Song of Solomon Chapter 2
The bride's beloved compares her to a lily, and calls her forth as winter passes.
Following the opening exchange of Song of Solomon 1, the bride calls herself the rose of Sharon and the lily of the valleys, and her beloved answers with the tender spring invitation of Song of Solomon 2:11. Read the full chapter below.
[SHE] I am The meadow-saffron of Sharon, The lily of the valleys.
[HE] As a lily among thorns, So, is my fair one, among the daughters!
[SHE] As an apple-tree among the trees of the forest, So, is my beloved, among the sons: In his shade, I greatly delighted and sat down, And, his fruit, was sweet to my taste.
He hath brought me into the house of wine, and, his banner over me, is love.
Sustain me with raisin-cakes, refresh me with apples,—for sick with love, I am.
His left hand under my head, then, his right hand, embraceth me!
[HE] I adjure you, ye daughters of Jerusalem, by the gazelles or by the hinds of the field,—That ye wake not, nor arouse, the dear love until she please! [****]
[SHE] The voice of my beloved! Lo! here he cometh,—leaping over the mountains, skipping over the hills.
Resembleth, my beloved, a gazelle, or a young stag,—Lo! here he is, standing behind our wall, looking in at the windows, peeping in at the lattice.
Responded my beloved, and said to me,—Rise up! my fair—my beautiful—one, and come away,
For lo, the winter, is past,—the rain, is over, [and] gone;
The flowers, have appeared in the earth, the time of the spring-song, hath come,—and, the voice of the turtle, is heard in our land;
The fig-tree, hath spiced her green figs, and, the vines—all blossom, yield fragrance,—Rise up! my fair—my beautiful—one, and come away!
[HE] O my dove! In the retreats of the crag, in the hiding-place of the terrace, Let me see thy form, Let me hear thy voice,—For, thy voice, is sweet, and, thy form, comely.
[BOTH] Take ye for us, the foxes, the little foxes that are spoiling the vines,—and, our vines, are all blossom!
[SHE] My beloved, is, mine, and, I, am, his, he that pastureth among lilies!
Until the day, breathe, and the shadows, be lengthened, Again, liken thyself, my beloved, to a gazelle, or to a young stag, upon the cleft mountains. [****]