³ “^[a]Like an ^[b](A)apple tree among the trees of the forest,
So is my beloved among the sons.
In his shade I had great desire and sat down,
And his ^(B)fruit was sweet to my ^[c]taste.

^17 (A)Until the day breathes and the shadows flee,
Turn, my beloved, and be like a ^(B)gazelle
Or a young stag ^(C)on the mountains of ^[a]Bether.”

² “^[a]I was asleep, but my heart was awake.
A voice! My beloved was knocking:
‘Open to me, ^(A)my sister, my darling,
^(B)My dove, my perfect one!
For my head is full of dew,
My ^(C)locks with the ^[b]damp of the night.’

⁵ I arose to open to my beloved;
And my hands ^(A)dripped with myrrh,
And my fingers with ^[a]liquid myrrh,
On the handles of the lock.
⁶ I opened to my beloved,
But my beloved had ^(B)turned away and passed by!
My soul went out to him as he ^(C)spoke.
I ^(D)searched for him, but I did not find him;
I ^(E)called him, but he did not answer me.

⁸ I ^(A)call you to solemnly swear, O daughters of Jerusalem,
If you find my beloved,
What will you tell him?
Tell him that ^(B)I am sick with love.”