Song of Songs 3
New International Reader's Version
3 “All night long on my bed
I searched for the one my heart loves.
I looked for him but didn’t find him.
2 I will get up and go around in the city.
I’ll look through all of its streets.
I’ll search for the one my heart loves.
So I looked for him but didn’t find him.
3 Those on guard duty found me
as they were walking around in the city.
‘Have you seen the one my heart loves?’ I asked.
4 As soon as I had passed by them
I found the one my heart loves.
I threw my arms around him and didn’t let him go
until I had brought him to my mother’s house.
I took him to my mother’s room.
5 Women of Jerusalem, make me a promise.
Let the antelopes and the does serve as witnesses.
Don’t stir up love.
Don’t wake it up until it’s ready.
6 “Who is this man coming up from the desert
like a column of smoke?
He smells like myrrh and incense
made from all the spices of the trader.
7 Look! There’s Solomon’s movable throne.
Sixty soldiers accompany it.
They have been chosen from the best warriors in Israel.
8 All of them are wearing swords.
They have fought many battles.
Each one has his sword at his side.
Each is prepared for the terrors of the night.
9 King Solomon made the movable throne for himself.
He made it out of wood from Lebanon.
10 He formed its posts out of silver.
He made its base out of gold.
Its seat was covered with purple cloth.
It was decorated inside with love.
Women of Jerusalem, 11 come out.
“Look, you women of Zion.
Look at King Solomon wearing his crown.
His mother placed it on him.
She did it on his wedding day.
His heart was full of joy.”
Song of Solomon 3
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?”
4 Scarcely 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?
7 Behold, it is Solomon’s couch,
With sixty valiant men around it,
Of the valiant of Israel.
8 They all hold swords,
Being expert in war.
Every man has his sword on his thigh
Because of fear in the night.
9 Of the wood of Lebanon
Solomon the King
Made himself a [c]palanquin:
10 He made its pillars of silver,
Its support of gold,
Its seat of purple,
Its interior paved with love
By the daughters of Jerusalem.
11 Go 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.
Footnotes
- Song of Solomon 3:4 room
- Song of Solomon 3:5 adjure
- Song of Solomon 3:9 A portable enclosed chair
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Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
