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Song of Solomon 3
Complete Jewish Bible
Song of Solomon 3
Complete Jewish Bible
3 Night after night on my bed
I looked for the man I love.
I looked for him, but I didn’t find him.
2 “I will get up now and roam the city,
through the streets and the open places,
I will look for the man I love.”
I looked for him, but I didn’t find him.
3 The guards roaming the city found me.
“Have you seen the man I love?”
4 Scarcely had I left them,
when I found the man I love.
I took hold of him
and would not let him go
until I had brought him to my mother’s house,
to the bedroom of the woman who conceived me.
5 I warn you, daughters of Yerushalayim,
by the gazelles and deer in the wilds,
not to awaken or stir up love
until it wants to arise!
6 Who is this, coming up from the desert
like a column of smoke,
perfumed with myrrh and frankincense,
chosen from the merchant’s crushed spices?
7 It is Shlomo’s litter,
escorted by sixty valiant men
chosen from Isra’el’s finest;
8 all of them wield the sword
and are expert fighters;
each one has his sword ready at his side
to combat the terrors of night.
9 King Shlomo made himself a royal litter
of wood from the L’vanon.
10 He made its columns of silver,
its roof of gold, its seat of purple cloth;
its inside was lovingly inlaid
by the daughters of Yerushalayim.
11 Daughters of Tziyon, come out,
and gaze upon King Shlomo,
wearing the crown with which his mother crowned him
on his wedding day, his day of joy!
Song of Songs 3
New International Version
Song of Songs 3
New International Version
3 All night long on my bed
I looked(A) for the one my heart loves;
I looked for him but did not find him.
2 I will get up now and go about the city,
through its streets and squares;
I will search for the one my heart loves.
So I looked for him but did not find him.
3 The watchmen found me
as they made their rounds in the city.(B)
“Have you seen the one my heart loves?”
4 Scarcely had I passed them
when I found the one my heart loves.
I held him and would not let him go
till I had brought him to my mother’s house,(C)
to the room of the one who conceived me.(D)
5 Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you(E)
by the gazelles and by the does of the field:
Do not arouse or awaken love
until it so desires.(F)
6 Who is this coming up from the wilderness(G)
like a column of smoke,
perfumed with myrrh(H) and incense
made from all the spices(I) of the merchant?
7 Look! It is Solomon’s carriage,
escorted by sixty warriors,(J)
the noblest of Israel,
8 all of them wearing the sword,
all experienced in battle,
each with his sword at his side,
prepared for the terrors of the night.(K)
9 King Solomon made for himself the carriage;
he made it of wood from Lebanon.
10 Its posts he made of silver,
its base of gold.
Its seat was upholstered with purple,
its interior inlaid with love.
Daughters of Jerusalem, 11 come out,
and look, you daughters of Zion.(L)
Look[a] on King Solomon wearing a crown,
the crown with which his mother crowned him
on the day of his wedding,
the day his heart rejoiced.(M)
Footnotes
- Song of Songs 3:11 Or interior lovingly inlaid / by the daughters of Jerusalem. / 11 Come out, you daughters of Zion, / and look
Song of Songs 3
New Catholic Bible
Song of Songs 3
New Catholic Bible
Third Poem
Chapter 3
I Found the One My Heart Loves[a]
Bride:
1 Night[b] after night upon my bed
I sought the one my heart loves.
I sought him, but I could not find him.
2 I said, “I will rise and go through the city,
along the streets and in the squares.
I will seek the one my heart loves.”
I sought him, but I could not find him.
3 The watchmen[c] came upon me
as they made their rounds of the city,
and I asked them,
“Have you seen the one my heart loves?”
4 I had hardly gone past them
when I found the one my heart loves.
I held him and would not let him go
until I had brought him to my mother’s house,[d]
to the very room where she had conceived me.
Bridegroom:
5 I charge you, daughters of Jerusalem,
by the gazelles and the wild does:
Do not stir up or awaken love
before its time has come.[e]
Solomon on the Day of His Wedding[f]
Companions:
6 What is this coming up from the desert
like a column of smoke,
perfumed with myrrh and frankincense
and with all the fragrant spices of the merchant?
