| English Standard Version | New Living Translation |
| 1On my bed by night I sought him whom my soul loves; I sought him, but found him not. | 1One night as I lay in bed, I yearned for my lover. I yearned for him, but he did not come. |
| 2I 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. | 2So I said to myself, “I will get up and roam the city, searching in all its streets and squares. I will search for the one I love.” So I searched everywhere but did not find him. |
| 3The watchmen found me as they went about in the city. “Have you seen him whom my soul loves?” | 3The watchmen stopped me as they made their rounds, and I asked, “Have you seen the one I love?” |
| 4Scarcely 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 who conceived me. | 4Then scarcely had I left them when I found my love! I caught and held him tightly, then I brought him to my mother’s house, into my mother’s bed, where I had been conceived. |
| 5I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, by the gazelles or the does of the field, that you not stir up or awaken love until it pleases. | 5Promise me, O women of Jerusalem, by the gazelles and wild deer, not to awaken love until the time is right. Young Women of Jerusalem |
| 6What is that coming up from the wilderness like columns of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, with all the fragrant powders of a merchant? | 6Who is this sweeping in from the wilderness like a cloud of smoke? Who is it, fragrant with myrrh and frankincense and every kind of spice? |
| 7Behold, it is the litter of Solomon! Around it are sixty mighty men, some of the mighty men of Israel, | 7Look, it is Solomon’s carriage, surrounded by sixty heroic men, the best of Israel’s soldiers. |
| 8all of them wearing swords and expert in war, each with his sword at his thigh, against terror by night. | 8They are all skilled swordsmen, experienced warriors. Each wears a sword on his thigh, ready to defend the king against an attack in the night. |
| 9King Solomon made himself a carriage from the wood of Lebanon. | 9King Solomon’s carriage is built of wood imported from Lebanon. |
| 10He made its posts of silver, its back of gold, its seat of purple; its interior was inlaid with love by the daughters of Jerusalem. | 10Its posts are silver, its canopy gold; its cushions are purple. It was decorated with love by the young women of Jerusalem. Young Woman |
| 11Go 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. | 11Come out to see King Solomon, young women of Jerusalem. He wears the crown his mother gave him on his wedding day, his most joyous day. |
| ESV Text Edition: 2016. The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. The ESV® text has been reproduced in cooperation with and by permission of Good News Publishers. Unauthorized reproduction of this publication is prohibited. All rights reserved. | Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. |
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