A Troubled Night
1 Bynight on my bed I sought the one I love;
I sought him, but I did not find him.
2 “I will rise now,”Isaid,
“And go about the city;
In the streets and in the squares
I will seek the one I love.”
I sought him, but I did not find him.
3 The watchmen who go about the city found me;
Isaid,
“Have you seen the one I love?”
4 Scarcely had I passed by them,
When I found the one I love.
I held him and would not let him go,
# Until I had brought him to thehouse of my mother,
And into the chamber of her who conceived me.
5 I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
By the gazelles or by the does of the field,
Do not stir up nor awaken love
Until it pleases.
The Coming of Solomon
6 Whoisthis coming out of the wilderness
Like pillars of smoke,
Perfumed with myrrh and frankincense,
With all the merchant’s fragrant powders?
7 Behold, itisSolomon’s couch,
Withsixty valiant men around it,
Of the valiant of Israel.
8 They all hold swords,
Beingexpert in war.
Every manhashis sword on his thigh
Because of fear in the night.
9 Of the wood of Lebanon
Solomon the King
Made himself a palanquin:
10 He made its pillarsofsilver,
Its supportofgold,
Its seatofpurple,
Its interior pavedwithlove
By the daughters of Jerusalem.
11 Go forth, O daughters of Zion,
And see King Solomon with the crown
With which his mother crowned him
On the day of his wedding,
The day of the gladness of his heart.