8 You are the most beautiful woman of all.
If you do not know where to find me,
follow the marks from the feet of my sheep.
Take your young goats to eat grass
among the tents of the shepherds.
9 My dear friend, you are very beautiful.
You seem to me like a beautiful horse that pulls one of Pharaoh's chariots.
10 Your face is beautiful with jewels.
A necklace makes your neck beautiful too.
11 We will use gold to make ear rings for you,
and we will add pieces of silver.
The young woman:
1:12The woman talks to her friends about her time with the man.
12 While the king was eating a meal,
the sweet smell of my perfume was in the air.
13 My lover is like a bag of myrrh
that lies between my breasts.
14 He is like a group of henna flowers
that grow in the vineyards at En Gedi.
1:14Henna is a plant that has a lovely smell. En Gedi is the name of a pool of water in a desert.
The young man:
15 My dear friend, I see that you are very beautiful!
Yes, you are beautiful
and your eyes are like doves.
The young woman:
16 My lover, I see that you are very handsome!
Yes, you are lovely!
This field of fresh, green grass is our comfortable bed.
17 The cedar trees above us are the beams of our bedroom.
1:17Beams are big pieces of wood that the roof is fixed to.
The pine trees cover us like a roof.
Song of Songs 2
The young woman:
1 I am a wild flower of Sharon.
I am a lily from the valleys.
2:1Sharon is a place near the sea where there are many pretty wild flowers. The lily is also a pretty flower.
The young man:
2 Among the other young women,
my dear friend is like a lily
that grows among thorn bushes.
2:2The woman says that there is nothing special about her. But the man says that she is very special. She is more beautiful than all the other young women.
The young woman:
2:3Now the woman talks to her friends again.
3 Among the other young men,
my lover is like an apple tree
that grows among the trees of the forest.
2:3An apple tree would have been very special at that time. You would not expect to find one that was growing in a forest of other trees.
I love to sit in his shade.
His fruit is sweet when I taste it.
4 He has taken me to the room for feasts.
Everyone can see that he loves me.
5 I am weak with love.
So give me raisins to make me strong.
Give me apples to me to keep me awake.
6 His left hand is under my head.
His right hand brings me near to him.
7 Promise this to me, young women of Jerusalem:
Do not cause our love to wake up.
Do not cause it to become too strong
until the time is right.
The gazelles and the wild deer will know about your promise.
8 Listen! I hear the voice of my lover!
Look! He is coming!
He moves quickly across the mountains.
He runs across the hills.
9 My lover is like a gazelle or a young male deer.
Look! There he is!
He is standing behind our wall.
He is looking through the window.
He wants to see into the room.
10 My lover said this to me:
‘My beautiful friend, I love you.
Get up now and come with me.
11 Look! The winter time has finished.
The heavy rains have stopped.
12 Flowers are appearing everywhere.
It is now the season to sing happy songs.
We can hear the voices of doves around us.
13 New fruit is growing on the fig trees.
There are flowers on the vines,
and their sweet smell is in the air.
I love you, my beautiful friend.
Please get up now and come with me!’
The young man:
14 My dear friend, you are like a dove that is hiding among the rocks.
You hide from me in the mountains.
Show your face to me
because it is lovely.
Let me hear your voice
because it has a sweet sound.
15 Catch the foxes for us!
Our vines now have flowers
and they will soon give us fruit.
So catch the little foxes before they destroy our vineyards.
2:15The foxes may mean anything that spoils the love between the man and woman.
The young woman:
16 My lover belongs to me,
and I belong to him.
He moves among the lilies with his sheep.
17 Turn back to me, my lover.
Stay until dawn comes and the shadows have gone,
Be like a gazelle or a young male deer
that plays among the mountains' rocks.
