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The young woman:

I am a wild flower of Sharon.
I am a lily from the valleys.[a]

The young man:

Among the other young women,
my dear friend is like a lily
that grows among thorn bushes.[b]

The young woman:[c]

Among the other young men,
    my lover is like an apple tree
    that grows among the trees of the forest.[d]
I love to sit in his shade.
    His fruit is sweet when I taste it.
He has taken me to the room for feasts.
    Everyone can see that he loves me.
I am weak with love.
    So give me raisins to make me strong.
    Give me apples to me to keep me awake.

His left hand is under my head.
His right hand brings me near to him.

Promise this to me, young women of Jerusalem:
    Do not cause our love to wake up.
Do not cause it to become too strong
    until the time is right.
The gazelles and the wild deer will know about your promise.

Listen! I hear the voice of my lover!
    Look! He is coming!
He moves quickly across the mountains.
    He runs across the hills.
My lover is like a gazelle or a young male deer.
Look! There he is!
    He is standing behind our wall.
He is looking through the window.
    He wants to see into the room.
10 My lover said this to me:
‘My beautiful friend, I love you.
    Get up now and come with me.
11 Look! The winter time has finished.
    The heavy rains have stopped.
12 Flowers are appearing everywhere.
    It is now the season to sing happy songs.
    We can hear the voices of doves around us.
13 New fruit is growing on the fig trees.
There are flowers on the vines,
    and their sweet smell is in the air.
I love you, my beautiful friend.
    Please get up now and come with me!’

The young man:

14 My dear friend, you are like a dove that is hiding among the rocks.
    You hide from me in the mountains.
Show your face to me
    because it is lovely.
Let me hear your voice
    because it has a sweet sound.

15 Catch the foxes for us!
Our vines now have flowers
    and they will soon give us fruit.
So catch the little foxes before they destroy our vineyards.[e]

The young woman:

16 My lover belongs to me,
    and I belong to him.
He moves among the lilies with his sheep.
17 Turn back to me, my lover.
    Stay until dawn comes and the shadows have gone,
Be like a gazelle or a young male deer
    that plays among the mountains' rocks.

Footnotes

  1. 2:1 Sharon is a place near the sea where there are many pretty wild flowers. The lily is also a pretty flower.
  2. 2:2 The woman says that there is nothing special about her. But the man says that she is very special. She is more beautiful than all the other young women.
  3. 2:3 Now the woman talks to her friends again.
  4. 2:3 An apple tree would have been very special at that time. You would not expect to find one that was growing in a forest of other trees.
  5. 2:15 The foxes may mean anything that spoils the love between the man and woman.

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