2
Woman:
1 I'm just a flower from the plain of Sharon, a lily found in the valleys.
Man:
2 Just as a lily stands out among the brambles, so you, my darling, stand out among other women.
Woman:
3 My love is like an apple tree* among the forest trees, compared to other young men. I love to sit down in his shade and his fruit tastes sweet to me. 4 He took me to drink of his wine,† wanting to show his love for me.‡ 5 Feed me raisins to give me energy, give me apples to revive me, for love has made me weak!§ 6 He supports my head with his left hand, and holds me close with his right. 7 Women of Jerusalem, swear to me by the gazelles or the wild deer that you won't disturb* our love until the right time.
8 Listen! I hear the voice of my love! Look! Here he comes, leaping on the mountains, skipping over the hills— 9 my love is like a gazelle or a young deer! Look, he's there, standing behind our wall, looking through the window, peering through the screen. 10 My love calls out to me, “Get up, my darling, my beautiful girl, and come away with me! Just look! 11 Winter has finished; the rains are over and gone. 12 Flowers are blooming everywhere; the time when birds sing has come; the call of the turtledove is heard in the countryside.† 13 Fig trees start producing ripe fruit, while grape vines blossom, giving off their fragrance. Get up, my darling, my beautiful girl, and come away with me!”
Man:
14 My dove is out of sight in the crevices of the rock, in the hiding places of the cliff. Please let me see you! Let me hear you! For you speak so sweetly, and you look so beautiful!
Woman:
15 Catch the foxes‡ for us, all the little foxes that come and destroy the vineyards, our vineyards that are in bloom!§ 16 My love is mine, and I am his! He feeds* among the lilies, 17 until the morning breezes blow and the shadows disappear. Come back to me, my love, and be like a gazelle or a young deer on the split mountains.†
* 2:3 The apple is not usually grown in Israel so perhaps another fruit is meant. The main point is the contrast between a fruit tree and the ordinary trees of the forest that do not produce an edible fruit. † 2:4 Literally, “He took me to the house of wine.” ‡ 2:4 The word often translated “banner” is more probably “intention” or “wish to.” § 2:5 Or “I'm totally lovesick!” * 2:7 “Rouse” or “awaken” in the sense of “interrupt.” Since it's clear that love is already “awakened” in this situation, it seems that the woman is asking for privacy. † 2:12 The turtledove is a summer visitor to Israel. Its soft call “trrr-trrr” gives it its name, and is a sign that spring has come, like the arrival of the cuckoo in northern Europe. ‡ 2:15 Or “jackals.” § 2:15 The meaning of this verse, and the speaker, are both uncertain. * 2:16 Or “finds pleasure.” † 2:17 Literally, “the mountains of Bether.” However, there is no such place name known. Bether means split or cleft, indicating two mountains with a ravine dividing them.