The night watchmen found me – the ones who guard the city walls. ¹  “Have you seen my beloved?” ² 

The watchmen found me as they made their rounds in the city. They beat me, they bruised me; they took away my cloak, those watchmen on the walls!

Turn your eyes away from me – they overwhelm ¹  me! Your hair is like a flock of goats descending from Mount Gilead.

The Beloved to Her Lover: Until the dawn arrives ¹  and the shadows flee, turn, ²  my beloved – be like a gazelle or a young stag on the mountain gorges. ³ 

“I will arise ¹  and look all around ²  throughout the town, and throughout the streets ³  and squares; I will search for my beloved.” I searched for him but I did not find him. ⁴