Song of Solomon 2:10–3:5

10 “My beloved responded and said to me,

‘aArise, my darling, my beautiful one,

And come along.

11 ‘For behold, the winter is past,

The rain is over and gone.

12 ‘The flowers have already appeared in the land;

The time has arrived for 1pruning the vines,

And the voice of the aturtledove has been heard in our land.

13 ‘The afig tree has ripened its figs,

And the bvines in blossom have given forth their fragrance.

Arise, my darling, my beautiful one,

And come along!’ ”

14 “1O amy dove, bin the clefts of the 2rock,

In the secret place of the steep 3pathway,

Let me see your 4form,

cLet me hear your voice;

For your voice is sweet,

And your 4form is dlovely.”

15 “1aCatch the foxes for us,

The 2little foxes that are ruining the vineyards,

While our bvineyards are in blossom.”

16 “1aMy beloved is mine, and I am his;

He bpastures his flock among the lilies.

17 “aUntil 1the cool of the day when the shadows flee away,

Turn, my beloved, and be like a bgazelle

Or a young stag con the mountains of 2Bether.”

Chapter 3

The Bride’s Troubled Dream

1 “1On my bed night after night I sought him

aWhom my soul loves;

I bsought him but did not find him.

2 ‘1I must arise now and 1go about the city;

In the astreets and in the squares

2I must seek him whom my soul loves.’

I sought him but did not find him.

3 “aThe watchmen who make the rounds in the city found me,

And I said, ‘Have you seen him whom my soul loves?’

4 “aScarcely had I 1left them

When I found him whom my soul loves;

I bheld on to him and would not let him go

Until I had cbrought him to my mother’s house,

And into the room of her who conceived me.”

5 “1I aadjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,

By the bgazelles or by the hinds of the field,

That you will not arouse or awaken my love

Until 2she pleases.”