[1] I am a rose of Sharon, A lily of the valleys. [2] As a lily among thorns, So is my love among the daughters. [3] As the apple-tree among the trees of the wood, So is my beloved among the sons. I sat down under his shadow with great delight, And his fruit was sweet to my taste. [4] He brought me to the banqueting-house, And his banner over me was love. [5] Stay ye me with raisins, refresh me with apples; For I am sick from love. [6] His left hand is under my head, And his right hand doth embrace me. [7] I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, By the roes, or by the hinds of the field, That ye stir not up, nor awake my love, Until he please. [8] The voice of my beloved! behold, he cometh, Leaping upon the mountains, Skipping upon the hills. [9] My beloved is like a roe or a young hart: Behold, he standeth behind our wall; He looketh in at the windows; He glanceth through the lattice. [10] My beloved spake, and said unto me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away. [11] For, lo, the winter is past; The rain is over and gone; [12] The flowers appear on the earth; The time of the singing of birds is come, And the voice of the turtle-dove is heard in our land; [13] The fig-tree ripeneth her green figs, And the vines are in blossom; They give 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 covert of the steep place, Let me see thy countenance, Let me hear thy voice; For sweet is thy voice, and thy countenance is comely. [15] Take us the foxes, the little foxes, That spoil the vineyards; For our vineyards are in blossom. [16] My beloved is mine, and I am his: He feedeth his flock among the lilies. [17] Until the day be cool, and the shadows flee away, Turn, my beloved, and be thou like a roe or a young hart Upon the mountains of Bether.
