Chapter 2
Bride:
1 I am a rose of Sharon,
a lily of the valley.
Bridegroom:
2 As a lily growing among thorns,
so is my beloved among maidens.
Bride:
3 Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest,
so is my beloved among young men.
To sit in his shadow is my delight,
and his fruit is sweet to my taste.
4 He escorts me into his banquet hall
and his banner over me is love.
5 Strengthen me with raisins,
restore me with apples,
for I am sick with love.
6 His left arm is under my head
and his right arm embraces me.
Bridegroom:
7 I charge you, daughters of Jerusalem,
by the gazelles and the wild does:
Do not stir up or awaken love
before its time has come.
Second Poem
Let Me See You
Bride:
8 Hark! I hear the voice of my beloved.
Look, here he comes,
leaping across the mountains
bounding over the hills.
9 My beloved is like a gazelle
or a young stag.
Look where he stands
behind our wall,
peering in through the windows,
gazing through the lattice.
10 My beloved speaks,
and he says to me:
“Arise, my beloved,
my fair one, and come!
11 For see, the winter is past,
the rains are over and gone.
12 The flowers appear in the countryside;
the season of joyful songs has arrived,
and the voice of the turtledove
is heard in our land.
13 The fig tree puts forth its figs
and the blossoms on the vine give forth their fragrance.
Arise, my beloved,
my fair one, and come!”
Bridegroom:
14 O my dove, hiding in the clefts of the rock,
in the sheltered recesses of the cliff,
let me see you,
let me hear your voice.
For your voice is sweet,
and your face is lovely.
Companions:
15 Catch the foxes for us,
the little foxes
that ruin our vineyards,
for our vineyards are blossoming.
Bride:
16 My beloved belongs to me, and I am his;
he pastures his flock among the lilies.
17 Before the dawn comes,
and the shadows flee,
return, my beloved,
like a gazelle or a young stag
upon the mountains of the covenant.
Footnotes
- Song of Songs 2:1
- Song of Songs 2:2
- Song of Songs 2:4
- Song of Songs 2:5
- Song of Songs 2:7
- Song of Songs 2:8
- Song of Songs 2:8
- Song of Songs 2:11
- Song of Songs 2:16
- Song of Songs 2:17
