1 ¶ I am the lily of the field and the rose of the valleys.

2 A s the lily among thorns, so is my love among the virgins.

3 ¶ As the apple tree among the trees of the wild, so is my beloved among the sons. I desired to sit under his shadow, and his fruit was sweet to my taste.

4 H e brought me to the wine chamber and placed his banner of love over me.

5 S ustain me with flagons of wine, strengthen me with apples; for I am sick with love.

6 H is left hand is under my head, and his right hand embraces me.

7 I charge you, O ye virgins of Jerusalem, by the roes and by the hinds of the field that ye not awake nor stir up love, until he pleases.

8 ¶ The voice of my beloved! behold, he comes leaping over the mountains, skipping over the hills.

9 M y beloved is like a roe or a young hart; behold, he stands behind our wall; he looks through the windows, blossoming through the lattice.

10 M y beloved spoke and said unto me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away.

11 F or, behold, the winter is past; the rain is over and gone;

12 t he flowers appear on the earth; the time of the song is come, and the voice of the turtle dove has been heard in our land;

13 t he fig tree has put forth her green figs, and the vines in blossom have given forth their fragrance. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.

14 ¶ O my dove, that art in the clefts of the rock, in the secret places of the stairs, let me see thy countenance, let me hear thy voice; for sweet is thy voice, and thy countenance is beautiful.

15 H unt the foxes for us, the little foxes, that spoil the vines; for our vines are in blossom.

16 M y beloved is mine, and I am his; he feeds among the lilies.

17 U ntil the day breaks and the shadows flee away, return, my beloved, and be thou like a roe or a young hart upon the mountains of Bether.