2 I am a wildflowerC of Sharon,

a lilyD of the valleys.y

Man

2 Like a lily among thorns,

so is my darling among the young women.

Woman

3 Like an apricotE tree among the trees of the forest,

so is my love among the young men.

I delight to sit in his shade,

and his fruit is sweet to my taste.

4 He brought me to the banquet hall,F,a

and he looked on me with love.G,b

5 Sustain me with raisins;

refresh me with apricots,H

for I am lovesick.c

6 May his left hand be under my head,

and his right arm embrace me.d

7 Young women of Jerusalem, I charge you

by the gazelles and the wild does of the field,

do not stir up or awaken love

until the appropriate time.I,e

8 Listen! My love is approaching.

Look! Here he comes,

leaping over the mountains,f

bounding over the hills.

9 My love is like a gazelle

or a young stag.g

See, he is standing behind our wall,

gazing through the windows,

peering through the lattice.

10 My love calls to me:

Man

Arise,h my darling.

Come away, my beautiful one.

11 For now the winter is past;

the rain has ended and gone away.

12 The blossoms appear in the countryside.

The time of singingJ has come,

and the turtledove’s cooing is heard in our land.i

13 The fig tree ripens its figs;j

the blossoming vines give off their fragrance.k

Arise, my darling.

Come away, my beautiful one.

14 My dove,l in the clefts of the rock,m

in the crevices of the cliff,

let me see your face,A

let me hear your voice;n

for your voice is sweet,

and your face is lovely.o

WomanB

15 Catch the foxes for usp—

the little foxes that ruin the vineyards—

for our vineyards are in bloom.q

Woman

16 My love is mine and I am his;r

he feeds among the lilies.

17 Until the day breaksC

and the shadows flee,

turn around, my love, and be like a gazelle

or a young stags on the divided mountains.D,t

3 In my bed at nightE

I sought the one I love;u

I sought him, but did not find him.F,v

2 I will arise now and go about the city,

through the streets and the plazas.w

I will seek the one I love.

I sought him, but did not find him.

3 The guards who go about the city found me.x

I asked them, “Have you seen the one I love?”

4 I had just passed them

when I found the one I love.

I held on to him and would not let him go

until I brought him to my mother’s housey—

to the chamber of the one who conceived me.

5 Young women of Jerusalem, I charge you

by the gazelles and the wild does of the field,

do not stir up or awaken love

until the appropriate time.G,z

Narrator

6 Who is thisaa coming up from the wilderness

like columns of smoke,

scented with myrrh and frankincenseab

from every fragrant powder of the merchant?

7 Look! Solomon’s bed

surrounded by sixty warriors

from the mighty men of Israel.

8 All of them are skilled with swords

and trained in warfare.

Each has his sword at his sideac

to guard against the terror of the night.ad

9 King Solomon made a carriage for himself

with wood from Lebanon.

10 He made its posts of silver,

its backH of gold,

and its seat of purple.

Its interior is inlaid with loveA

by the young women of Jerusalem.a

11 Go out, young women of Zion,b

and gaze at King Solomon,

wearing the crown his mother placed on him

on the day of his weddingc—

the day of his heart’s rejoicing.

Man

4 How beautiful you are, my darling.

How very beautiful!

Behind your veil,

your eyes are doves.d

Your hair is like a flock of goats

streaming down Mount Gilead.e

2 Your teeth are like a flock of newly shorn sheep

coming up from washing,

each one bearing twins,

and none has lost its young.B,f

3 Your lips are like a scarlet cord,g

and your mouthC is lovely.

Behind your veil,

your browD is like a slice of pomegranate.h

4 Your neck is like the tower of David,i

constructed in layers.

A thousand shields are hung on it—

all of them shields of warriors.

5 Your breasts are like two fawns,

twins of a gazelle,j that feed among the lilies.

6 Until the day breaksE

and the shadows flee,k

I will make my way to the mountain of myrrh

and the hill of frankincense.l

7 You are absolutely beautiful,m my darling;

there is no imperfection in you.

8 Come with me from Lebanon,* n my bride;o

come with me from Lebanon!

Descend from the peak of Amana,

from the summit of Senir and Hermon,p

from the dens of the lions,

from the mountains of the leopards.

9 You have captured my heart,q my sister,r my bride.

You have captured my heart with one glance of your eyes,

with one jewel of your necklace.

10 How delightful your caresses are, my sister, my bride.

Your caresses are much better than wine,s

and the fragrance of your perfume than any balsam.

11 Your lips drip sweetness like the honeycomb, my bride.t

Honey and milku are under your tongue.

The fragrance of your garments is like the fragrance of Lebanon.

12 My sister, my bride, you are a locked garden—

a locked gardenA and a sealed spring.v

13 Your branches are a paradiseB of pomegranates

with choicest fruits;w

henna with nard,

14 nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon,x

with all the trees of frankincense,y

myrrh and aloes,z

with all the best spices.

15 You are a garden spring,

a well of flowing wateraa

streaming from Lebanon.

Woman

16 Awaken,ab north wind;

come, south wind.

Blow on my garden,

and spread the fragrance of its spices.

Let my love come to his garden

and eat its choicest fruits.ac