¹I am the rose of Sharon,

And the lily of the valleys.

²Like a lily among thorns,

So is my love among the daughters.

³Like an apple tree among the trees of the woods,

So is my beloved among the sons.

I sat down in his shade with great delight,

And his fruit was sweet to my taste.

⁴He brought me to the banqueting house,

And his banner over me was love.

⁵Sustain me with cakes of raisins,

Refresh me with apples,

For I am lovesick.

⁶His left hand is under my head,[#Song 8:3]

And his right hand embraces me.

⁷I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem,[#Song 3:5; 8:4]

By the gazelles or by the does of the field,

Do not stir up nor awaken love

Until it pleases.

The Beloved’s Request

⁸The voice of my beloved!

Behold, he comes

Leaping upon the mountains,

Skipping upon the hills.

⁹My beloved is like a gazelle or a young stag.[#Prov. 6:5; Song 2:17]

Behold, he stands behind our wall;

He is looking through the windows,

Gazing through the lattice.

¹⁰My beloved spoke, and said to me:

“Rise up, my love, my fair one,

And come away.

¹¹For lo, the winter is past,

The rain is over and gone.

¹²The flowers appear on the earth;

The time of singing has come,

And the voice of the turtledove

Is heard in our land.

¹³The fig tree puts forth her green figs,

And the vines with the tender grapes

Give a good smell.

Rise up, my love, my fair one,

And come away!

¹⁴“O my dove, in the clefts of the rock,[#Song 5:2]

In the secret places of the cliff,

Let me see your face,

Let me hear your voice;

For your voice is sweet,

And your face is lovely.”

¹⁵Catch us the foxes,[#Ps. 80:13; Ezek. 13:4; Luke 13:32]

The little foxes that spoil the vines,

For our vines have tender grapes.

¹⁶My beloved is mine, and I am his.[#Song 6:3]

He feeds his flock among the lilies.

¹⁷Until the day breaks[#Song 4:6]

And the shadows flee away,

Turn, my beloved,

And be like a gazelle

Or a young stag

Upon the mountains of Bether.