Font Size
Song of Songs 2
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Song of Songs 2
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 2
1 W I am a flower of Sharon,[a]
a lily of the valleys.
2 M Like a lily among thorns,
so is my friend among women.
3 W Like an apple tree among the trees of the woods,
so is my lover among men.
In his shadow[b] I delight to sit,
and his fruit is sweet to my taste.
4 (A)He brought me to the banquet hall[c]
and his glance at me signaled love.
5 (B)Strengthen me with raisin cakes,[d]
refresh me with apples,
for I am sick with love.
6 (C)His left hand is under my head
and his right arm embraces me.
7 (D)I adjure you, Daughters of Jerusalem,[e]
by the gazelles and the does of the field,
Do not awaken, or stir up love
until it is ready.
Her Lover’s Visit Remembered
8 W The sound of my lover! here he comes[f]
springing across the mountains,
leaping across the hills.
9 My lover is like a gazelle[g]
or a young stag.
See! He is standing behind our wall,
gazing through the windows,
peering through the lattices.
10 My lover speaks and says to me,
M “Arise, my friend, my beautiful one,
and come!
11 For see, the winter is past,
the rains are over and gone.
12 The flowers appear on the earth,
the time of pruning the vines has come,
and the song of the turtledove is heard in our land.
13 The fig tree puts forth its figs,
and the vines, in bloom, give forth fragrance.
Arise, my friend, my beautiful one,
and come!
14 My dove in the clefts of the rock,[h]
in the secret recesses of the cliff,
Let me see your face,
let me hear your voice,
For your voice is sweet,
and your face is lovely.”
15 W Catch us the foxes,[i] the little foxes
that damage the vineyards; for our vineyards are in bloom!
16 (E)My lover belongs to me and I to him;
he feeds among the lilies.
17 (F)Until the day grows cool[j] and the shadows flee,
roam, my lover,
Like a gazelle or a young stag
upon the rugged mountains.
Footnotes
- 2:1 Flower of Sharon: probably the narcissus, which grows in the fertile Plain of Sharon lying between Mount Carmel and Jaffa on the Mediterranean coast. Lily: the lotus plant.
- 2:3 Shadow: suggestive of protection (cf. Jgs 9:15; Ez 17:23; Ps 17:8; 121:5) and, here, of the woman’s joy in the presence of her lover.
- 2:4–6 The banquet hall: the sweet things of the table, the embrace of the woman and man, express the richness of their affection and the intimacy of their love.
- 2:5 Raisin cakes: perhaps pastries used in the worship of the fertility goddess (cf. Hos 3:1; Jer 7:18; 44:19). Apples: this is the common translation of a fruit that cannot be identified (cf. 2:3; 8:5); it appears frequently in Sumerian love poetry associated with the worship of the goddess Inanna. Sick: love-sickness is a popular motif in ancient love poetry.
- 2:7 Cf. 3:5; 5:8; 8:4. By the gazelles and the does: perhaps a mitigated invocation of the divinity based on the assonance in Hebrew of the names of these animals with terms for God.
- 2:8–13 In this sudden change of scene, the woman describes a rendezvous and pictures her lover hastening toward her dwelling until his voice is heard calling her to him.
- 2:9 Gazelle: a frequent motif in ancient poems from Mesopotamia.
- 2:14 The woman is addressed as though she were a dove in a mountain cleft out of sight and reach.
- 2:15 A snatch of song in answer to the request of 2:14; cf. 8:13–14. Foxes: they threaten to disturb the security of vineyards. The vineyards are women sought after by young lovers, i.e., foxes.
- 2:17 Grows cool: in the evening when the sun is going down. Cf. Gn 3:8. Rugged: Hebrew obscure; some interpret it as a geographical name; others, in the sense of spices (cf. 8:14); still others, of sacrifice (Gn 15:10); the image probably refers here to the woman herself.
Song of Songs 2
New International Version
Song of Songs 2
New International Version
She[a]
He
2 Like a lily among thorns
is my darling among the young women.
She
3 Like an apple[c] tree among the trees of the forest
is my beloved(D) among the young men.
I delight(E) to sit in his shade,
and his fruit is sweet to my taste.(F)
4 Let him lead me to the banquet hall,(G)
and let his banner(H) over me be love.
5 Strengthen me with raisins,
refresh me with apples,(I)
for I am faint with love.(J)
6 His left arm is under my head,
and his right arm embraces me.(K)
7 Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you(L)
by the gazelles and by the does of the field:
Do not arouse or awaken love
until it so desires.(M)
8 Listen! My beloved!
Look! Here he comes,
leaping across the mountains,
bounding over the hills.(N)
9 My beloved is like a gazelle(O) or a young stag.(P)
Look! There he stands behind our wall,
gazing through the windows,
peering through the lattice.
10 My beloved spoke and said to me,
“Arise, my darling,
my beautiful one, come with me.
11 See! The winter is past;
the rains are over and gone.
12 Flowers appear on the earth;
the season of singing has come,
the cooing of doves
is heard in our land.
13 The fig tree forms its early fruit;(Q)
the blossoming(R) vines spread their fragrance.
Arise, come, my darling;
my beautiful one, come with me.”
He
14 My dove(S) in the clefts of the rock,
in the hiding places on the mountainside,
show me your face,
let me hear your voice;
for your voice is sweet,
and your face is lovely.(T)
15 Catch for us the foxes,(U)
the little foxes
that ruin the vineyards,(V)
our vineyards that are in bloom.(W)
She
Footnotes
- Song of Songs 2:1 Or He
- Song of Songs 2:1 Probably a member of the crocus family
- Song of Songs 2:3 Or possibly apricot; here and elsewhere in Song of Songs
- Song of Songs 2:17 Or the hills of Bether
New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE)
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.