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 make the rounds in the city found me, [And I said,] 'Have you seen him whom my soul loves?'

4 "Scarcely had I 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."

5 "I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, By the gazelles or by the hinds of the field, That you will not arouse or awaken [my] love, Until she pleases."

6 "What is this coming up from the wilderness Like columns of smoke, Perfumed with 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 wielders of the sword, Expert in war; Each man has his sword at his side, [Guarding] against the terrors 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 lovingly fitted out By the daughters of Jerusalem.

11 "Go forth, O daughters of Zion, And gaze on 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."