Song of Solomon 2
About Song of SolomonWritten by AI
The Song of Solomon, also called the Song of Songs, is a collection of love poetry. A woman and a man, often called the bride and the bridegroom, delight in each other, long for each other, and speak their love openly, with friends and the daughters of Jerusalem joining in. Its title links it to Solomon, around 950 BC. Whether he wrote it, or it was written about him or dedicated to him, is debated.
There is no clear plot. The poems move between longing and finding, separation and reunion, in rich images of gardens, vineyards, spices and springtime. Speakers change without warning, so it helps to watch who is talking.
Christians have read the Song in two main ways: as a celebration of love and desire within marriage, a good gift from God, and as a picture of God's love for His people, or Christ's love for the church. Many hold both together. Watch for the repeated refrain urging patience, and for the climax: “love is as strong as death.”
Before you read Song of Solomon 2Written by AI
She calls herself a rose of Sharon, a lily of the valleys, and he answers that she is a lily among thorns. Notice the first of a refrain she repeats through the book: “Do not arouse or awaken love until the time is right.” Then he comes leaping over the hills to call her away, for winter is past and spring has come.
The Bride’s AdmirationThe Bride
I am a rose of Sharon,
a lily of the valley.
The Bridegroom
Like a lily among the thorns
is my darling among the maidens.
The Bride
Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest
is my beloved among the young men.
I delight to sit in his shade,
and his fruit is sweet to my taste.
He has brought me to the house of wine,
and his banner over me is love.
Sustain me with raisins;
refresh me with apples,
for I am faint with love.
His left hand is under my head,
and his right arm embraces me.
O daughters of Jerusalem, I adjure you
by the gazelles and does of the field:
Do not arouse or awaken love
until the time is right.
Listen! My beloved approaches.
Look! Here he comes,
leaping across the mountains,
bounding over the hills.
My beloved is like a gazelle or a young stag.
Look, he stands behind our wall,
gazing through the windows,
peering through the lattice.
My beloved calls to me,
“Arise, my darling.
Come away with me, my beautiful one.
For now the winter is past;
the rain is over and gone.
The flowers have appeared in the countryside;
the season of singing has come,
and the cooing of turtledoves
is heard in our land.
The fig tree ripens its figs;
the blossoming vines spread their fragrance.
Arise, come away, my darling;
come away with me, my beautiful one.”
The Bridegroom
O my dove in the clefts of the rock,
in the crevices of the cliff,
let me see your face,
let me hear your voice;
for your voice is sweet,
and your countenance is lovely.
The Friends
Catch for us the foxes—
the little foxes that ruin the vineyards—
for our vineyards are in bloom.
The Bride
My beloved is mine and I am his;
he pastures his flock among the lilies.
Before the day breaks and shadows flee,
turn, my beloved,
and be like a gazelle
or a young stag on the mountains of Bether.