Hearing The Voice

Φωνὴ τοῦ ἀδελφιδοῦ μου. Ἐθὰς γὰρ γενομένη τῶν ἱερῶν αὐτοῦ λόγων, ἐπιγινώσκει αὐτοῦ τὴν φωνήν· ὡς καὶ ὁ Κύριος ἐν τοῖς ἱεροῖς Εὐαγγελίοις φησί· Τὰ πρόβατα τὰ ἐμὰ τῆς φωνῆς μου ἀκούει. Ἀλλοτρίῳ δὲ μὴ ἀκολουθήσουσιν, ὅτι οὐκ οἴδασι τῶν ἀλλοτρίων τὴν φωνήν. Οἶδε τοιγαροῦν ἡ νύμφη τὴν τοῦ νυμφίου φωνήν· οἶδε διαφορὰν μοιχοῦ καὶ νυμφίου. Καὶ τῶν μὲν μοιχῶν, καὶ λύκων, καὶ μισθωτῶν βδελύττεται τὰς φωνάς· τοῦ δὲ νυμ φίου καὶ ποιμένος τοὺς λόγους ποθεῖ. Διόπερ αὐτίκα ἐν αἰσθήσει γενομένη τῆς ἐκείνου παρουσίας βοᾷ· Φωνὴ τοῦ ἀδελφιδοῦ μου· καὶ οὐκ ἀνέχεται καθῆσθαι, ἀλλ' ἀνίσταται, καὶ καραδοκεῖ, καὶ περισκοπεῖ... Θεοδώρητος Ἐπίσκοπος Κύρρος, Ἑρμηνεία Εἰς Το Ἀσμα Των Ασμάτων, Λόγος Δεύτερος Source: Migne PG 81.96b-c

The voice of my beloved. 1 Because she is accustomed to His holy words, she recognises His voice. As the Lord says in the Holy Gospels: 'My sheep hear my voice.' 2 They do not follow the stranger because they do not know the voice of strangers. Therefore the bride knows the voice of the bridegroom; she knows the difference between the adulterer and the groom, and certainly she is averse to the voice of adulterers and wolves and mercenaries, 3 but she loves the words of the shepherd and the groom. Therefore as soon as she senses his coming, she cries out, 'The voice of my beloved.' And allowing herself no quiet she rises and watches eagerly and looks about... Theodoret of Cyrrhus, Commentary on the Song of Songs, Book 2 1 Song 2.8 2 Jn 10.27 3 Jn 10.5-13