The Song of Solomon, 2

¹ “I am but a saffron^*1 of the coastal plain, A lily of the valleys.”

² “Like a lily among thorns Is my beloved among the daughters.”

³ “Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest, So is my dear one among the sons. I passionately desire to sit in his shade, And his fruit is sweet to my taste.

⁴ He brought me into the banquet house,^*1 And his banner over me was love.

⁵ Refresh me with raisin cakes; Sustain me with apples, For I am lovesick.

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

⁷ I put you under oath, O daughters of Jerusalem, By the gazelles and the does of the field: Do not try to awaken or arouse love in me until it feels inclined.

⁸ The sound of my dear one! Look! Here he comes, Climbing the mountains, leaping over the hills.

⁹ My dear one is like a gazelle, like a young stag. There he is, standing behind our wall, Gazing through the windows, Looking through the lattices.

¹⁰ My dear one speaks, he says to me: ‘Rise up, my beloved, My beautiful one, come away with me.

¹¹ Look! The winter^*1 has passed. The rains are over and gone.

¹² Blossoms have appeared in the land, The time of pruning has arrived, And the song of the turtledove is heard in our land.

¹³ The fig tree ripens its early figs; The vines are in blossom and give off their fragrance. Rise up, my beloved, and come. My beautiful one, come away with me.

¹⁴ O my dove, in the retreats of the crag, In the recesses of the cliff, Let me see you and hear your voice, For your voice is pleasant and your appearance is lovely.’”

¹⁵ “Catch the foxes for us, The little foxes that ruin the vineyards, For our vineyards are in bloom.”

¹⁶ “My dear one is mine and I am his. He is shepherding among the lilies.

¹⁷ Until the day grows breezy^*1 and the shadows flee, Return quickly, O my dear one, Like the gazelle or the young stag upon the mountains of separation.^*2