Canticum canticorum

My beloved is mine and I am his,
he pastures his flock among the lilies.
Until the day breathes
and the shadows flee,
turn, my beloved be like a gazelle,
or a young stag upon rugged mountains.

UPON MY BED by night
I sought him whom my soul loves;
I sought him, but found him not;
I called him, but he gave no answer.
"I will rise now and go about the city,
in the streets and in the sqaures;
I will seek him whom my soul loves."
I sought him, but found him not.
The watchmen found me,
as they went about in the city.
"Have you seen him whom my soul loves?"
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 brought him into my mother's house,
and into the chamber of her that conceived me.
I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
that you stir not up nor awaken love
until it please.

What is that coming up from the wilderness,
like a column of smoke,
perfumed with myrrh and frankincense,
with all the fragrant powders of the merchant?
Behold, it is the litter of Solomon!
About it are sixty mighty men
of the mighty men of Israel,
all girt with swords
and expert in war,
each with his sword at his thigh,
against alarms by night.
King Solomon made himself a palanquin
from the wood of Lebanon.

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