[1] At night on my bed, I looked for the one I love; I looked for him, but I could not find him. [2] I got up and went around the city, in the streets and squares, looking for the one I love. I looked for him, but I could not find him. [3] The watchmen found me as they patrolled the city, so I asked, "Have you seen the one I love?" [4] As soon as I had left them, I found the one I love. I held him and would not let him go until I brought him to my mother's house, to the room where I was born. [5] Women of Jerusalem, promise me by the gazelles and the deer not to awaken or excite my feelings of love until it is ready. [6] Who is this coming out of the desert like a cloud of smoke? Who is this that smells like myrrh, incense, and other spices? [7] Look, it's Solomon's couch with sixty soldiers around it, the finest soldiers of Israel. [8] These soldiers all carry swords and have been trained in war. Every man wears a sword at his side and is ready for the dangers of the night. [9] King Solomon had a couch made for himself of wood from Lebanon. [10] He made its posts of silver and its braces of gold. The seat was covered with purple cloth that the women of Jerusalem wove with love. [11] Women of Jerusalem, go out and see King Solomon. He is wearing the crown his mother put on his head on his wedding day, when his heart was happy!
