Song of Solomon 3

1On my bed at night I sought the one my soul loves; I sought him, but I did not find him.

2I will rise now and go about the city, in the marketplaces and in the streets; I will seek the one my soul loves. I sought him, but I did not find him.

3The watchmen who go about the city found me: “Have you seen the one whom my soul loves?”

4I had scarcely passed by them when I found the one my soul loves. I held on to him and would not let him go until I had brought him into my mother's house, into the chamber of the one who conceived me.

5I adjure you, daughters of Jerusalem, by the gazelles or by the does of the field, that you not stir up or awaken love until it desires.

6Who is this coming up from the wilderness like columns of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, with every fragrant powder of the merchant?

7Look, it is Solomon’s couch; sixty warriors from among Israel’s mighty men surround it.

8All of them bear swords, trained for battle; each man has his sword at his thigh because of the terrors of the night.

9King Solomon made himself a palanquin from the wood of Lebanon.

10He made its posts of silver, its support of gold, its seat of purple; its interior was inlaid with love by the daughters of Jerusalem.

11Go out and look, O daughters of Zion, at King Solomon, with the crown with which his mother crowned him on the day of his wedding, on the day of the joy of his heart.