[1] “On my bed night after night I sought him Whom my soul loves; I sought him but did not find him. [2] ‘I must arise now and go about the city; In the streets and in the squares I must seek him whom my soul loves.’ I sought him but did not find him. [3] “The watchmen who go about the city found me, And I said, ‘Have you seen him whom my soul loves?’ [4] “Scarcely had I passed them by When I found him whom my soul loves; I seized him and would not let him go Until I had brought him to my mother’s house, And into the chamber of her who conceived me.” [5] “I call you to solemnly swear, O daughters of Jerusalem, By the gazelles or by the hinds of the field, That you do not arouse or awaken my love Until she pleases.” [6] “Who is this coming up from the wilderness Like columns of smoke, As rising incense of myrrh and frankincense, With all scented powders of the merchant? [7] “Behold, it is the traveling couch of Solomon; Sixty mighty men around it, Of the mighty men of Israel. [8] “All of them are those who seize the sword, Learned in war; Each man has his sword at his side, Guarding against the dreadful things of the night. [9] “King Solomon has made for himself a sedan chair From the timber of Lebanon. [10] “He made its posts of silver, Its back of gold And its seat of purple fabric, With its interior inlaid with love By the daughters of Jerusalem. [11] “Go forth and see, O daughters of Zion, King Solomon with the crown With which his mother has crowned him On the day of his wedding, And on the day of his gladness of heart.”
