Beloved

1 I am a rose of Sharon,

a lily of the valleys.

Lover

2 As a lily among thorns,

so is my love among the daughters.

Beloved

3 As the apple tree among the trees of the wood,

so is my beloved among the sons.

I sat down under his shadow with great delight,

his fruit was sweet to my taste.

4 He brought me to the banquet hall.

His banner over me is love.

5 Strengthen me with raisins,

refresh me with apples;

for I am faint with love.

6 His left hand is under my head.

His right hand embraces me.

7 I adjure you, daughters of Jerusalem,

by the roes, or by the hinds of the field,

that you not stir up, nor awaken love,

until it so desires.

8 The voice of my beloved!

Behold, he comes,

leaping on the mountains,

skipping on the hills.

9 My beloved is like a roe or a young deer.

Behold, he stands behind our wall!

He looks in at the windows.

He glances through the lattice.

10 My beloved spoke, and said to me,

“Rise up, my love, my beautiful one, and come away.

11 For, behold, the winter is past.

The rain is over and gone.

12 The flowers appear on the earth.

The time of the singing has come,

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

13 The fig tree ripens her green figs.

The vines are in blossom.

They give out their fragrance.

Arise, my love, my beautiful one,

and come away.”

Lover

14 My dove in the clefts of the rock,

in the hiding places of the mountainside,

let me see your face.

Let me hear your voice;

for your voice is sweet, and your face is lovely.

15 Catch for us the foxes,

the little foxes that plunder the vineyards;

for our vineyards are in blossom.

Beloved

16 My beloved is mine, and I am his.

He browses among the lilies.

17 Until the day is cool, and the shadows flee away,

turn, my beloved,

and be like a roe or a young deer on the mountains of Bether.