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

“I opened to my beloved,
But my beloved had turned away and had gone!
My heart went out to him as he spoke.
I searched for him but I did not find him;
I called him but he did not answer me.

When Herod had searched for him and had not found him, he examined the guards and ordered that they be led away to execution. Then he went down from Judea to Caesarea and was spending time there.

Then he passed away, and lo, he was no more;
I sought for him, but he could not be found.

“You will seek those who quarrel with you, but will not find them,
Those who war with you will be as nothing and non-existent.

“She will pursue her lovers, but she will not overtake them;
And she will seek them, but will not find them.
Then she will say, ‘I will go back to my first husband,
For it was better for me then than now!’