Canticle of Canticles 2

¹ I am a rose of Sharon, a lily of the valleys.

² As a lily among brambles, so is my love among maidens.

³ As 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.

⁴ He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love.

⁵ Sustain me with raisins, refresh me with apples; for I am sick with love.

⁶ O that his left hand were under my head, and that his right hand embraced me!

⁷ I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, by the gazelles or the hinds of the field, that you stir not up nor awaken love until it please.

⁸ The voice of my beloved! Behold, he comes, leaping upon the mountains, bounding over the hills.

⁹ My beloved is like a gazelle, or a young stag. Behold, there he stands behind our wall, gazing in at the windows, looking through the lattice.

¹⁰ My beloved speaks and says to me: "Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away;

¹¹ for lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone.

¹² The flowers appear on the earth, the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land.

¹³ The 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.

¹⁴ O 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 comely.

¹⁵ Catch us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vineyards, for our vineyards are in blossom."

¹⁶ My beloved is mine and I am his, he pastures his flock among the lilies.

¹⁷ Until the day breathes and the shadows flee, turn, my beloved, be like a gazelle, or a young stag upon rugged mountains.