1I am a rose[1] of Sharon, a lily of the valleys. (So 5:13; Ho 14:5)2He: As a lily among brambles, so is my love among the young women. (So 1:15)3She: As an apple tree among the trees of the forest, so is my beloved among the young men. With great delight I sat in his shadow, and his fruit was sweet to my taste. (So 1:16; Isa 25:4; Isa 32:2; Re 22:2)4He brought me to the banqueting house,[2] and his banner over me was love. (Ps 20:5; So 1:4)5Sustain me with raisins; refresh me with apples, for I am sick with love. (2Sa 6:19; 1Ch 16:3; So 5:8; Ho 3:1)6His left hand is under my head, and his right hand embraces me! (De 33:27; Pr 4:8; So 8:3)7I adjure you,[3] O daughters of Jerusalem, by the gazelles or the does of the field, that you not stir up or awaken love until it pleases. (So 1:5; So 2:9; So 3:5; So 5:8; So 8:4)
The Bride Adores Her Beloved
8The voice of my beloved! Behold, he comes, leaping over the mountains, bounding over the hills. (Isa 52:7)9My beloved is like a gazelle or a young stag. Behold, there he stands behind our wall, gazing through the windows, looking through the lattice. (2Sa 2:18; 1Ch 12:8; Ps 18:33; So 4:5; So 7:3; So 8:14; Hab 3:19)10My beloved speaks and says to me: “Arise, my love, my beautiful one, and come away, (So 2:13)11for behold, the winter is past; the rain is over and gone. (Joe 2:23)12The flowers appear on the earth, the time of singing[4] has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land. (2Sa 23:4; Jer 8:7)13The fig tree ripens its figs, and the vines are in blossom; they give forth fragrance. Arise, my love, my beautiful one, and come away. (So 2:10; So 7:12; Mt 24:32)14O my dove, in the clefts of the rock, in the crannies of the cliff, let me see your face, let me hear your voice, for your voice is sweet, and your face is lovely. (So 1:5; So 1:15; So 4:3; So 5:2; So 6:9; So 8:13; Jer 48:28; Jer 49:16; Ob 1:3)15Catch the foxes[5] for us, the little foxes that spoil the vineyards, for our vineyards are in blossom.” (So 2:13; Eze 13:4)16My beloved is mine, and I am his; he grazes[6] among the lilies. (So 4:5; So 6:3; So 7:10)17Until the day breathes and the shadows flee, turn, my beloved, be like a gazelle or a young stag on cleft mountains.[7] (Ge 3:8; So 2:9; So 4:6; Jer 6:4)