Song of Songs 2

₁She says:

‘I am the daffodil flower from the land of Sharon,

the flower of the valleys.’

₂He says:

‘My love, when you are

among the other young girls,

you are like a flower among thorns.’

₃She says:

‘And you, the man that I love,

when you are among the other young men,

you are like an apple tree

among the trees in the forest.

I want to sit down in your shade.

Your apple is sweet in my mouth.’

₄She says:

‘You have taken me to a place

where we can celebrate,

and shown me that you love me.

₅You must give me raisins to make me strong,

and you must give me apples,

so I can get new strength,

because your love has made me weak.

₆Put your left hand under my head,

and hold me close with your right arm.

₇Young women of Jerusalem,

you must promise me,

and the gazelles and the deer

in the field must be your witnesses.

You must promise that you will

not think about love until the right time.’

₈She says:

‘I can hear the man that I love.

Look there, he is coming.

He goes up the mountains,

and he jumps over the hills.

₉The man that I love is like a gazelle,

like a young deer.

Look, he is standing

on the other side of our wall,

and he is looking through the windows.

He is looking into my room.

₁₀The man that I love

starts talking, and he says to me:

“My darling, I love you.

Get up, come with me.

₁₁The winter has gone,

and it does not rain anymore.

₁₂There are flowers in the field again,

and it is time to sing.

I can hear the doves coo in our land.

₁₃The figs on the trees are becoming bigger,

and I can smell the flowers on the vines.

My darling, I love you.

Get up, and come with me.” ’

He says:

₁₄‘You are like a dove among the rocks,

a dove that is hiding behind high rocks.

I want to see you, and I want to listen to you.

Your voice is beautiful

and you are beautiful.’

₁₅She says:

‘You must catch the foxes,

the little foxes that destroy the vineyard.

There are flowers in our vineyard now.

₁₆My darling, I belong to you

and you belong to me.

You are like a deer among the flowers

₁₇until the day is over

and the shadows are gone.

Man that I love, you must come back.

You must be like a gazelle,

like a young deer on the Bether Mountains.’