Bible Gateway passage: Song of Songs 2 - New International Version (2025)

She^[a]

2I am a rose^[b](A) of Sharon,^(B)
a lily^(C) of the valleys.

He

²Like a lily among thorns
is my darling among the young women.

She

³Like 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)
4Let him lead me to the banquet hall,^(G)
and let his banner^(H) over me be love.
⁵Strengthen me with raisins,
refresh me with apples,^(I)
for I am faint with love.^(J)
6His left arm is under my head,
and his right arm embraces me.^(K)
7Daughters 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)

⁸Listen! My beloved!
Look! Here he comes,
leaping across the mountains,
bounding over the hills.^(N)
9My 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.
¹⁰My beloved spoke and said to me,
“Arise, my darling,
my beautiful one, come with me.
¹¹See! The winter is past;
the rains are over and gone.
¹²Flowers appear on the earth;
the season of singing has come,
the cooing of doves
is heard in our land.
¹³The 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

¹⁴My 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)
15Catch for us the foxes,^(U)
the little foxes
that ruin the vineyards,^(V)
our vineyards that are in bloom.^(W)

She

¹⁶My beloved is mine and I am his;^(X)
he browses among the lilies.^(Y)
17Until the day breaks
and the shadows flee,^(Z)
turn, my beloved,^(AA)
and be like a gazelle
or like a young stag^(AB)
on the rugged hills.^[d](AC)

Footnotes

1. Song of Songs 2:1 Or He
2. Song of Songs 2:1 Probably a member of the crocus family
3. Song of Songs 2:3 Or possibly apricot; here and elsewhere in Song of Songs
4. Song of Songs 2:17 Or the hills of Bether

Cross references

1. Song of Songs 2:1 : Isa 35:1
2. Song of Songs 2:1 : S 1Ch 27:29
3. Song of Songs 2:1 : SS 5:13; Hos 14:5
4. Song of Songs 2:3 : S SS 1:14
5. Song of Songs 2:3 : SS 1:4
6. Song of Songs 2:3 : SS 4:16
7. Song of Songs 2:4 : Est 1:11
8. Song of Songs 2:4 : S Nu 1:52
9. Song of Songs 2:5 : SS 7:8
10. Song of Songs 2:5 : SS 5:8
11. Song of Songs 2:6 : SS 8:3
12. Song of Songs 2:7 : SS 5:8
13. Song of Songs 2:7 : SS 3:5; 8:4
14. Song of Songs 2:8 : ver 17; SS 8:14
15. Song of Songs 2:9 : S 2Sa 2:18
16. Song of Songs 2:9 : ver 17; SS 8:14
17. Song of Songs 2:13 : Isa 28:4; Jer 24:2; Hos 9:10; Mic 7:1; Na 3:12
18. Song of Songs 2:13 : SS 7:12
19. Song of Songs 2:14 : S Ge 8:8; S SS 1:15
20. Song of Songs 2:14 : S SS 1:5
21. Song of Songs 2:15 : Jdg 15:4
22. Song of Songs 2:15 : S SS 1:6
23. Song of Songs 2:15 : SS 7:12
24. Song of Songs 2:16 : SS 7:10
25. Song of Songs 2:16 : SS 4:5; 6:3
26. Song of Songs 2:17 : SS 4:6
27. Song of Songs 2:17 : S SS 1:14
28. Song of Songs 2:17 : S ver 9
29. Song of Songs 2:17 : S ver 8