NOTES for Sol 2:8-14
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 forth at the windows, shewing himself 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 is heard in our land; |
13 The 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. |
14 O 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. |
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In both Jewish and Christian tradition, the Song of Songs is most often interpreted as an allegorical poem about the love between God and His people—Israel or the Church. It is sometimes said to be a song of love between God and the human soul. Although the literal understanding of the Song of Songs as a poem about human love remains valid, its symbolic meaning is what matters particularly in the Church's readings. Now, at the end of Advent, we read a passage in which the bride hears the bridegroom's voice. The soul hears the voice of God. And He calls her to awaken and arise. Wintertime—the time of waiting—is ending. The Lord is near. And the soul recognizes His voice, a voice that cannot be confused with any other.
Other notes
For Sol 1:1-2:17
1 The song of songs, which is Solomon's. |
2 Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth: for thy love is better than wine. |
3 Because of the savour of thy good ointments thy name is as ointment poured forth, therefore do the virgins love thee. |
4 Draw me, we will run after thee: the king hath brought me into his chambers: we will be glad and rejoice in thee, we will remember thy love more than wine: the upright love thee. |
5 I am black, but comely, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents of Kedar, as the curtains of Solomon. |
6 Look not upon me, because I am black, because the sun hath looked upon me: my mother's children were angry with me; they made me the keeper of the vineyards; but mine own vineyard have I not kept. |
7 Tell me, O thou whom my soul loveth, where thou feedest, where thou makest thy flock to rest at noon: for why should I be as one that turneth aside by the flocks of thy companions? |
8 If thou know not, O thou fairest among women, go thy way forth by the footsteps of the flock, and feed thy kids beside the shepherds' tents. |
9 I have compared thee, O my love, to a company of horses in Pharaoh's chariots. |
10 Thy cheeks are comely with rows of jewels, thy neck with chains of gold. |
11 We will make thee borders of gold with studs of silver. |
12 While the king sitteth at his table, my spikenard sendeth forth the smell thereof. |
13 A bundle of myrrh is my wellbeloved unto me; he shall lie all night betwixt my breasts. |
14 My beloved is unto me as a cluster of camphire in the vineyards of En-gedi. |
15 Behold, thou art fair, my love; behold, thou art fair; thou hast doves' eyes. |
16 Behold, thou art fair, my beloved, yea, pleasant: also our bed is green. |
17 The beams of our house are cedar, and our rafters of fir. |
1 I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys. |
2 As the 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 me with flagons, comfort me with apples: for I am sick of love. |
6 His left hand is under my head, and his right hand doth embrace me. |
7 I 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. |
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 forth at the windows, shewing himself 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 is heard in our land; |
13 The 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. |
14 O 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. |
15 Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines have tender grapes. |
16 My beloved is mine, and I am his: he feedeth among the lilies. |
17 Until 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. |
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