1I am a rose2.1 Heb crocus of Sharon,

a lily of the valleys.

2As a lily among brambles,

so is my love among maidens.

3As an apple tree among the trees of the wood,

so is my beloved among young men.

With great delight I sat in his shadow,

and his fruit was sweet to my taste.

4He brought me to the banqueting house,

and his intention towards me was love.

5Sustain me with raisins,

refresh me with apples;

for I am faint with love.

6O that his left hand were under my head,

and that his right hand embraced me!

7I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,

by the gazelles or the wild does:

do not stir up or awaken love

until it is ready!

Springtime Rhapsody

8The voice of my beloved!

Look, he comes,

leaping upon the mountains,

bounding over the hills.

9My beloved is like a gazelle

or a young stag.

Look, there he stands

behind our wall,

gazing in at the windows,

looking through the lattice.

10My beloved speaks and says to me:

‘Arise, my love, my fair one,

and come away;

11for now the winter is past,

the rain is over and gone.

12The flowers appear on the earth;

the time of singing has come,

and the voice of the turtle-dove

is heard in our land.

13The fig tree puts forth its figs,

and the vines are in blossom;

they give forth fragrance.

Arise, my love, my fair one,

and come away.

14O my dove, in the clefts of the rock,

in the covert of the cliff,

let me see your face,

let me hear your voice;

for your voice is sweet,

and your face is lovely.

15Catch us the foxes,

the little foxes,

that ruin the vineyards—

for our vineyards are in blossom.’

16My beloved is mine and I am his;

he pastures his flock among the lilies.

17Until the day breathes

and the shadows flee,

turn, my beloved, be like a gazelle

or a young stag on the cleft mountains.2.17 Or on the mountains of Bether; meaning of Heb uncertain