The Woman
2 I am a wildflower[a] of Sharon,[b]
a lily of the valleys.
The Man
2 Like a lily among thorns,
so is my darling among the girls.
He Embraces Me
The Woman
3 Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest,
so is my lover among the boys.
I desire to sit in his shade.
His fruit is sweet to my taste.
4 He has brought me to the reception hall,[c]
and his banner over me is love.[d]
5 Strengthen me with raisin cakes.
Refresh me with apples,
for I am weak from love.
6 His left arm is under my head,
and his right arm embraces me.
7 Daughters of Jerusalem,
you must swear to me by the gazelles,
or by the does of the field,
that you will not arouse or awaken love
until it so desires.
Let Us Go to the Country
The Woman
8 Listen! It’s my lover!
Look! Here he comes,
leaping on the mountains,
bounding over the hills.
9 My lover is like a gazelle,
or like a young buck.
Look! There he is, standing behind our wall,
gazing through the windows,
peeking through the lattice.
10 My lover responded and said to me,
“Arise, my darling, my beautiful one,
and come.”
The Man
11 Look! Winter is over.
The rainy season has come to an end.
12 Flowers appear in the land.
The season of singing has arrived.
The cooing of the turtledove is heard in our land.
13 The fruit of the fig tree is beginning to ripen.
The grapevines are in blossom.
They spread their fragrance.
Arise, come, my darling.
My beautiful one, come.
Let Me See You!
The Man
14 My dove is in the clefts of the rock,
in the hiding places on the mountainside.
Let me see how you look.
Let me hear your voice,
because your voice is pleasant,
and you are lovely to look at.
Foxes in Our Vineyard
To the Workers
15 Catch the foxes for us,
the little foxes that ruin the vineyards,
our vineyards that are in blossom.
My Lover Is Mine
The Woman
16 My lover is mine and I am his.
He browses among the lilies.
17 Until the day breathes and the shadows flee,
turn, my lover, and be like a gazelle,
or like a young buck on the divided mountains.[e]
Footnotes
- Song of Songs 2:1 Traditionally translated rose, but more likely a crocus, daffodil, or lotus.
- Song of Songs 2:1 Sharon is a region on the coast of Israel.
- Song of Songs 2:4 Literally house of wine, an expression that speaks of drink more than food
- Song of Songs 2:4 The meaning of the line is uncertain.
- Song of Songs 2:17 The term divided mountains may refer to a part of the woman’s body. Some translations avoid the issue by transliterating as mountains of Bether.