Canticle of Canticles 2

NEW AMERICAN BIBLE	CATHOLIC PUBLIC DOMAIN
1 I am a flower of Sharon,	1 Bride: "I am a flower of the open field and a lily of the steep valleys."
2 As a lily among thorns,	2 Groom: "Like a lily among the thorns, so is my loved one among the daughters."
3 As an apple tree among the trees of the woods,	3 Bride to Chorus: "Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest, so is my beloved among the sons. I sat beneath the shadow of the one whom I desired, and his fruit was sweet to my palate."
4 He brings me into the banquet hall	4 "He brought me into the storeroom of wine. He set charity in order within me."
5 Strengthen me with raisin cakes,	5 "Prop me up with flowers. Close me in with apples. For I languish through love."
6 His left hand is under my head	6 "His left hand is under my head, and his right hand shall embrace me."
7 I adjure you, daughters of Jerusalem,	7 Groom to Chorus: "I bind you by oath, O daughters of Jerusalem, by the does and the stags of the open field, not to disturb or awaken the beloved, even for as long as she wills."
8 Hark! my lover-here he comes	8 Bride to Chorus: "The voice of my beloved! Behold, he arrives leaping along the mountains, jumping across the hills."
9 My lover is like a gazelle	9 "My beloved is like a doe and like a young stag."
10 My lover speaks; he says to me,	10 "Lo, he stands beyond our wall, gazing through the windows, watching through the lattices."
11 "For see, the winter is past,	11 "Lo, my beloved speaks to me:"
12 The flowers appear on the earth,	12 Groom to Bride: "Rise up, quickly, my love, my dove, my shapely one, and advance."
13 The fig tree puts forth its figs,	13 "For winter has now past; the rain has decreased and gone away."
14 "O my dove in the clefts of the rock,	14 "The flowers have appeared in our land; the time for pruning has arrived. The voice of the turtledove has been heard in our land."
15 Catch us the foxes, the little foxes	15 "The fig tree has brought forth its green figs; the flowering vines bestow their odor. Rise up, my love, my brilliant one, and advance."
16 My lover belongs to me and I to him;	16 "My dove in the clefts of the rock, in the hollows of the wall, reveal to me your face. Let your voice sound in my ears. For your voice is sweet, and your face is graceful."
17 Until the day breathes cool and the shadows lengthen,	17 Bride to Groom: "Return, O my beloved. Be like a doe and like a young stag upon the mountains of Bether."