1“On my bed night after night I sought him

Whom my soul loves;

I sought him but did not find him.

2‘[a]I must arise now and [b]go around in the city;

In the streets and in the public squares

[c]I must seek him whom my soul loves.’

I sought him but did not find him.

3“The watchmen who make the rounds in the city found me,

And I said, ‘Have you seen him whom my soul loves?’

4“Hardly had I [d]left them

When I found him whom my soul loves;

I held on to him and would not let him go

Until I had brought him to my mother’s house,

And into the room of her who conceived me.”

The Groom

5“Swear to me, you daughters of Jerusalem,

By the gazelles or by the does of the field,

That you will not disturb or awaken my love

Until she pleases.”

Solomon’s Wedding Day

The Bride

6“[e]What is this coming up from the wilderness

Like columns of smoke,

Perfumed with myrrh and frankincense,

With all the scented powders of the merchant?

The Chorus

7“Behold, it is [f]the traveling couch of Solomon;

Sixty warriors around it,

Of the warriors of Israel.

8“All of them are wielders of the sword,

Expert in war;

Each man has his sword at his side,

Guarding against the [g]terrors of the night.

9“King Solomon has made for himself a [h]sedan chair

From the timber of Lebanon.

10“He made its posts of silver,

Its [i]back of gold

And its seat of purple fabric,

With its interior lovingly inlaid

By the daughters of Jerusalem.

11“Go out, you daughters of Zion,

And look at King Solomon with the [j]crown

With which his mother has crowned him

On the day of his wedding,

And on the day of the joy of his heart.”