Song of Solomon 2

₁I am a rose of Sharon,

a lily of the valleys.

₂As a lily among brambles,

so is my love among the young women.

₃As an apple tree among the trees of the forest,

so is my beloved among the young men.

With great delight I sat in his shadow,

and his fruit was sweet to my taste.

₄He brought me to the banqueting house,

and his banner over me was love.

₅Sustain me with raisins;

refresh me with apples,

for I am sick with love.

₆His left hand is under my head,

and his right hand embraces me!

₇I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,

by the gazelles or the does of the field,

that you not stir up or awaken love

until it pleases.

₈The voice of my beloved!

Behold, he comes,

leaping over the mountains,

bounding over the hills.

₉My beloved is like a gazelle

or a young stag.

Behold, there he stands

behind our wall,

gazing through the windows,

looking through the lattice.

₁₀My beloved speaks and says to me:

“Arise, my love, my beautiful one,

and come away,

₁₁for behold, the winter is past;

the rain is over and gone.

₁₂The flowers appear on the earth,

the time of singing has come,

and the voice of the turtledove

is heard in our land.

₁₃The fig tree ripens its figs,

and the vines are in blossom;

they give forth fragrance.

Arise, my love, my beautiful one,

and come away.

₁₄O my dove, in the clefts of the rock,

in the crannies of the cliff,

let me see your face,

let me hear your voice,

for your voice is sweet,

and your face is lovely.

₁₅Catch the foxes for us,

the little foxes

that spoil the vineyards,

for our vineyards are in blossom.”

₁₆My beloved is mine, and I am his;

he grazes among the lilies.

₁₇Until the day breathes

and the shadows flee,

turn, my beloved, be like a gazelle

or a young stag on cleft mountains.