The Bride’s Troubled Dream

1 “On my bed night after night I sought him
          Whom my soul loves;
          I sought him but did not find him.

2 ‘I must arise now and go about the city;
          In the streets and in the squares
          I must seek him whom my soul loves.’
          I sought him but did not find him.

3 “The watchmen who make the rounds in the city found me,
          And I said, ‘Have you seen him whom my soul loves?’

4 “Scarcely had I left them
          When I found him whom my soul loves;
          I held on to him and would not let him go
          Until I had brought him to my mother’s house,
          And into the room of her who conceived me.”

5 “I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
          By the gazelles or by the hinds of the field,
          That you will not arouse or awaken my love
          Until she pleases.”


Solomon’s Wedding Day

6 “What is this coming up from the wilderness
          Like columns of smoke,
          Perfumed with myrrh and frankincense,
          With all scented powders of the merchant?

7 “Behold, it is the traveling couch of Solomon;
          Sixty mighty men around it,
          Of the mighty men of Israel.

8 “All of them are wielders of the sword,
          Expert in war;
          Each man has his sword at his side,
          Guarding against the terrors of the night.

9 “King Solomon has made for himself a sedan chair
          From the timber of Lebanon.

10 “He made its posts of silver,
          Its back of gold
          And its seat of purple fabric,
          With its interior lovingly fitted out
          By the daughters of Jerusalem.

11 “Go forth, O daughters of Zion,
          And gaze on King Solomon with the crown
          With which his mother has crowned him
          On the day of his wedding,
          And on the day of his gladness of heart.”