< Song of Solomon 2 >

1 As a lily among the thorns,
I am a flower of the plain, a lily of the valleys.
2 So [is] my friend among the daughters!
As a lily among thorns, so is my companion among the daughters.
3 As a citron among trees of the forest, So [is] my beloved among the sons, In his shade I delighted, and sat down, And his fruit [is] sweet to my palate.
As the apple among the trees of the wood, so is my kinsman among the sons. I desired his shadow, and sat down, and his fruit was sweet in my throat.
4 He hath brought me in unto a house of wine, And his banner over me [is] love,
Bring me into the wine house; set love before me.
5 Sustain me with grape-cakes, Support me with citrons, for I [am] sick with love.
Strengthen me with perfumes, stay me with apples: for I [am] wounded with love.
6 His left hand [is] under my head, And his right doth embrace me.
His left [hand shall be] under my head, and his right hand shall embrace me.
7 I have adjured you, daughters of Jerusalem, By the roes or by the hinds of the field, Stir not up nor wake the love till she please!
I have charged you, ye daughters of Jerusalem, by the powers and by the virtues of the field, that ye do not rouse or wake [my] love, until he please.
8 The voice of my beloved! lo, this — he is coming, Leaping on the mountains, skipping on the hills.
The voice of my kinsman! behold, he comes leaping over the mountains, bounding over the hills.
9 My beloved [is] like to a roe, Or to a young one of the harts. Lo, this — he is standing behind our wall, Looking from the windows, Blooming from the lattice.
My kinsman is like a roe or a young hart on the mountains of Baethel: behold, he is behind our wall, looking through the windows, peeping through the lattices.
10 My beloved hath answered and said to me, 'Rise up, my friend, my fair one, and come away,
My kinsman answers, and says to me, Rise up, come, my companion, my fair one, my dove.
11 For lo, the winter hath passed by, The rain hath passed away — it hath gone.
For, behold, the winter is past, the rain is gone, it has departed.
12 The flowers have appeared in the earth, The time of the singing hath come, And the voice of the turtle was heard in our land,
The flowers are seen in the land; the time of pruning has arrived; the voice of the turtle-dove has been heard in our land.
13 The fig-tree hath ripened her green figs, And the sweet-smelling vines have given forth fragrance, Rise, come, my friend, my fair one, yea, come away.
The fig-tree has put forth its young figs, the vines put forth the tender grape, they yield a smell: arise, come, my companion, my fair one, my dove; yea, come.
14 My dove, in clefts of the rock, In a secret place of the ascent, Cause me to see thine appearance, Cause me to hear thy voice, For thy voice [is] sweet, and thy appearance comely.
[Thou art] my dove, in the shelter of the rock, near the wall: shew me thy face, and cause me to hear thy voice; for thy voice is sweet, and thy countenance is beautiful.
15 Seize ye for us foxes, Little foxes — destroyers of vineyards, Even our sweet-smelling vineyards.
Take us the little foxes that spoil the vines: for our vines put forth tender grapes.
16 My beloved [is] mine, and I [am] his, Who is delighting among the lilies,
My kinsman is mine, and I am his: he feeds [his flock] among the lilies.
17 Till the day doth break forth, And the shadows have fled away, Turn, be like, my beloved, To a roe, or to a young one of the harts, On the mountains of separation!
Until the day dawn, and the shadows depart, turn, my kinsman, be thou like to a roe or young hart on the mountains of the ravines.

< Song of Solomon 2 >