Song 2 | HCSB | STEP | I am a rose of Sharon , a lily of the valleys .

Song of Solomon 2

1 I am a rose ^{▼▼Or meadow saffron
,} ^{▼▼Not the modern flower but a common wildflower in northern Israel} of Sharon,

a lily ^{▼▼Or lotus} of the valleys. ^d

2 M : Like a lily among thorns,
so is my darling among the young women.

3 W : Like an apricot ^{▼▼Or apple} tree among the trees of the forest,
so is my love among the young men.
I delight to sit in his shade,
and his fruit is sweet to my taste.
4 He brought me to the banquet hall, ^{▼▼Lit the house of wine
,} ^g
and he looked on me with love. ^{▼▼Or and his banner over me is love
,} ⁱ
5 Sustain me with raisins;
refresh me with apricots, ^{▼▼Or apples}
for I am lovesick. ^k
6 His left hand is under my head,
and his right arm embraces me. ^{▼▼Or Let his left hand be under . . . and his right arm embrace me
,} ^m
7 Young women of Jerusalem, I charge you
by the gazelles and the wild does of the field:
do not stir up or awaken love
until the appropriate time. ^{▼▼Lit until it pleases
,} ^o

8 Listen! My love is approaching.
Look! Here he comes,
leaping over the mountains, ^p
bounding over the hills.
9 My love is like a gazelle
or a young stag. ^q
Look, he is standing behind our wall,
gazing through the windows,
peering through the lattice.
10 My love calls to me:

M : Arise, ^r my darling.
Come away, my beautiful one.
11 For now the winter is past;
the rain has ended and gone away.
12 The blossoms appear in the countryside.
The time of singing ^{▼▼Or pruning} has come,
and the turtledove’s cooing is heard in our land. ^t
13 The fig tree ripens its figs; ^u
the blossoming vines give off their fragrance. ^v
Arise, my darling.
Come away, my beautiful one.

14 My dove, ^w in the clefts of the rock, ^x
in the crevices of the cliff,
let me see your face, ^{▼▼Or form}
let me hear your voice; ^z
for your voice is sweet,
and your face is lovely. ^aa

15 (W) : Catch the foxes for us ^ab –
the little foxes that ruin the vineyards –
for our vineyards are in bloom. ^ac
16 W : My love is mine and I am his; ^ad
he feeds among the lilies.
17 Before the day breaks ^{▼▼Lit breathes}
and the shadows flee,
turn to me, my love, and be like a gazelle
or a young stag ^af on the divided mountains. ^{▼▼Or the Bether mountains, or the mountains of spices; Hb obscure
,} ^ah