| King James Bible | New Living Translation |
| 1By night on my bed I sought him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, but I found him not. | 1One night as I lay in bed, I yearned for my lover. I yearned for him, but he did not come. |
| 2I will rise now, and go about the city in the streets, and in the broad ways I will seek him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, but I found him not. | 2So I said to myself, “I will get up and roam the city, searching in all its streets and squares. I will search for the one I love.” So I searched everywhere but did not find him. |
| 3The watchmen that go about the city found me: to whom I said, Saw ye him whom my soul loveth? | 3The watchmen stopped me as they made their rounds, and I asked, “Have you seen the one I love?” |
| 4It was but a little that I passed from them, but I found him whom my soul loveth: I held him, and would not let him go, until I had brought him into my mother's house, and into the chamber of her that conceived me. | 4Then scarcely had I left them when I found my love! I caught and held him tightly, then I brought him to my mother’s house, into my mother’s bed, where I had been conceived. |
| 5I 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. | 5Promise me, O women of Jerusalem, by the gazelles and wild deer, not to awaken love until the time is right. Young Women of Jerusalem |
| 6Who is this that cometh out of the wilderness like pillars of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, with all powders of the merchant? | 6Who is this sweeping in from the wilderness like a cloud of smoke? Who is it, fragrant with myrrh and frankincense and every kind of spice? |
| 7Behold his bed, which is Solomon's; threescore valiant men are about it, of the valiant of Israel. | 7Look, it is Solomon’s carriage, surrounded by sixty heroic men, the best of Israel’s soldiers. |
| 8They all hold swords, being expert in war: every man hath his sword upon his thigh because of fear in the night. | 8They are all skilled swordsmen, experienced warriors. Each wears a sword on his thigh, ready to defend the king against an attack in the night. |
| 9King Solomon made himself a chariot of the wood of Lebanon. | 9King Solomon’s carriage is built of wood imported from Lebanon. |
| 10He made the pillars thereof of silver, the bottom thereof of gold, the covering of it of purple, the midst thereof being paved with love, for the daughters of Jerusalem. | 10Its posts are silver, its canopy gold; its cushions are purple. It was decorated with love by the young women of Jerusalem. Young Woman |
| 11Go forth, O ye daughters of Zion, and behold king Solomon with the crown wherewith his mother crowned him in the day of his espousals, and in the day of the gladness of his heart. | 11Come out to see King Solomon, young women of Jerusalem. He wears the crown his mother gave him on his wedding day, his most joyous day. |
| King James Bible, text courtesy of BibleProtector.com. | Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. |
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