Song of Songs 3
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Love’s Dream
3 Upon my bed at night
I sought him whom my soul loves;
I sought him but found him not;
I called him, but he gave no answer.[a](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.(B)
3 The sentinels found me,
as they went about in the city.
“Have you seen him whom my soul loves?”(C)
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 brought him into my mother’s house
and into the chamber of her that conceived me.(D)
5 I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
by the gazelles or the wild does:
do not stir up or awaken love
until it is ready!(E)
The Young Man and His Party Approach
6 Who 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?(F)
7 Look, it is the litter of Solomon!
Around it are sixty mighty men
of the mighty men of Israel,
8 all equipped with swords
and expert in war,
each with his sword at his thigh
because of alarms by night.(G)
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;
its interior was inlaid with stone.
Daughters[b] of Jerusalem,(H)
11 come out and look[c]
at King Solomon,
at the crown with which his mother crowned him
on the day of his wedding,
on the day of the gladness of his heart.
Song of Songs 3
Christian Standard Bible
3 In my bed at night[a]
I sought the one I love;(A)
I sought him, but did not find him.[b](B)
2 I will arise now and go about the city,
through the streets and the plazas.(C)
I will seek the one I love.
I sought him, but did not find him.
3 The guards who go about the city found me.(D)
I asked them, “Have you seen the one I love?”
4 I had just passed them
when I found the one I love.
I held on to him and would not let him go
until I brought him to my mother’s house(E)—
to the chamber of the one who conceived me.
5 Young women of Jerusalem, I charge you
by the gazelles and the wild does of the field,
do not stir up or awaken love
until the appropriate time.[c](F)
Narrator
6 Who is this(G) coming up from the wilderness
like columns of smoke,
scented with myrrh and frankincense(H)
from every fragrant powder of the merchant?
7 Look! Solomon’s bed
surrounded by sixty warriors
from the mighty men of Israel.
8 All of them are skilled with swords
and trained in warfare.
Each has his sword at his side(I)
to guard against the terror of the night.(J)
9 King Solomon made a carriage for himself
with wood from Lebanon.
10 He made its posts of silver,
its back[d] of gold,
and its seat of purple.
Its interior is inlaid with love[e]
by the young women of Jerusalem.(K)
11 Go out, young women of Zion,(L)
and gaze at King Solomon,
wearing the crown his mother placed on him
on the day of his wedding(M)—
the day of his heart’s rejoicing.
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.