The Song of Solomon
2 “Like a lily among thorns
Is my beloved among the daughters.”
3 “Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest,
So is my dear one among the sons.
I passionately desire to sit in his shade,
And his fruit is sweet to my taste.
4 He brought me into the banquet house,*
And his banner over me was love.
6 His left hand is under my head,
And his right hand embraces me.+
7 I put you under oath, O daughters of Jerusalem,
By the gazelles+ and the does of the field:
Do not try to awaken or arouse love in me until it feels inclined.+
8 The sound of my dear one!
Look! Here he comes,
Climbing the mountains, leaping over the hills.
9 My dear one is like a gazelle, like a young stag.+
There he is, standing behind our wall,
Gazing through the windows,
Looking through the lattices.
10 My dear one speaks, he says to me:
‘Rise up, my beloved,
My beautiful one, come away with me.
11 Look! The winter* has passed.
The rains are over and gone.
12 Blossoms have appeared in the land,+
The time of pruning has arrived,+
And the song of the turtledove is heard in our land.+
13 The fig tree ripens its early figs;+
The vines are in blossom and give off their fragrance.
Rise up, my beloved, and come.
My beautiful one, come away with me.
14 O my dove, in the retreats of the crag,+
In the recesses of the cliff,
Let me see you and hear your voice,+
For your voice is pleasant and your appearance is lovely.’”+
15 “Catch the foxes for us,
The little foxes that ruin the vineyards,
For our vineyards are in bloom.”
16 “My dear one is mine and I am his.+