Song of Solomon 3
International Standard Version
The Loved One
3 Night after night on my bed,
I sought the one I love;
I sought him, but didn’t find him.
2 I’ll get up and go all around the city,
throughout the streets, and in the squares.
I’ll seek the one I love.
I sought him, but didn’t find him.
3 The watchmen who go all around the city found me.
I asked,[a] “Have you seen the one I love?”
4 I had just passed them
when I found the one I love.
I held him and wouldn’t let him go
until I brought him to my mother’s house,
to the room of the one who conceived me.
5 Swear to me, young women of Jerusalem,
by the gazelles or by the does of the field,
that you won’t awaken or arouse love
before its proper time![b]
The Lover Arrives
6 What[c] is this coming up from the desert
like columns of smoke,
perfumed with myrrh[d] and incense[e]
from all the fragrant powders of the merchant?
7 Look! It’s Solomon’s sedan chair,[f]
with 60 of the best soldiers in Israel[g] surrounding it.
8 All of them are wearing swords and are
experienced in battle.
Each has his sword on his thigh,
ready for the terror of the night.[h]
9 King Solomon made the sedan chair for himself
from the trees of Lebanon.
10 He made its posts of silver,
its back of gold.
Its seat was purple,
and its interior was lovingly inlaid
by the young women of Jerusalem.
11 Come out, young women of Zion,
and see King Solomon with the crown
with which his mother crowned him
on his wedding day—
his day of great delight.[i]
Footnotes
- Song of Solomon 3:3 The Heb. lacks I asked
- Song of Solomon 3:5 Lit. until it pleases
- Song of Solomon 3:6 Or Who
- Song of Solomon 3:6 Myrrh was a fragrant spice used as a perfume.
- Song of Solomon 3:6 Or frankincense
- Song of Solomon 3:7 Or palanquin; i.e. a portable compartment for carrying important people.
- Song of Solomon 3:7 Lit. mighty men from the mighty men of Israel
- Song of Solomon 3:8 Lit. thigh, from the terror of the night
- Song of Solomon 3:11 Lit. day of the rejoicing of his heart
Song of Solomon 3
Lexham English Bible
Maiden’s Dream (?): Seeking and Finding
3 On my bed in the night,
I sought[a] him whom my heart[b] loves.
I sought him, but I did not find him.
2 Now I will arise, and I will go about in the city,
in the streets and in the squares;
I will seek him whom my heart[c] loves.
I sought him, but I did not find him.
3 The sentinels who go about in the city found me.
“Have you seen the one whom my heart[d] loves?”
4 Scarcely had I passed[e] by them
when I found him whom my heart[f] loves.
I held him and I would not let him go
until I brought him to the house of my mother,
into the bedroom chamber of she who conceived me.
Adjuration Refrain
5 I adjure you, O maidens of Jerusalem,[g]
by the gazelles or by the does of the field,
do not arouse or awaken love until it pleases![h]
Royal Wedding Procession
6 What is this coming up from the desert
like a column of smoke,
perfumed with myrrh and frankincense
from all the fragrant powders of the merchant?
7 Look! It is Solomon’s portable couch![i]
Sixty mighty men surround it,[j]
the mighty men of Israel.
8 All of them wield swords;[k]
they are trained in warfare,[l]
each with his sword at his thigh
to guard against terror[m] in the night.
9 King Solomon[n] made for himself a sedan chair
from the wood of Lebanon.
10 He made its column of silver, its back[o] of gold, its seat of purple;
its interior is inlaid with leather[p] by the maidens of Jerusalem.[q]
11 Come out and look, O maidens of Zion,[r] at King Solomon,[s]
at the crown with which his mother crowned him
on the day of his wedding,
on the day of the joy of his heart!
Footnotes
- Song of Solomon 3:1 Or “I seek”
- Song of Solomon 3:1 Literally “soul”
- Song of Solomon 3:2 Literally “soul”
- Song of Solomon 3:3 Literally “soul”
- Song of Solomon 3:4 Literally “As little that I passed”
- Song of Solomon 3:4 Literally “soul”
- Song of Solomon 3:5 Literally “O daughters of Jerusalem”
- Song of Solomon 3:5 Or “Do not stir up or awaken the love until it is willing,” or “Do not disturb or interrupt our love-making until it is satisfied”
- Song of Solomon 3:7 Literally “couch” or “portable sedan chair”
- Song of Solomon 3:7 Literally “her”
- Song of Solomon 3:8 Literally “holders of sword”
- Song of Solomon 3:8 Literally “learnt of war”
- Song of Solomon 3:8 Literally “because of the fear”
- Song of Solomon 3:9 Literally “The king, Solomon”
- Song of Solomon 3:10 Or “its support,” “its base,” “its headrest,” “its litter,” “its cover”
- Song of Solomon 3:10 Or “love.” The Hebrew term here translated “leather” is spelled the same as the term for “love.” Most likely this is an example of a word play that puns on the intentional ambiguity: “Its interior was inlaid with leather//love by the maidens of Jerusalem”
- Song of Solomon 3:10 Literally “by the daughters of Jerusalem”
- Song of Solomon 3:11 Literally “O daughters of Zion”
- Song of Solomon 3:11 Literally “the king, Solomon”
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