2 “I am but a saffron of the coastal plain,
A lily of the valleys.”
2 “Like a lily among thorns
Is my beloved among the daughters.”
3 “Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest,
So is my dear one among the sons.
I passionately desire to sit in his shade,
And his fruit is sweet to my taste.
4 He brought me into the banquet house,
And his banner over me was love.
5 Refresh me with raisin cakes;
Sustain me with apples,
For I am lovesick.
6 His left hand is under my head,
And his right hand embraces me.
7 I put you under oath, O daughters of Yerushalom,
By the gazelles and the does of the field:
Do not try to awaken or arouse love in me until it feels inclined.
8 The sound of my dear one!
Look! Here he comes,
Climbing the mountains, leaping over the hills.
9 My dear one is like a gazelle, like a young stag.
There he is, standing behind our wall,
Gazing through the windows,
Looking through the lattices.
10 My dear one speaks, he says to me:
‘Rise up, my beloved,
My beautiful one, come away with me.
11 Look! The winter has passed.
The rains are over and gone.
12 Blossoms have appeared in the land,
The time of pruning has arrived,
And the song of the turtledove is heard in our land.
13 The fig tree ripens its early figs;
The vines are in blossom and give off their fragrance.
Rise up, my beloved, and come.
My beautiful one, come away with me.
14 O my dove, in the retreats of the crag,
In the recesses of the cliff,
Let me see you and hear your voice,
For your voice is pleasant and your appearance is lovely.’”
15 “Catch the foxes for us,
The little foxes that ruin the vineyards,
For our vineyards are in bloom.”
16 “My dear one is mine and I am his.
He is shepherding among the lilies.
17 Until the day grows breezy and the shadows flee,
Return quickly, O my dear one,
Like the gazelle or the young stag upon the mountains of separation.