7 Look, it is Solomon being carried in his litter,
and escorted by sixty valiant guards,
the bravest of the mighty warriors of Israel,
8 all of them expert swordsmen
and experienced in warfare,
each with his sword ready at his side
to guard against the terrors by night.[g]
9 King Solomon had made himself a carriage
from the wood of Lebanon.
10 He made its posts of silver,
its base of gold,
its seat of purple cloth,
and its framework inlaid with ivory.
11 Daughters of Zion,[h] come forth
and welcome King Solomon
as he wears the crown
that his mother had placed upon his head
on the day of his wedding,
on the day of his heart’s joy.
Footnotes
- Song of Songs 3:1 Night has come, but in vain has the bride awaited the bridegroom. Driven by the ardor of her love, she hastens through the village to find him. Her love guides her to him so that she will take him home and he will embrace her. Already she seems to hear her husband wish that his weary beloved should be left to take her rest.
Human love remains a symbol of divine love. God hides from those who fail to seek him with all their heart. He lets himself be found by those who love him and render glory to him in the temple of Jerusalem where he is, as it were, the spouse of the chosen nation. It is from there that he watches over his people.
Is the life of the Church anything else but the passionate quest for persons who one day heard the Lord’s call? - Song of Songs 3:1 Night: a symbol of anxious waiting (see Ps 130:6; Isa 5:30; 8:22; 9:1; 21:11; 26:9; 59:9). I sought the one my heart loves . . . but I could not find him: this is symptomatic of the people’s search for God. He can be found only by a true conversion (see Hos 3:5; 5:6, 15; Jer 29:13).
- Song of Songs 3:3 Watchmen: they stood on the walls (see 2 Sam 13:34; Ps 127:1; Isa 52:8) or at the gates of the city (see Neh 3:29) and patrolled the streets as well (Song 5:7).
- Song of Songs 3:4 Mother’s house: mothers are referred to frequently in this Book, though fathers are completely ignored.
- Song of Songs 3:5 See note on Song 2:7.
- Song of Songs 3:6 A dream gives various forms to desire. Like a fairy tale, a love song takes delight in images of splendor. The bride sees the bridegroom come to her in the sumptuous garb of the most pompous of kings accompanied by heroes of his guard; he takes possession of his throne on the day of his espousals! For those in love, the betrothal surpasses all the splendors of the world.
Solomon, whose name signifies “peace,” is one of the figures of the Messiah. Thus, this scene may evoke also the triumphal appearance of a savior before the People of God to effect a definitive restoration for them. The Book of Revelation abounds with sumptuous images to announce the meeting of God and those who love him in the heavenly Jerusalem, that is to say, at the supreme fulfillment of all hopes. - Song of Songs 3:8 The terrors by night: see Ps 91:5.
- Song of Songs 3:11 Daughters of Zion: elsewhere “daughters of Jerusalem” (see note on Song 1:5). Crown: a wedding decoration (see Isa 61:10).
Song of Solomon 3
King James Version
Song of Solomon 3
King James Version
3 By night on my bed I sought him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, but I found him not.
2 I will rise now, and go about the city in the streets, and in the broad ways I will seek him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, but I found him not.
3 The watchmen that go about the city found me: to whom I said, Saw ye him whom my soul loveth?
4 It was but a little that I passed from them, but I found him whom my soul loveth: 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 charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes, and by the hinds of the field, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, till he please.
6 Who is this that cometh out of the wilderness like pillars of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, with all powders of the merchant?
7 Behold his bed, which is Solomon's; threescore valiant men are about it, of the valiant of Israel.
8 They all hold swords, being expert in war: every man hath his sword upon his thigh because of fear in the night.
9 King Solomon made himself a chariot of the wood of Lebanon.
10 He made the pillars thereof of silver, the bottom thereof of gold, the covering of it of purple, the midst thereof being paved with love, for the daughters of Jerusalem.
11 Go forth, O ye daughters of Zion, and behold king Solomon with the crown wherewith his mother crowned him in the day of his espousals, and in the day of the gladness of his heart.
Complete Jewish Bible (CJB)
Copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.
