2 “I am the rose of Sharon, the lily of the valleys.”

King Solomon

² “Like a lily among the thorns, so is my loved one among the young women.”

The Woman

³ “Like a fruit tree among many trees, so is my loved one among the young men. With much joy I sat down in his shadow. And his fruit was sweet to my taste. ⁴ He brought me to his special large room for eating, and his colors over me were love. ⁵ Make me strong with cakes of dried grapes. Make me strong again with fruit, because I am sick with love. ⁶ Let his left hand be under my head and his right hand hold me close.”

King Solomon

⁷ “I tell you, O daughters of Jerusalem, by the gazelles and deer of the field, you must not wake up my love until it is pleasing to her.”

The Second Song

The Woman

⁸ “Listen, it is the voice of my loved one! See, he is coming! He is running over the mountains, jumping across the hills. ⁹ My love is like a gazelle or a young deer. See, he is standing behind our wall. He is looking through the windows, through the wood cross-pieces.

¹⁰ “My love speaks and says to me, ‘Get up, my love, my beautiful one, and come with me. ¹¹ For see, the winter is past. The rain is over and gone. ¹² The flowers are coming through the ground. The time for singing has come. The voice of the turtle-dove has been heard in our land. ¹³ The fig tree has its fruits. The flowers on the vines spread their sweet smell. Get up, my love, my beautiful one, and come with me! ¹⁴ O my dove, hidden in the rock, in the secret place in the mountain-side, let me see you. Let me hear your voice. For your voice is sweet, and you are beautiful.

¹⁵ ‘Catch the foxes for us, the little foxes that are destroying our grape-fields, for the flowers are on the vines. ¹⁶ My love is mine, and I am his. He lets his flock eat among the lilies. ¹⁷ Until the morning comes and the shadows hurry away, turn, my love. Be like a gazelle or a young deer on the mountains of Bether.’”