1 I te po, i runga i toku moenga, i rapua e ahau ta toku wairua i aroha ai: i rapua e ahau, heoi kihai i kitea.

“ On my bed night after night I sought him Whom my soul loves; I sought him but did not find him.

2 K a mea ahau, Ka whakatika ahau aianei, ka kopikopiko i roto i te pa, i nga huarahi, i nga waharoa, ka rapu i ta toku wairua i aroha ai: rapua ana ia e ahau, heoi kihai i kitea.

‘ I must arise now and go about the city; In the streets and in the squares I must seek him whom my soul loves.’ I sought him but did not find him.

3 I tutaki ki ahau nga kaitiaki e kopikopiko nei i roto i te pa: ano ra ko ahau ki a ratou, I kite ranei koutou i ta toku wairua e aroha nei?

“ The watchmen who make the rounds in the city found me, And I said, ‘Have you seen him whom my soul loves?’

4 P ahemo kau atu ratou, kua tutaki ahau ki ta toku wairua e aroha nei; kei te pupuri ahau i a ia, kihai hoki ia i tukua atu e ahau, a kawea noatia atu ia e ahau ki te whare o toku whaea, ki te ruma o te wahine i whanau ai ahau.

“ Scarcely had I left them When I found him whom my soul loves; I held on to him and would not let him go Until I had brought him to my mother’s house, And into the room of her who conceived me.”

5 H e ki tenei naku ki a koutou, e nga tamahine o Hiruharama, i te aroaro o nga anaterope, o nga hata o te parae, kaua e whakaoho, kaua e whakaara i taku e aroha nei, kia pai ra ano ia.

“ I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, By the gazelles or by the hinds of the field, That you will not arouse or awaken my love Until she pleases.” Solomon’s Wedding Day

6 K o wai tenei e whakaputa mai nei i te koraha, ano ko nga pou paowa, kakara tonu i te maira, i te parakihe, i nga puehu katoa a te kaihoko?

“ What is this coming up from the wilderness Like columns of smoke, Perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, With all scented powders of the merchant?

7 N ana, ko te amo o Horomona; e toru tekau nga tangata marohirohi i tetahi taha, i tetahi taha, no nga marohirohi o Iharaira.

“Behold, it is the traveling couch of Solomon; Sixty mighty men around it, Of the mighty men of Israel.

8 H e hunga mau hoari ratou katoa, he mea whakaako ki te whawhai; kei tona huwha ano te hoari a tenei, a tenei, i te wehi hoki i te po.

“All of them are wielders of the sword, Expert in war; Each man has his sword at his side, Guarding against the terrors of the night.

9 I hanga e Kingi Horomona he amo mona, no Repanona te rakau.

“King Solomon has made for himself a sedan chair From the timber of Lebanon.

10 K o ona pou i hanga e ia ki te hiriwa, he koura a raro, he papura tona nohoanga, he mea whariki a waenganui ki te aroha, no nga tamahine o Hiruharama.

“He made its posts of silver, Its back of gold And its seat of purple fabric, With its interior lovingly fitted out By the daughters of Jerusalem.

11 H aere, e nga tamahine o Hiona, ka matakitaki i a Kingi Horomona, me te karauna ano i karaunatia ai ia e tona whaea i te ra o tona marenatanga, i te ra hoki i koa ai tona ngakau.

“Go forth, O daughters of Zion, And gaze on King Solomon with the crown With which his mother has crowned him On the day of his wedding, And on the day of his gladness of heart.”