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
Easy-to-Read Version
She Speaks
3 At night on my bed,
I look for the man I love.
I looked for him,
but I could not find him.
2 I will get up now!
I will go around the city.
In the streets and squares,
I will look for the man I love.
I looked for him,
but I could not find him.
3 The guards patrolling the city found me.
I asked them, “Have you seen the man I love?”
4 I had just left the guards
when I found the man I love!
I held him and would not let him go,
while I took him to my mother’s house,
to the room of one who bore[a] me.
She Speaks to the Women
5 Women of Jerusalem, promise me
by the gazelles and wild deer,
don’t awaken love,
don’t arouse love, until I am ready.[b]
The Women of Jerusalem Speak
6 Who is this woman
coming from the desert[c]
with this large group of people?
The dust rises behind them
like clouds of smoke from burning myrrh and frankincense and other spices.[d]
7 Look, Solomon’s traveling chair.[e]
There are 60 soldiers guarding it,
strong soldiers of Israel.
8 All of them are trained fighting men
with their swords at their side,
ready for any danger of the night.
9 King Solomon made a traveling chair for himself.
The wood came from Lebanon.
10 The poles were made from silver,
and the supports were made from gold.
The seat was covered with purple cloth.
It was inlaid with love by the women of Jerusalem.
11 Women of Zion, come out
and see King Solomon.
See the crown[f] his mother put on him
the day he was married,
the day he was so happy!
Footnotes
- Song of Solomon 3:4 bore Or “taught.” See 8:2.
- Song of Solomon 3:5 until I am ready Literally, “until it desires.”
- Song of Solomon 3:6 woman coming from the desert See 8:5.
- Song of Solomon 3:6 spices Literally, “powders of the trader.” These were imported spices and incense.
- Song of Solomon 3:7 traveling chair A kind of chair that the rich traveled in. These chairs were covered and had poles that slaves used to carry them. Also in verse 9.
- Song of Solomon 3:11 crown This might be a wreath of flowers he wore on his head at his wedding.
Song of Solomon 3
Living Bible
3 The Girl: “One night my lover was missing from my bed. I got up to look for him but couldn’t find him. 2 I went out into the streets of the city and the roads to seek him, but I searched in vain. 3 The police stopped me, and I said to them, ‘Have you seen him anywhere, this one I love so much?’ 4 It was only a little while afterwards that I found him and held him and would not let him go until I had brought him into my childhood home, into my mother’s old bedroom. 5 I adjure you, O women of Jerusalem, by the gazelles and deer of the park, not to awake my lover. Let him sleep.”
The Young Women of Jerusalem: 6 “Who is this sweeping in from the deserts like a cloud of smoke along the ground, smelling of myrrh and frankincense and every other spice that can be bought? 7 Look, it is the chariot[a] of Solomon with sixty of the mightiest men of his army surrounding it. 8 They are all skilled swordsmen and experienced bodyguards. Each one has his sword upon his thigh to defend his king against any onslaught in the night. 9 For King Solomon made himself a chariot from the wood of Lebanon. 10 Its posts are silver, its canopy gold, the seat is purple; and the back is inlaid with these words: ‘With love from the girls of Jerusalem!’”
The Girl: 11 “Go out and see King Solomon, O young women of Zion; see the crown with which his mother crowned him on his wedding day, his day of gladness.”
Footnotes
- Song of Solomon 3:7 chariot, literally, “litter.”
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.