak with love.
I wish that his left hand were under my head,
    and that his right hand were embracing me!
Swear to me, young women of Jerusalem,
    by the gazelles or by the does of the field,
that you won’t awaken or arouse love
    before its proper time![e]

The voice of my beloved!
Look! He’s coming,
    leaping over the mountains,
        bounding over the hills.
My beloved is like a gazelle or a young stag.
Look, there he stands behind our wall,
    looking through the windows,
        gazing through the lattice.

The Lover

10 My beloved spoke to me:
    “Get up, my darling, my beautiful one, and come on.
11 Look! Winter is past.
    The rain is over and gone.
12 Blossoms have appeared in the land.
    The season of songbirds[f] has arrived,
        and cooing of turtledoves is heard in our land.
13 The fig tree has produced its fruit,[g]
    the grapevines have blossomed and exude their fragrance.

“Get up, my darling, my beautiful one, and come on.
14 My dove, in the hidden places of the rocks,
    in the secret places of the cliffs,
show me your form, and let me hear your voice.
    For your voice is pleasant,
        and your shape is lovely.
15 Catch the foxes for us,
    the little foxes that destroy the vineyards,
        our vineyards that are in bloom.”

The Loved One

16 My beloved belongs to me and I belong to him.
    He is the one who shepherds his flock among the lilies.
17 Until the day breaks[h] and the shadows flee,
    turn around, my beloved,
and be like a gazelle or a young stag
    on the rugged mountains.[i]

Footnotes

  1. Song of Solomon 2:1 Or crocus
  2. Song of Solomon 2:3 Or apricot
  3. Song of Solomon 2:3 Lit. palate
  4. Song of Solomon 2:5 Or apricots
  5. Song of Solomon 2:7 Lit. until it pleases
  6. Song of Solomon 2:12 Or for pruning
  7. Song of Solomon 2:13 Lit. has ripened
  8. Song of Solomon 2:17 Or until the cool of the day; lit. until the day breathes
  9. Song of Solomon 2:17 Or the mountains of Bether