Daily Bread

⁶ Who is this coming up from the wilderness^(A)
    like a column of smoke,
perfumed with myrrh^(B) and incense
    made from all the spices^(C) of the merchant?
⁷ Look! It is Solomon’s carriage,
    escorted by sixty warriors,^(D)
    the noblest of Israel,
⁸ all of them wearing the sword,
    all experienced in battle,
each with his sword at his side,
    prepared for the terrors of the night.^(E)
9 King Solomon made for himself the carriage;
    he made it of wood from Lebanon.
¹⁰ Its posts he made of silver,
    its base of gold.
Its seat was upholstered with purple,
    its interior inlaid with love.
Daughters of Jerusalem, ¹¹ come out,
    and look, you daughters of Zion.^(F)
Look^[a] on King Solomon wearing a crown,
    the crown with which his mother crowned him
on the day of his wedding,
    the day his heart rejoiced.^(G)

⁸ Come with me from Lebanon, my bride,^(X)
    come with me from Lebanon.
Descend from the crest of Amana,
    from the top of Senir,^(Y) the summit of Hermon,^(Z)
from the lions’ dens
    and the mountain haunts of leopards.
⁹ You have stolen my heart, my sister, my bride;^(AA)
    you have stolen my heart
with one glance of your eyes,
    with one jewel of your necklace.^(AB)
10 How delightful^(AC) is your love^(AD), my sister, my bride!
    How much more pleasing is your love than wine,^(AE)
and the fragrance of your perfume^(AF)
    more than any spice!
¹¹ Your lips drop sweetness as the honeycomb, my bride;
    milk and honey are under your tongue.^(AG)
The fragrance of your garments
    is like the fragrance of Lebanon.^(AH)
12 You are a garden^(AI) locked up, my sister, my bride;^(AJ)
    you are a spring enclosed, a sealed fountain.^(AK)
13 Your plants are an orchard of pomegranates^(AL)
    with choice fruits,
    with henna^(AM) and nard,
¹⁴     nard and saffron,
    calamus and cinnamon,^(AN)
    with every kind of incense tree,
    with myrrh^(AO) and aloes^(AP)
    and all the finest spices.^(AQ)
15 You are^[c] a garden^(AR) fountain,^(AS)
    a well of flowing water
    streaming down from Lebanon.