Song of Solomon 3

On my bed at night I sought the one my soul loves;
I sought him, but did not find him. “I will rise now and go about the city;
in the streets and squares I will seek the one my soul loves.”
I sought him, but did not find him. The watchmen going about the city found me.
“Have you seen the one my soul loves?” Scarcely had I passed them when I found the one my soul loves.
I held him and would not let him go until I brought him to my mother’s house, to the chamber of the one who conceived me. I put you under oath, daughters of Jerusalem, by the gazelles or the does of the field: Do not stir up or awaken love until it pleases. Who is this coming up from the wilderness like columns of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, with all the merchant’s fragrant powders? Look, it is Solomon’s litter!
Sixty mighty men surround it, from the mighty men of Israel. All of them wield swords, trained in war, each with his sword at his thigh against the terrors of the night. King Solomon made himself a palanquin of wood from Lebanon. He made its pillars of silver, its support of gold, its seat of purple;
its interior was inlaid with love by the daughters of Jerusalem. Come out, daughters of Zion, and look at King Solomon with the crown his mother placed on him on his wedding day, on the day his heart rejoiced.

Rights and attribution