1 [SHE SAID] I am only a little rose or autumn crocus of the plain of Sharon, or a [humble] lily of the valleys [that grows in deep and difficult places].
2 But Solomon replied, Like the lily among thorns, so are you, my love, among the daughters.
3 Like an apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved [shepherd] among the sons [cried the girl]! Under his shadow I delighted to sit, and his fruit was sweet to my taste. 4 He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love [for love waved as a protecting and comforting banner over my head when I was near him]. 5 Sustain me with raisins, refresh me with apples, for I am sick with love. 6 [I can feel] 1 his left hand under my head and his right hand embraces me! 7 [He said] I charge you, O you daughters of Jerusalem, by the gazelles or by the hinds of the field [which are free to follow their own instincts] that you not try to stir up or awaken [my] love until it pleases.
8 [Vividly she pictured it] The voice of my beloved [shepherd]! Behold, he comes, leaping upon the mountains, bounding over the hills. 9 My beloved is like a gazelle or a young hart. Behold, he stands behind the wall of our house, he looks in through the windows, he glances through the lattice. 10 My beloved speaks and says to me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away. 11 For, behold, the winter is past; the rain is over and gone. 12 The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing [of birds] has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land. 13 The fig tree puts forth and ripens her green figs, and the vines are in blossom and give forth their fragrance. 2 Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away. 14 [So I went with him, and when we were climbing the rocky steps up the hillside, my beloved shepherd said to me] O my dove, [while you are here] in the seclusion of the clefts in the solid rock, in the sheltered and secret place of the cliff, let me see your face, 3 let me hear your voice; for your voice is sweet, and your face is lovely. 15 [My heart was touched and I fervently sang to him my desire] Take for us the foxes, the 4 little foxes that spoil the vineyards [of our love], for our vineyards are in blossom.
16 [She said distinctly] My beloved is mine and I am his! He pastures his flocks among the lilies. 17 [Then, longingly addressing her absent shepherd, she cried] Until the day breaks and the shadows flee away, return hastily, O my beloved, and be like a gazelle or a young hart as you cover the mountains [which separate us].