The Beloved

¹I am the rose of Sharon,[#Isa 35:1–2; #Isa 65:10]

the lily of the valleys.

The Lover

²Like a lily among the thorns,

so is my beloved among the young women.

The Beloved

³Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest,[#SS 8:5]

so is my delightful one among the young men.

I sat down in his shadow with great delight,

and his fruit was sweet to my taste.

⁴He brought me to the banqueting hall of wine,[#SS 1:4]

and his banner over me was love.

⁵Sustain me with raisin cakes,[#2Sa 6:19]

refresh me with apricots;

for I am faint with love.

⁶Oh that his left hand were under my head,

while his right hand embraces me.

⁷I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,[#SS 1:5; 3:5; 8:4]

by the gazelles or by the does of the field:

do not arouse or awaken love

until it pleases.

⁸The voice of my lover!

Listen, he comes

leaping over the mountains,

springing over the hills.

⁹My lover is like a gazelle or a young stag.[#SS 2:17; 8:14]

Look, he stands behind our wall, gazing through the windows,

looking through the lattice.

¹⁰My lover speaks and says to me,

The Lover

“Arise, my beloved,

my beautiful one, and come away.

¹¹For now the winter has passed,

the rain is over and gone.

¹²The blossoms appear on the earth;

the time of singing has come,

and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land.

¹³The fig tree springs forth its early figs,

and the vine its blossoms;

they give forth their fragrance.

Arise, my beloved, my beautiful one, and come away.

¹⁴O my dove, in the clefts of the rock,

in the secret places of the cliffs,

let me see your face,

let me hear your voice;

for your voice is sweet,

and your face is lovely.

¹⁵Catch the foxes for us,

the little foxes

that ruin the vineyards,

for our vineyards are in blossom.”

The Beloved

¹⁶My beloved is mine, and I am his.

He feeds his flock among the lilies.

¹⁷Until the day breathes

and the shadows flee,

turn, my lover,

be like a gazelle

or a young stag

on rugged mountains.