Song of Solomon 3
Expanded Bible
The Woman Dreams
3 ·At night [or During many nights] on my bed,
I ·looked [searched] for the one ·I love [my soul loves];
I ·looked [searched] for him, but I could not find him.
2 I ·got [rose] up and went around the city,
in the streets and ·squares [public areas],
·looking [searching] for the one ·I love [my soul loves].
I ·looked [searched] for him, but I could not find him.
3 The ·watchmen [guards; C ancient equivalent to the police] found me as they patrolled the city,
so I asked, “Have you seen the one ·I love [L my soul loves]?”
4 ·As soon as [or A little while after] I had left them,
I found the one ·I love [L my soul loves].
I ·held [seized; grabbed] him and would not let him go
until I brought him to my mother’s house,
to the room where ·I was born [L she conceived me; 8:2].
The Woman Speaks to the Friends
5 ·Women [L Daughters] of Jerusalem [1:5], ·promise me [I adjure you]
by the gazelles and the deer of the field [C in Hebrew sounds like “by the (Lord) of Hosts” or “by God Almighty”]
not to awaken
or ·excite [arouse] love
until it ·is ready [so desires; C likely a warning to the women to wait for love until the right person comes along; 2:7; 8:4].
6 ·Who [or What] is this coming out of the ·desert [wilderness]
like a ·cloud [pillar] of smoke?
·Who is this that smells like [L …perfumed with] myrrh, ·incense [frankincense],
and ·other spices [L from all the scented powders of the trader]?
7 Look, it’s Solomon’s ·couch [palanquin; litter; C a bed carried by servants]
with sixty soldiers around it,
the ·finest soldiers [heroes; mighty men] of Israel.
8 These soldiers all carry swords
and have been trained in war.
Every man wears a sword at his ·side [thigh]
and is ready for the dangers of the night.
9 King Solomon had a ·couch [litter; v. 7] made for himself
of wood from Lebanon.
10 He made its posts of silver
and its ·braces [canopy] of gold.
The seat was covered with purple [C the color of royalty] cloth
that the ·women [L daughters] of Jerusalem [1:5] ·wove [inlaid its interior] with love.
11 ·Women [L Daughters] of ·Jerusalem [L Zion; 1:5], go out and see King Solomon.
He is wearing the crown his mother put on his head
on his wedding day,
when his heart was happy!
Song of Solomon 3
Amplified Bible
The Bride’s Troubled Dream
(The Shulammite Bride)
3 “On my bed night after night [I dreamed that] I sought the one
Whom my soul loves;
I sought him but did not find him.(A)
2
“I said ‘So I must arise now and go out into the city;
Into the streets and into the squares [places I do not know]
I must seek him whom my soul loves.’
I sought him but I did not find him.
3
“The watchmen who go around the city found me,
And I said, ‘Have you seen him whom my soul loves?’
4
“Scarcely had I passed 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 chamber of her who conceived me.”(B)
(The Bridegroom)
5
“I command that you take an oath, O daughters of Jerusalem,
By the gazelles or by the does of the field,
That you do not rouse nor awaken my love
Until she pleases.”
Solomon’s Wedding Day
(The Shulammite Bride)
6
“What is this coming up from the wilderness
Like [stately] pillars of smoke
Perfumed with myrrh and frankincense,
With all the fragrant powders of the merchant?”
(The Chorus)
7
“Behold, it is the couch ([a]palanquin) of Solomon;
Sixty mighty men around it,
Of the mighty men of Israel.
8
“All of them handle the sword,
All expert in war;
Each man has his sword at his thigh,
Guarding against the terrors of the night.
9
“King Solomon has made for himself a palanquin
From the [cedar] wood of Lebanon.
10
“He made its posts of silver,
Its back of gold,
Its seat of purple cloth,
The interior lovingly and intricately wrought
By the daughters of Jerusalem.
11
“Go forth, O daughters of Zion,
And gaze on King Solomon wearing the crown
With which his mother [Bathsheba] has crowned him
On the day of his wedding,
On the day of his gladness of heart.”
Footnotes
- Song of Solomon 3:7 A conveyance that was used in ancient times especially for the transport of one person, that consisted of an enclosed sedan chair usually in the form of a box with wooden shutters, and that is carried on the shoulders of men by means of projecting poles.
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.
