a lily[c] of the valleys.
so is my darling among the young women.
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]
and he looked on me with love.[f]
5 Sustain me with raisins;
refresh me with apricots,[g]
for I am lovesick.
6 His left hand is under my head,
and his right arm embraces me.[h]
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]
Look! Here he comes,
leaping over the mountains,
bounding over the hills.
9 My love is like a gazelle
or a young stag.
Look, he is standing behind our wall,
gazing through the windows,
peering through the lattice.
10 My love calls to me:
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.
13 The fig tree ripens its figs;
the blossoming vines give off their fragrance.
Arise, my darling.
Come away, my beautiful one.
in the crevices of the cliff,
let me see your face,[k]
let me hear your voice;
for your voice is sweet,
and your face is lovely.
the little foxes that ruin the vineyards—
for our vineyards are in bloom.
16 W My love is mine and I am his;
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 on the divided mountains.[m]
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