The Beloved about Her Lover:
2:8 Listen! 1 My lover is approaching! 2
Look! 3 Here he comes,
leaping over the mountains,
bounding over the hills!
2:9 My lover is like a gazelle or a young stag. 4
Look! There he stands behind our wall,
gazing through the window,
peering through the lattice.
The Lover to His Beloved:
2:10 My lover spoke to me, saying:
“Arise, my darling;
My beautiful one, come away with me!
2:11 Look! The winter has passed,
the winter rains are over and gone.
2:12 The pomegranates have appeared 5 in the land,
the time for pruning and singing 6 has come;
the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land.
2:13 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!”
The Lover to His Beloved:
2:14 O my dove, 7 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.
The Beloved to Her Lover:
2:15 Catch 8 the foxes 9 for us,
the little foxes, 10
that ruin the vineyards 11 –
for our vineyard is in bloom.
The Beloved about Her Lover:
2:16 My lover is mine and I am his;
he grazes among the lilies. 12
The Beloved to Her Lover:
2:17 Until the dawn arrives 13 and the shadows flee,
turn, 14 my beloved –
be like a gazelle or a young stag
on the mountain gorges. 15