Song of Solomon 3

3Asleep on my bed, night after night

I dreamt of the one I love;

I was looking for him, but couldn’t find him.

²I went wandering through the city,

through its streets and alleys.

I looked for the one I love.

I looked, but couldn’t find him.

³The watchmen patrolling the city saw me.

I asked them, “Have you found my lover?”

⁴As soon as I left them, I found him.

I held him and wouldn’t let him go

until I took him to my mother’s house,

to the room where I was born.

⁵Promise me, women of Jerusalem;

swear by the swift deer and the gazelles

that you will not interrupt our love.

The Third Song

⁶What is this coming from the desert like a column of smoke,

fragrant with incense and myrrh,

the incense sold by the traders?

⁷Solomon is coming, carried on his throne;

sixty soldiers form the bodyguard,

the finest soldiers in Israel.

⁸All of them are skilful with the sword;

they are battle-hardened veterans.

Each of them is armed with a sword,

on guard against a night attack.

⁹King Solomon is carried on a throne

made of the finest wood.

¹⁰Its posts are covered with silver;

over it is cloth embroidered with gold.

Its cushions are covered with purple cloth,

lovingly woven by the women of Jerusalem.

¹¹Women of Zion, come and see King Solomon.

He is wearing the crown that his mother placed

on his head on his wedding day,

on the day of his gladness and joy.