New Living Translation

1 One night as I lay in bed, I yearned for my lover.<br>I yearned for him, but he did not come.<br> 2 So I said to myself, “I will get up and roam the city,<br>searching in all its streets and squares.<br>I will search for the one I love.”<br>So I searched everywhere but did not find him.<br> 3 The watchmen stopped me as they made their rounds,<br>and I asked, “Have you seen the one I love?”<br> 4 Then scarcely had I left them<br>when I found my love!<br>I caught and held him tightly,<br>then I brought him to my mother’s house,<br>into my mother’s bed, where I had been conceived.<br> 5 Promise me, O women of Jerusalem,<br>by the gazelles and wild deer,<br>not to awaken love until the time is right.<br> 6 Who is this sweeping in from the wilderness<br>like a cloud of smoke?<br>Who is it, fragrant with myrrh and frankincense<br>and every kind of spice?<br> 7 Look, it is Solomon’s carriage,<br>surrounded by sixty heroic men,<br>the best of Israel’s soldiers.<br> 8 They are all skilled swordsmen,<br>experienced warriors.<br>Each wears a sword on his thigh,<br>ready to defend the king against an attack in the night.<br> 9 King Solomon’s carriage is built<br>of wood imported from Lebanon.<br> 10 Its posts are silver,<br>its canopy gold;<br>its cushions are purple.<br>It was decorated with love<br>by the young women of Jerusalem.<br> 11 Come out to see King Solomon,<br>young women of Jerusalem.<br>He wears the crown his mother gave him on his wedding day,<br>his most joyous day.<br>