Read the Bible

¹ I am a meadow flower from Sharon,
a lily from the valleys.

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

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

⁴ He brought me into the banquet hall,
and he looked at me lovingly.
⁵ Sustain me with raisin cakes,
refresh me with apples,
for I am faint with love.
The Double Refrain: Embracing and Adjuration
⁶ His left hand caresses my head,
and his right hand stimulates me.

⁷ I adjure you, O maidens of Jerusalem,
by the gazelles and by the young does of the open fields:
Do not awaken or arouse love until it pleases!

⁸ Listen! My lover is approaching!
Look! Here he comes,
leaping over the mountains,
bounding over the hills!
⁹ My lover is like a gazelle or a young stag.
Look! There he stands behind our wall,
gazing through the window,
peering through the lattice.

¹⁰ My lover spoke to me, saying:
"Arise, my darling;
My beautiful one, come away with me!
¹¹ Look! The winter has passed,
the winter rains are over and gone.
¹² The pomegranates have appeared in the land,
the time for pruning and singing has come;
the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land.
¹³ The fig tree has budded,
the vines have blossomed and give off their fragrance.
Arise, come away my darling;
my beautiful one, come away with me!"

¹⁴ O my dove, in the clefts of the rock,
in the hiding places of the mountain crags,
let me see your face,
let me hear your voice;
for your voice is sweet,
and your face is lovely.

¹⁵ Catch the foxes for us,
the little foxes,
that ruin the vineyards—
for our vineyard is in bloom.

¹⁶ My lover is mine and I am his;
he grazes among the lilies.

¹⁷ Until the dawn arrives and the shadows flee,
turn, my beloved—
be like a gazelle or a young stag
on the mountain gorges.