Chapter 2

The Bride’s Admiration

The Bride

¹I am a rose of Sharon,^a

a lily of the valley.

The Bridegroom

²Like a lily among the thorns

is my darling among the maidens.

The Bride

³Like an apricot tree among the trees of the forest

is my beloved among the young men.

I delight to sit in his shade,

and his fruit is sweet to my taste.

⁴He has brought me to the house of wine,^b

and his banner over me is love.

⁵Sustain me with raisins;

refresh me with apples,

for I am faint with love.

⁶His left hand is under my head,

and his right arm embraces me.

⁷O daughters of Jerusalem, I adjure you

by the gazelles and does of the field:

Do not arouse or awaken love

until the time is right.

⁸Listen! My beloved approaches.

Look! Here he comes,

leaping across the mountains,

bounding over the hills.

⁹My beloved is like a gazelle or a young stag.

Look, he stands behind our wall,

gazing through the windows,

peering through the lattice.

¹⁰My beloved calls to me,

“Arise, my darling.

Come away with me, my beautiful one.

¹¹For now the winter is past;

the rain is over and gone.

¹²The flowers have appeared in the countryside;

the season of singing^c has come,

and the cooing of turtledoves

is heard in our land.

¹³The fig tree ripens its figs;

the blossoming vines spread their fragrance.

Arise, come away, my darling;

come away with me, my beautiful one.”

The Bridegroom

¹⁴O my dove in the clefts of the rock,

in the crevices of the cliff,

let me see your face,

let me hear your voice;

for your voice is sweet,

and your countenance is lovely.

The Friends

¹⁵Catch for us the foxes—

the little foxes that ruin the vineyards—

for our vineyards are in bloom.

The Bride

¹⁶My beloved is mine and I am his;

he pastures his flock among the lilies.

¹⁷Before the day breaks and shadows flee,

turn, my beloved,

and be like a gazelle

or a young stag on the mountains of Bether.^d