Old Testament · Poetry

Song of Solomon 2

The Rose and the Lily

I am a rose of Sharon, a lily of the valleys. Love speaks in flowers and seasons — arise, my darling, for winter is past.

King James Version BSB KJV

1I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys.

2As the lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters.

3As 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.

4He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love.

5Stay me with flagons, comfort me with apples: for I am sick of love.

6His left hand is under my head, and his right hand doth embrace me.

7I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes, and by the hinds of the field, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, till he please.

8The voice of my beloved! behold, he cometh leaping upon the mountains, skipping upon the hills.

9My beloved is like a roe or a young hart: behold, he standeth behind our wall, he looketh forth at the windows, shewing himself through the lattice.

10My beloved spake, and said unto me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away.

11For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone;

12The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land;

13The fig tree putteth forth her green figs, and the vines with the tender grape give a good smell. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.

14O my dove, that art in the clefts of the rock, in the secret places of the stairs, let me see thy countenance, let me hear thy voice; for sweet is thy voice, and thy countenance is comely.

15Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines have tender grapes.

16My beloved is mine, and I am his: he feedeth among the lilies.

17Until the day break, and the shadows flee away, turn, my beloved, and be thou like a roe or a young hart upon the mountains of Bether.

Understand This

Song of Solomon 2, explained

What Song of Solomon 2 is saying

The beloved declares herself a 'rose of Sharon' and 'lily of the valleys,' while the lover praises her as a lily among thorns. The famous passage 'arise, my love, my beautiful one, and come away' invites the beloved into spring's renewal. She requests restraint in love's timing: 'do not awaken love until it pleases.'

The background behind it

The flora imagery—roses, lilies, vineyards, fig trees—draws on the lush landscape of the Levant. The recurring refrain 'do not stir up or awaken love until it pleases' (repeated three times in the Song) suggests a liturgical or didactic function regarding love's proper season.

Themes running underneath

Love has its own timing—the refrain insists that passionate love should not be forced or rushed. The spring imagery connects human love to creation's rhythms of renewal. The gazelle and stag imagery introduces wild, untamed energy as characteristic of genuine love.

Why it still matters

The refrain about not awakening love prematurely speaks to every generation's need for patience in romantic relationships. Love's power demands respect for its proper timing and context.

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Scripture text: King James Version — public domain.