1  On my bed by night

I sought him ⁱwhom my soul loves;

I ^jsought him, but found him not.

2  I will rise now and go about the city,

in the streets and in the squares;

I will seek him whom my soul loves.

I sought him, but found him not.

3  ^kThe watchmen found me

as they went about in the city.

“Have you seen him whom my soul loves?”

4  Scarcely had I passed them

when I found him whom my soul loves.

I held him, and would not let him go

until I had ^lbrought him into my mother’s house,

and into the chamber of her who conceived me.

5  ^mI adjure you, O ⁿdaughters of Jerusalem,

by the gazelles or the does of the field,

that you not stir up or awaken love

until it pleases.

6  ^oWhat is that coming up from the wilderness

like columns of smoke,

perfumed with ^pmyrrh and frankincense,

with all the fragrant powders of a merchant?

7  Behold, it is the litter¹ of ^qSolomon!

Around it are sixty mighty men,

some of the mighty men of Israel,

8  all of them wearing swords

and expert in war,

each with his sword at his thigh,

against terror by night.

9  King Solomon made himself a carriage²

from the wood of Lebanon.

10  He made its posts of silver,

its back of gold, its seat of purple;

its interior was inlaid with love

by the daughters of Jerusalem.

11  Go out, O daughters of Zion,

and look upon King Solomon,

with the crown with which his mother crowned him

on the day of his wedding,

on the day of the gladness of his heart.

1  ^rBehold, ^syou are beautiful, ^tmy love,

behold, you are beautiful!

^uYour eyes are doves

behind your ^vveil.

^wYour hair is like a flock of goats

leaping down the slopes of Gilead.

2  ^xYour teeth are like a flock of shorn ewes

that have come up from the washing,

all of which bear twins,

and not one among them has lost its young.

3  Your lips are like a scarlet thread,

and your mouth is lovely.

^yYour cheeks are like halves of a pomegranate

behind your veil.

4  ^zYour neck is like the tower of David,

built in rows of stone;³

on it hang a thousand shields,

all of them shields of warriors.

5  ^aYour two breasts are like two fawns,

twins of a gazelle,

that ^bgraze among the lilies.

6  ^cUntil the day breathes

and the shadows flee,

I will go away to the ^dmountain of myrrh

and the hill of frankincense.

7  You are altogether beautiful, my love;

there is no flaw in you.

8  Come with me from Lebanon, my bride;

come with me from Lebanon.

Depart⁴ from the peak of Amana,

from the peak of Senir and Hermon,

from the dens of lions,

from the mountains of leopards.

9  You have captivated my heart, ^emy sister, my bride;

you have captivated my heart with one glance of your eyes,

with one jewel of your necklace.

10  How beautiful is your love, my sister, my bride!

How much better is your love ^fthan wine,

and the fragrance of your oils than any spice!

11  Your lips drip nectar, my bride;

^ghoney and milk are under your tongue;

the fragrance of your garments is like the fragrance of Lebanon.

12  A garden locked is my sister, my bride,

a ^hspring locked, a fountain sealed.

13  Your shoots are an orchard of pomegranates

with all ⁱchoicest fruits,

^jhenna with ^knard,

14  nard and saffron, ^lcalamus and cinnamon,

with all trees of frankincense,

^mmyrrh and aloes,

with all choice spices—

15  a garden fountain, a well of living water,

and flowing streams from Lebanon.

16  Awake, O north wind,

and come, O south wind!

Blow upon my ⁿgarden,

let its spices flow.

Let ^omy beloved come to his garden,

and eat its choicest fruits.