3 In my bed at night[a]
I sought the one I love;(A)
I sought him, but did not find him.[b](B)
2 I will arise now and go about the city,
through the streets and the plazas.(C)
I will seek the one I love.
I sought him, but did not find him.
3 The guards who go about the city found me.(D)
I asked them, “Have you seen the one I love?”
4 I had just passed them
when I found the one I love.
I held on to him and would not let him go
until I brought him to my mother’s house(E)—
to the chamber of the one who conceived me.
5 Young women of Jerusalem, I charge you
by the gazelles and the wild does of the field:
do not stir up or awaken love
until the appropriate time.[c](F)
6 N What is this(G) coming up from the wilderness
like columns of smoke,
scented with myrrh and frankincense(H)
from every fragrant powder of the merchant?
7 It is Solomon’s royal litter[d]
surrounded by 60 warriors
from the mighty of Israel.
8 All of them are skilled with swords
and trained in warfare.
Each has his sword at his side(I)
to guard against the terror of the night.(J)
9 King Solomon made a sedan chair[e] for himself
with wood from Lebanon.
10 He made its posts of silver,
its back[f] of gold,
and its seat of purple.
Its interior is inlaid with love[g]
by the young women of Jerusalem.(K)
11 Come out, young women of Zion,(L)
and gaze at King Solomon,
wearing the crown his mother placed on him
the day of his wedding(M)—
the day of his heart’s rejoicing.
Footnotes
- Song of Solomon 3:1 Or bed night after night
- Song of Solomon 3:1 LXX adds I called him, but he did not answer me
- Song of Solomon 3:5 Lit until it pleases
- Song of Solomon 3:7 A conveyance carried on the shoulders of servants
- Song of Solomon 3:9 In Hb, the term sedan chair is possibly a synonym for “litter”; it is also called a palanquin.
- Song of Solomon 3:10 Or base, or canopy
- Song of Solomon 3:10 Or leather