Song of Solomon 3
New American Standard Bible
The Bride’s Troubled Dream
3 “On my bed night after night I sought him
(A)Whom my soul loves;
I (B)sought him but did not find him.
2 ‘[a]I must arise now and [b]go around in the city;
In the (C)streets and in the public squares
[c]I must seek him whom my soul loves.’
I sought him but did not find him.
3 (D)The watchmen who make the rounds in the city found me,
And I said, ‘Have you seen him whom my soul loves?’
4 (E)Hardly had I [d]left them
When I found him whom my soul loves;
I (F)held on to him and would not let him go
Until I had (G)brought him to my mother’s house,
And into the room of her who conceived me.”
The Groom
5 “(H)Swear to me, you daughters of Jerusalem,
By the (I)gazelles or by the does of the field,
That you will not disturb or awaken my love
Until she pleases.”
Solomon’s Wedding Day
The Bride
6 “[e](J)What is this coming up from the wilderness
Like (K)columns of smoke,
Perfumed with (L)myrrh and (M)frankincense,
With all the scented powders of the merchant?
The Chorus
7 Behold, it is [f]the traveling couch of Solomon;
Sixty warriors around it,
Of the warriors of Israel.
8 All of them are wielders of the sword,
(N)Expert in war;
Each man has his (O)sword at his side,
Guarding against the [g](P)terrors of the night.
9 King Solomon has made for himself a [h]sedan chair
From the timber of Lebanon.
10 He made its posts of silver,
Its [i]back of gold
And its seat of purple fabric,
With its interior lovingly inlaid
By the (Q)daughters of Jerusalem.
11 Go out, you (R)daughters of Zion,
And look at King Solomon with the [j]crown
With which his mother has crowned him
On the (S)day of his wedding,
And on the day of the joy of his heart.”
Footnotes
- Song of Solomon 3:2 Or Let me arise
- Song of Solomon 3:2 Or Let me go about
- Song of Solomon 3:2 Or Let me seek
- Song of Solomon 3:4 Lit passed
- Song of Solomon 3:6 Lit Who
- Song of Solomon 3:7 I.e., an elegant couch designed to be carried with poles by servants
- Song of Solomon 3:8 Lit terror in the nights
- Song of Solomon 3:9 I.e., an elegant throne with poles, carried by servants
- Song of Solomon 3:10 Or support
- Song of Solomon 3:11 Or wreath
Song of Solomon 3
Revised Standard Version
Love’s Dream
3 Upon my bed by night
I sought him whom my soul loves;
I sought him, but found him not;
I called him, but he gave no answer.[a]
2 “I will rise now and go about the city,
in the streets and in the squares;
I will seek him whom my soul loves.”
I sought him, but found him not.
3 The watchmen found me,
as they went about in the city.
“Have you seen him whom my soul loves?”
4 Scarcely had I passed them,
when I found him whom my soul loves.
I held him, and would not let him go
until I had brought him into my mother’s house,
and into the chamber of her that conceived me.
5 I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
by the gazelles or the hinds of the field,
that you stir not up nor awaken love
until it please.
The Groom and His Party Approach
6 What is that coming up from the wilderness,
like a column of smoke,
perfumed with myrrh and frankincense,
with all the fragrant powders of the merchant?
7 Behold, it is the litter of Solomon!
About it are sixty mighty men
of the mighty men of Israel,
8 all girt with swords
and expert in war,
each with his sword at his thigh,
against alarms by night.
9 King Solomon made himself a palanquin
from the wood of Lebanon.
10 He made its posts of silver,
its back of gold, its seat of purple;
it was lovingly wrought within[b]
by the daughters of Jerusalem.
11 Go forth, O daughters of Zion,
and behold King Solomon,
with the crown with which his mother crowned him
on the day of his wedding,
on the day of the gladness of his heart.
Footnotes
- Song of Solomon 3:1 Gk: Heb lacks this line
- Song of Solomon 3:10 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1946, 1952, and 1971 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.