Read the Bible

¹ While in bed at night,
I reached for the one I love
    with heart and soul.
I looked for him,
    but he wasn't there.
² So I searched through the town
    for the one I love.
I looked on every street,
    but he wasn't there.
³ I even asked the guards
    patrolling the town,
"Have you seen the one
    I love so much?"
⁴ Right after that, I found him.
I held him and would not let go
    until I had taken him
    to the home of my mother.
⁵ Young women of Jerusalem,
promise me by the power
    of deer and gazelles,^[a]
never to awaken love
    before it is ready.

⁶ What do we see approaching
from the desert
    like a cloud of smoke?
With it comes the sweet smell
of spices,
including myrrh
    and frankincense.
⁷ It is King Solomon
    carried on a throne,
surrounded by sixty
    of Israel's best soldiers.
⁸ Each of them wears a sword.
They are experts at fighting,
    even in the dark.
⁹ The throne is made of trees
    from Lebanon.
¹⁰ Its posts are silver,
    the back is gold,
and the seat is covered
    with purple cloth.
You women of Jerusalem
have taken great care
    to furnish the inside.^[b]
11 Now come and see the crown
given to Solomon
by his mother
    on his happy wedding day.