LEB SNG chapter 2

Rendezvous in the Countryside

8 The voice of my beloved!
- Look! Here he[fn] comes leaping upon the mountains,
  - bounding over the hills!
9 My beloved is like a gazelle or a young stag .[fn]
- Look! He is[fn] standing behind our wall,
gazing through[fn] the window,
- looking through[fn] the lattice.
10 My beloved answered and said to me,
- “ Arise ,[fn] my beloved! Come, my beauty ![fn]
11 For look! The winter is over;
- the rainy season[fn] has turned and gone away .[fn]
12 The blossoms appear[fn] in the land ;[fn]
- the time of singing[fn] has arrived ;[fn]
the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land.
13 The fig tree puts forth her figs,
- and the vines are in blossom; they give fragrance.
Arise ,[fn] my beloved! Come, my beauty !”[fn]
14 My dove, in the clefts of the rock,
- in the secluded place[fn][fn] in the mountain ,[fn][fn]
Let me see your face,
- let me hear your voice;
for your voice is sweet and your face is lovely.
15 Catch for us the foxes,
- the little foxes destroying vineyards,
for[fn] our vineyards are in blossom!

2:? More likely “meadow saffron” or “crocus.” Hebrew scholars and botanists suggest the term refers to Ashodelos (lily family), Narcissus tazetta (narcissus or daffodil), or Colchicum autumnale (meadow saffron or crocus) (e.g., Isa 35:1). The location of this flower in Sharon suggests a common wild flower rather than a rose. The maiden compares herself to a simple, common flower of the field

2:? Or “brambles”

2:? Literally “I sat down and I delighted”

2:? Literally “for I myself am sick with love”

2:? Or “would embrace me”

2:? Literally “O daughters of Jerusalem”

2:? Or “Do not stir up or awaken the love until it is willing,” or “Do not disturb or interrupt our lovemaking until it is satisfied”

2:? Literally “this one”

2:? Literally “the fawn of the stag”

2:? Literally “This is he”

2:? Literally “from”

2:? Literally “Arise, you”

2:? Literally “And come, you”

2:? Literally “the rain”

2:? Literally “is over; it is gone”

2:? Literally “is seen”

2:? Literally “on the earth”

2:? Most likely, a subtle word play occurs here since there are two different words in Hebrew spelled the same way: “pruning” and “singing.” The former plays upon the first line and the latter upon the third line

2:? Literally “the time of the song arrived”

2:? Literally “Arise, to you!”

2:? Literally “My beauty, come, you”

2:? Literally “in the secret place”

2:? Or “in the covering”

2:? Literally “foothold in the rock”

2:? Or “cliff”

2:? Or “while”

2:? Literally “My beloved for me and I for him”

2:? Literally “Be like for you”

2:? Or “a buck gazelle”

2:? Literally “the fawn of the stag”

2:? Or “the mountains of Bether”

LEB SNG Chapter 2