A Troubled Night

The Shulamite

3 By night on my bed I sought the one I love;I sought him, but I did not find him.² “I will rise now,” I said,“And go about the city;In the streets and in the squaresI 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;I said,“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 the house 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 loveUntil it pleases.

The Coming of Solomon

The Shulamite

⁶ Who is this coming out of the wildernessLike pillars of smoke,Perfumed with myrrh and frankincense,With all the merchant’s fragrant powders?⁷ Behold, it is Solomon’s couch,With sixty valiant men around it,Of the valiant of Israel.⁸ They all hold swords,Being expert in war.Every man has his sword on his thighBecause of fear in the night.

⁹ Of the wood of LebanonSolomon the KingMade himself a palanquin:^[a]10 He made its pillars of silver,Its support of gold,Its seat of purple,Its interior paved with loveBy the daughters of Jerusalem.¹¹ Go forth, O daughters of Zion,And see King Solomon with the crownWith which his mother crowned himOn the day of his wedding,The day of the gladness of his heart.