NET Bible

The Lily among the Thorns and the Apple Tree in the Forest

^2:1 I am a meadow flower from Sharon, a lily from the valleys.

^2:1 The Lover to His Beloved:

^2:2 Like a lily among the thorns, so is my darling among the maidens.

^2:2 The Beloved about Her Lover:

^2:3 Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest, so is my beloved among the young men. I delight to sit in his shade, and his fruit is sweet to my taste.

The Banquet Hall for the Lovesick

^2:3 The Beloved about Her Lover:

^2:4 He brought me into the banquet hall, and he looked at me lovingly. ^2:5 Sustain me with raisin cakes, refresh me with apples, for I am faint with love.

The Double Refrain: Embracing and Adjuration

^2:6 His left hand is under my head, and his right hand embraces me.

^2:6 The Beloved to the Maidens:

^2:7 I admonish you, O maidens of Jerusalem, by the gazelles and by the young does of the open fields: Do not awaken or arouse love until it pleases!

The Arrival of the Lover

^2:7 The Beloved about Her Lover:

^2:8 Listen! My lover is approaching! Look! Here he comes, leaping over the mountains, bounding over the hills! ^2:9 My lover is like a gazelle or a young stag. Look! There he stands behind our wall, gazing through the window, peering through the lattice.

The Season of Love and the Song of the Turtledove

^2:9 The Lover to His Beloved:

^2:10 My lover spoke to me, saying: “Arise, my darling; My beautiful one, come away with me! ^2:11 Look! The winter has passed, the winter rains are over and gone. ^2:12 Blossoms have appeared in the land; the time for pruning and singing has come; the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land. ^2:13 The fig tree has ripened its figs; the vines have blossomed and give off their fragrance. Arise, come away my darling; my beautiful one, come away with me!”

The Dove in the Clefts of En Gedi

^2:13 The Lover to His Beloved:

^2:14 O my dove, in the clefts of the rock, in the hiding places of the mountain crags, let me see your face; let me hear your voice; for your voice is sweet, and your face is lovely.

The Foxes in the Vineyard

^2:14 The Beloved to Her Lover:

^2:15 Catch the foxes for us, the little foxes, that ruin the vineyards — for our vineyard is in bloom.

Poetic Refrain: Mutual Possession

^2:15 The Beloved about Her Lover:

^2:16 My lover is mine and I am his; he grazes among the lilies.

The Gazelle and the Rugged Mountains

^2:16 The Beloved to Her Lover:

^2:17 Until the dawn arrives and the shadows flee, turn, my beloved— be like a gazelle or a young stag on the mountain gorges.

The Lost Lover Is Found

^2:17 The Beloved about Her Lover: