The Song of Songs 2:1-16

The Lily among the Thorns and the Apple Tree in the Forest

The Beloved to Her Lover:

2:1 I am a meadow flower from Sharon,

a lily from the valleys.

The Lover to His Beloved:

2:2 Like a lily among the thorns,

so is my darling among the maidens.

The Beloved about Her Lover:

2:3 Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest,

so is my beloved among the young men.

I delight to sit in his shade,

and his fruit is sweet to my taste.

The Banquet Hall for the Love-Sick

The Beloved about Her Lover:

2:4 He brought me into the banquet hall,

and he looked at me lovingly.

2:5 Sustain me with raisin cakes,

refresh me with apples,

for I am faint with love.

The Double Refrain: Embracing and Adjuration

2:6 His left hand caresses my head,

and his right hand stimulates me.

The Beloved to the Maidens:

2:7 I adjure you, O maidens of Jerusalem,

by the gazelles and by the young does of the open fields:

Do not awaken or arouse love until it pleases!

The Arrival of the Lover

The Beloved about Her Lover:

2:8 Listen! My lover is approaching!

Look! Here he comes,

leaping over the mountains,

bounding over the hills!

2:9 My lover is like a gazelle or a young stag.

Look! There he stands behind our wall,

gazing through the window,

peering through the lattice.

The Season of Love and the Song of the Turtle-Dove

The Lover to His Beloved:

2:10 My lover spoke to me, saying:

“Arise, my darling;

My beautiful one, come away with me!

2:11 Look! The winter has passed,

the winter rains are over and gone.

2:12 The pomegranates have appeared in the land,

the time for pruning and singing has come;

the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land.

2:13 The fig tree has budded,

the vines have blossomed and give off their fragrance.

Arise, come away my darling;

my beautiful one, come away with me!”

The Dove in the Clefts of En-Gedi

The Lover to His Beloved:

2:14 O my dove, in the clefts of the rock,

in the hiding places of the mountain crags,

let me see your face,

let me hear your voice;

for your voice is sweet,

and your face is lovely.

The Foxes in the Vineyard

The Beloved to Her Lover:

2:15 Catch the foxes for us,

the little foxes,

that ruin the vineyards –

for our vineyard is in bloom.

Poetic Refrain: Mutual Possession

The Beloved about Her Lover:

2:16 My lover is mine and I am his;

he grazes among the lilies.