SHIR HA’SHIRIM 2

1 I am the rose of Sharon,
The lily of the valleys.

2 Like a lily among thorns,
So is my love among the daughters.

3 Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest,
So is my beloved among the sons.
I delighted in his shade and sat down,
And his fruit was sweet to my taste.

4 He brought me to the house of wine,
And his banner over me was love.

5 “Strengthen me with raisin cakes,
Refresh me with apples,
For I am faint with love.”

6 His left hand is under my head,
And his right hand embraces me.

7 I have put you under oath,
O daughters of Yerushalayim,
By the gazelles or by the does of the field,
Do not stir up nor awaken love until it pleases.

8 The voice of my beloved!
See, he is coming,
Leaping on the mountains,
Skipping on the hills.

9 My beloved is like a gazelle or like a young stag.
See, he is standing behind our wall,
Looking through the windows,
Peering through the lattice.

10 My beloved responded and said to me,
“Rise up, my love,
My lovely one, and come away.

11 “For look, the winter is past,
The rain is over, gone.

12 “The flowers have appeared in the earth;
The time of singing has come,
And the voice of the turtledove
Is heard in our land.

13 “The fig tree has ripened her figs,
And the vines with the tender grapes have given a good fragrance.
Rise up, my love,
My lovely one, and come away!

14 “O my dove, in the clefts of the rock,
In the covering of the cliff,
Let me see your appearance,
Let me hear your voice;
For your voice is sweet,
And your appearance is lovely.”

15 Catch the foxes for us,
The little foxes that spoil the vines,
And our vines are in blossom.

16 My beloved is mine, and I am his.
He feeds among the lilies.

17 Until the day breaks and the shadows have fled,
Turn, my beloved,
And be like a gazelle or a young stag
On the mountains of Bether.