The Message Bible MSG
New Living Translation NLT
1 Restless in bed and sleepless through the night, I longed for my lover. I wanted him desperately. His absence was painful.
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One night as I lay in bed, I yearned for my lover. I yearned for him, but he did not come.
2 So I got up, went out and roved the city, hunting through streets and down alleys. I wanted my lover in the worst way! I looked high and low, and didn't find him.
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So 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.
3 And then the night watchmen found me as they patrolled the darkened city. "Have you seen my dear lost love?" I asked.
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The watchmen stopped me as they made their rounds, and I asked, “Have you seen the one I love?”
4 No sooner had I left them than I found him, found my dear lost love. I threw my arms around him and held him tight, wouldn't let him go until I had him home again, safe at home beside the fire.
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Then 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.
5 Oh, let me warn you, sisters in Jerusalem, by the gazelles, yes, by all the wild deer: Don't excite love, don't stir it up, until the time is ripe - and you're ready.
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Promise me, O women of Jerusalem, by the gazelles and wild deer, not to awaken love until the time is right.
6 What's this I see, approaching from the desert, raising clouds of dust, Filling the air with sweet smells and pungent aromatics?
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Who 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?
7 Look! It's Solomon's carriage, carried and guarded by sixty soldiers, sixty of Israel's finest,
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Look, it is Solomon’s carriage, surrounded by sixty heroic men, the best of Israel’s soldiers.
8 All of them armed to the teeth, trained for battle, ready for anything, anytime.
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They are all skilled swordsmen, experienced warriors. Each wears a sword on his thigh, ready to defend the king against an attack in the night.
9 King Solomon once had a carriage built from fine-grained Lebanon cedar.
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King Solomon’s carriage is built of wood imported from Lebanon.
10 He had it framed with silver and roofed with gold. The cushions were covered with a purple fabric, the interior lined with tooled leather.
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Its posts are silver, its canopy gold; its cushions are purple. It was decorated with love by the young women of Jerusalem.
11 Come and look, sisters in Jerusalem. Oh, sisters of Zion, don't miss this! My King-Lover, dressed and garlanded for his wedding, his heart full, bursting with joy!
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Come 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.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.
Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by
Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.