2:1  

Beloved

2:2  Like a lily among thorns
is my darling among the maidens.

2:3  Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest
is my lover among the young men.
I delight to sit in his shade,
and his fruit is sweet to my taste.

2:4  He has taken me to the banquet hall,
and his banner over me is love.

2:5  Strengthen me with raisins,
refresh me with apples,
for I am faint with love.

2:6  His left arm is under my head,
and his right arm embraces me.

2:7  Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you
by the gazelles and by the does of the field:
Do not arouse or awaken love
until it so desires.

2:8  Listen! My lover!
Look! Here he comes,
leaping across the mountains,
bounding over the hills.

2:9  My lover is like a gazelle or a young stag.
Look! There he stands behind our wall,
gazing through the windows,
peering through the lattice.

2:10  My lover spoke and said to me,
"Arise, my darling,
my beautiful one, and come with me.

2:11  See! The winter is past;
the rains are over and gone.

2:12  Flowers appear on the earth;
the season of singing has come,
the cooing of doves
is heard in our land.

2:13  The fig tree forms its early fruit;
the blossoming vines spread their fragrance.
Arise, come, my darling;
my beautiful one, come with me."

2:14  My dove in the clefts of the rock,
in the hiding places on the mountainside,
show me your face,
let me hear your voice;
for your voice is sweet,
and your face is lovely.

2:15  Catch for us the foxes,
the little foxes
that ruin the vineyards,
our vineyards that are in bloom.

2:16  My lover is mine and I am his;
he browses among the lilies.

2:17  Until the day breaks
and the shadows flee,
turn, my lover,
and be like a gazelle
or like a young stag
on the rugged hills.