Song of Songs

¹I am a rose of Sharon, a lily of the valleys. ²As a lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters. ³As the apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the sons. I sat down under his shadow with great delight, his fruit was sweet to my taste. ⁴He brought me to the banquet hall. His banner over me is love. ⁵Strengthen me with raisins, refresh me with apples; for I am faint with love. ⁶His left hand is under my head. His right hand embraces me. ⁷I adjure you, daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes, or by the hinds of the field, that you not stir up, nor awaken love, until it so desires. ⁸The voice of my beloved! Behold, he comes, leaping on the mountains, skipping on the hills. ⁹My beloved is like a roe or a young deer. Behold, he stands behind our wall! He looks in at the windows. He glances through the lattice. ¹⁰My beloved spoke, and said to me, “Rise up, my love, my beautiful one, and come away. ¹¹For behold, the winter is past. The rain is over and gone. ¹²The flowers appear on the earth. The time of the singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land. ¹³The fig tree ripens her green figs. The vines are in blossom. They give out their fragrance. Arise, my love, my beautiful one, and come away.” ¹⁴My dove in the clefts of the rock, in the hiding places of the mountainside, let me see your face. Let me hear your voice; for your voice is sweet and your face is lovely. ¹⁵Catch for us the foxes, the little foxes that plunder the vineyards; for our vineyards are in blossom. ¹⁶My beloved is mine, and I am his. He browses among the lilies. ¹⁷Until the day is cool, and the shadows flee away, turn, my beloved, and be like a roe or a young deer on the mountains of Bether.