| New Living Translation | NET Bible |
| 1One night as I lay in bed, I yearned for my lover. I yearned for him, but he did not come. | 1All night long on my bed I longed for my lover. I longed for him but he never appeared. |
| 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. | 2"I will arise and look all around throughout the town, and throughout the streets and squares; I will search for my beloved." I searched for him but I did not find him. |
| 3The watchmen stopped me as they made their rounds, and I asked, “Have you seen the one I love?” | 3The night watchmen found me--the ones who guard the city walls. "Have you seen my beloved?" |
| 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. | 4Scarcely had I passed them by when I found my beloved! I held onto him tightly and would not let him go until I brought him to my mother's house, to the bedroom chamber of the one who conceived me. |
| 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 | 5I admonish you, O maidens of Jerusalem, by the gazelles and by the young does of the open fields: "Do not awake or arouse love until it pleases!" |
| 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? | 6Who is this coming up from the desert like a column of smoke, like a fragrant billow of myrrh and frankincense, every kind of fragrant powder of the traveling merchants? |
| 7Look, it is Solomon’s carriage, surrounded by sixty heroic men, the best of Israel’s soldiers. | 7Look! It is Solomon's portable couch! It is surrounded by sixty warriors, some of Israel's mightiest warriors. |
| 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. | 8All of them are skilled with a sword, well-trained in the art of warfare. Each has his sword at his side, to guard against the terrors of the night. |
| 9King Solomon’s carriage is built of wood imported from Lebanon. | 9King Solomon made a sedan chair for himself of wood imported from Lebanon. |
| 10Its posts are silver, its canopy gold; its cushions are purple. It was decorated with love by the young women of Jerusalem. Young Woman | 10Its posts were made of silver; its back was made of gold. Its seat was upholstered with purple wool; its interior was inlaid with leather by the maidens of Jerusalem. |
| 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. | 11Come out, O maidens of Zion, and gaze upon King Solomon! He is wearing the crown with which his mother crowned him on his wedding day, on the most joyous day of his life! |
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