Song of Solomon 3-5

New King James Version

A Troubled Night

The Shulamite

3 By ^(A)night on my bed I sought the one I love;
I sought him, but I did not find him.
²“I will rise now,” I said,
“And go about the city;
In the streets and in the squares
I will seek the one I love.”
I sought him, but I did not find him.
³^(B)The watchmen who go about the city found me;
I said,
“Have you seen the one I love?”

⁴Scarcely had I passed by them,
When I found the one I love.
I held him and would not let him go,
Until I had brought him to the ^(C)house of my mother,
And into the ^[a]chamber of her who conceived me.

⁵^(D)I ^[b]charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
By the gazelles or by the does of the field,
Do not stir up nor awaken love
Until it pleases.

The Coming of Solomon

The Shulamite

⁶^(E)Who is this coming out of the wilderness
Like pillars of smoke,
Perfumed with myrrh and frankincense,
With all the merchant’s fragrant powders?
⁷Behold, it is Solomon’s couch,
With sixty valiant men around it,
Of the valiant of Israel.
⁸They all hold swords,
Being expert in war.
Every man has his sword on his thigh
Because of fear in the night.

⁹Of the wood of Lebanon
Solomon the King
Made himself a ^[c]palanquin:
¹⁰He made its pillars of silver,
Its support of gold,
Its seat of purple,
Its interior paved with love
By the daughters of Jerusalem.
¹¹Go forth, O daughters of Zion,
And see King Solomon with the crown
With which his mother crowned him
On the day of his wedding,
The day of the gladness of his heart.

The Bridegroom Praises the Bride

The Beloved

4 Behold, ^(F)you are fair, my love!
Behold, you are fair!
You have dove’s eyes behind your veil.
Your hair is like a ^(G)flock of goats,
Going down from Mount Gilead.
²^(H)Your teeth are like a flock of shorn sheep
Which have come up from the washing,
Every one of which bears twins,
And none is ^[d]barren among them.
³Your lips are like a strand of scarlet,
And your mouth is lovely.
^(I)Your temples behind your veil
Are like a piece of pomegranate.
⁴^(J)Your neck is like the tower of David,
Built ^(K)for an armory,
On which hang a thousand ^[e]bucklers,
All shields of mighty men.
⁵^(L)Your two breasts are like two fawns,
Twins of a gazelle,
Which feed among the lilies.

⁶^(M)Until the day breaks
And the shadows flee away,
I will go my way to the mountain of myrrh
And to the hill of frankincense.

⁷^(N)You are all fair, my love,
And there is no spot in you.
⁸Come with me from Lebanon, my spouse,
With me from Lebanon.
Look from the top of Amana,
From the top of Senir ^(O)and Hermon,
From the lions’ dens,
From the mountains of the leopards.

⁹You have ravished my heart,
My sister, my spouse;
You have ravished my heart
With one look of your eyes,
With one link of your necklace.
¹⁰How fair is your love,
My sister, my spouse!
^(P)How much better than wine is your love,
And the ^[f]scent of your perfumes
Than all spices!
¹¹Your lips, O my spouse,
Drip as the honeycomb;
^(Q)Honey and milk are under your tongue;
And the fragrance of your garments
Is ^(R)like the fragrance of Lebanon.

¹²A garden ^[g]enclosed
Is my sister, my spouse,
A spring shut up,
A fountain sealed.
¹³Your plants are an orchard of pomegranates
With pleasant fruits,
Fragrant henna with spikenard,
¹⁴Spikenard and saffron,
Calamus and cinnamon,
With all trees of frankincense,
Myrrh and aloes,
With all the chief spices—
¹⁵A fountain of gardens,
A well of ^(S)living waters,
And streams from Lebanon.

The Shulamite

¹⁶Awake, O north wind,
And come, O south!
Blow upon my garden,
That its spices may flow out.
^(T)Let my beloved come to his garden
And eat its pleasant ^(U)fruits.

The Bride Praises the Bridegroom

The Beloved

5 I ^(V)have come to my garden, my ^(W)sister, my spouse;
I have gathered my myrrh with my spice;
^(X)I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey;
I have drunk my wine with my milk.

(To His Friends)

Eat, O ^(Y)friends!
Drink, yes, drink deeply,
O beloved ones!

The Shulamite’s Troubled Evening

The Shulamite

²I sleep, but my heart is awake;
It is the voice of my beloved!
^(Z)He knocks, saying,
“Open for me, my sister, ^[h]my love,
My dove, my perfect one;
For my head is covered with dew,
My ^[i]locks with the drops of the night.”

³I have taken off my robe;
How can I put it on again?
I have washed my feet;
How can I ^[j]defile them?
⁴My beloved put his hand
By the ^[k]latch of the door,
And my heart yearned for him.
⁵I arose to open for my beloved,
And my hands dripped with myrrh,
My fingers with liquid myrrh,
On the handles of the lock.

⁶I opened for my beloved,
But my beloved had turned away and was gone.
My ^[l]heart leaped up when he spoke.
^(AA)I sought him, but I could not find him;
I called him, but he gave me no answer.
⁷^(AB)The watchmen who went about the city found me.
They struck me, they wounded me;
The keepers of the walls
Took my veil away from me.
⁸I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
If you find my beloved,
That you tell him I am lovesick!

The Daughters of Jerusalem

⁹What is your beloved
More than another beloved,
^(AC)O fairest among women?
What is your beloved
More than another beloved,
That you so ^[m]charge us?

The Shulamite

¹⁰My beloved is white and ruddy,
^[n]Chief among ten thousand.
¹¹His head is like the finest gold;
His locks are wavy,
And black as a raven.
¹²^(AD)His eyes are like doves
By the rivers of waters,
Washed with milk,
And ^[o]fitly set.
¹³His cheeks are like a bed of spices,
Banks of scented herbs.
His lips are lilies,
Dripping liquid myrrh.

¹⁴His hands are rods of gold
Set with beryl.
His body is carved ivory
Inlaid with sapphires.
¹⁵His legs are pillars of marble
Set on bases of fine gold.
His countenance is like Lebanon,
Excellent as the cedars.
¹⁶His mouth is most sweet,
Yes, he is altogether lovely.
This is my beloved,
And this is my friend,
O daughters of Jerusalem!