¹On my couch at night I sought him

Whom my whole being loves;

I sought him,

But I did not find him.

²Let me get up, then,

And I will go around the city;

In the squares and the streets,

I will seek him

Whom my whole being loves.

I sought him,

But I did not find him.

³The watchmen who patrol the city found me.

I asked, ‘Have you seen the one

Whom my whole being loves?’

⁴I had hardly passed on from them

When I found him

Whom my whole being loves.

I held on to him

And would not let him go

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

And to the room of her who conceived me.

⁵I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,

By the wild gazelles and deer hinds,

Do not by any means awaken or arouse love,

Until it is willing.”

⁶“Who is this coming up from the desert,

Like pillars of smoke,

Perfumed with myrrh and frankincense,

With all the aromatic powder of the merchant?”

⁷“Behold Solomon's bed.

There are sixty warriors around it

From the warriors of Israel.

⁸They are all wielding a sword

And are trained in warfare.

Each has his sword on his thigh

Because of fear at night.”

⁹“King Solomon has made himself a litter

From the wood of Lebanon.

¹⁰He made its posts of silver

And its backing of gold

And its seat of purple material.

Its inside is a mosaic of love themes

From the daughters of Jerusalem.”

¹¹“Come out, O daughters of Zion,

And look at King Solomon,

With the crown with which his mother crowned him

On his wedding day,

And on the day of joy in his heart.”