N What is this(A) coming up from the wilderness
like columns of smoke,
scented with myrrh and frankincense(B)
from every fragrant powder of the merchant?
It is Solomon’s royal litter[a]
surrounded by 60 warriors
from the mighty of Israel.
All of them are skilled with swords
and trained in warfare.
Each has his sword at his side(C)
to guard against the terror of the night.(D)

King Solomon made a sedan chair[b] for himself
with wood from Lebanon.
10 He made its posts of silver,
its back[c] of gold,
and its seat of purple.
Its interior is inlaid with love[d]
by the young women of Jerusalem.(E)
11 Come out, young women of Zion,(F)
and gaze at King Solomon,
wearing the crown his mother placed on him
the day of his wedding(G)
the day of his heart’s rejoicing.

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Footnotes

  1. Song of Solomon 3:7 A conveyance carried on the shoulders of servants
  2. Song of Solomon 3:9 In Hb, the term sedan chair is possibly a synonym for “litter”; it is also called a palanquin.
  3. Song of Solomon 3:10 Or base, or canopy
  4. Song of Solomon 3:10 Or leather

Royal Wedding Procession

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?
Look! It is Solomon’s portable couch![a]
    Sixty mighty men surround it,[b]
        the mighty men of Israel.
All of them wield swords;[c]
    they are trained in warfare,[d]
each with his sword at his thigh
    to guard against terror[e] in the night.
King Solomon[f] made for himself a sedan chair
    from the wood of Lebanon.
10 He made its column of silver, its back[g] of gold, its seat of purple;
    its interior is inlaid with leather[h] by the maidens of Jerusalem.[i]
11 Come out and look, O maidens of Zion,[j] at King Solomon,[k]
    at the crown with which his mother crowned him
on the day of his wedding,
    on the day of the joy of his heart!

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Footnotes

  1. Song of Solomon 3:7 Literally “couch” or “portable sedan chair”
  2. Song of Solomon 3:7 Literally “her”
  3. Song of Solomon 3:8 Literally “holders of sword”
  4. Song of Solomon 3:8 Literally “learnt of war”
  5. Song of Solomon 3:8 Literally “because of the fear”
  6. Song of Solomon 3:9 Literally “The king, Solomon”
  7. Song of Solomon 3:10 Or “its support,” “its base,” “its headrest,” “its litter,” “its cover”
  8. 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”
  9. Song of Solomon 3:10 Literally “by the daughters of Jerusalem”
  10. Song of Solomon 3:11 Literally “O daughters of Zion”
  11. Song of Solomon 3:11 Literally “the king, Solomon”