2 I am a rose[a][b] of Sharon,
a lily[c] of the valleys.(A)
2 M Like a lily among thorns,
so is my darling among the young women.
3 W Like an apricot[d] tree among the trees of the forest,
so is my love among the young men.
I delight to sit in his shade,
and his fruit is sweet to my taste.
4 He brought me to the banquet hall,[e](B)
and he looked on me with love.[f](C)
5 Sustain me with raisins;
refresh me with apricots,[g]
for I am lovesick.(D)
6 His left hand is under my head,
and his right arm embraces me.[h](E)
7 Young women of Jerusalem, I charge you
by the gazelles and the wild does of the field:
do not stir up or awaken love
until the appropriate time.[i](F)
8 Listen! My love is approaching.
Look! Here he comes,
leaping over the mountains,(G)
bounding over the hills.
9 My love is like a gazelle
or a young stag.(H)
Look, he is standing behind our wall,
gazing through the windows,
peering through the lattice.
10 My love calls to me:
M Arise,(I) my darling.
Come away, my beautiful one.
11 For now the winter is past;
the rain has ended and gone away.
12 The blossoms appear in the countryside.
The time of singing[j] has come,
and the turtledove’s cooing is heard in our land.(J)
13 The fig tree ripens its figs;(K)
the blossoming vines give off their fragrance.(L)
Arise, my darling.
Come away, my beautiful one.
14 My dove,(M) in the clefts of the rock,(N)
in the crevices of the cliff,
let me see your face,[k]
let me hear your voice;(O)
for your voice is sweet,
and your face is lovely.(P)
15 (W) Catch the foxes for us(Q)—
the little foxes that ruin the vineyards—
for our vineyards are in bloom.(R)
16 W My love is mine and I am his;(S)
he feeds among the lilies.
17 Before the day breaks[l]
and the shadows flee,
turn to me, my love, and be like a gazelle
or a young stag(T) on the divided mountains.[m](U)
Footnotes
- Song of Solomon 2:1 Or meadow saffron
- Song of Solomon 2:1 Not the modern flower but a common wildflower in northern Israel
- Song of Solomon 2:1 Or lotus
- Song of Solomon 2:3 Or apple
- Song of Solomon 2:4 Lit the house of wine
- Song of Solomon 2:4 Or and his banner over me is love
- Song of Solomon 2:5 Or apples
- Song of Solomon 2:6 Or Let his left hand be under . . . and his right arm embrace me
- Song of Solomon 2:7 Lit until it pleases
- Song of Solomon 2:12 Or pruning
- Song of Solomon 2:14 Or form
- Song of Solomon 2:17 Lit breathes
- Song of Solomon 2:17 Or the Bether mountains, or the mountains of spices; Hb obscure
Cross references
- 2:1 : Sg 5:13; 7:2; Hs 14:5
- 2:4 : Sg 1:4
- 2:4 : Ps 20:5
- 2:5 : Sg 5:8
- 2:6 : Sg 8:3
- 2:7 : Sg 3:5; 5:8; 8:4
- 2:8 : Is 52:7
- 2:9 : Sg 2:17; 8:14
- 2:10 : Sg 2:13
- 2:12 : Jr 8:7
- 2:13 : Mt 24:32
- 2:13 : Sg 7:12
- 2:14 : Sg 5:2; 6:9
- 2:14 : Jr 48:28
- 2:14 : Sg 8:13
- 2:14 : Sg 1:5
- 2:15 : Ezk 13:4
- 2:15 : Sg 2:13
- 2:16 : Sg 6:3; 7:10; 8:6
- 2:17 : Sg 2:9
- 2:17 : Sg 4:5-6; 8:14