Song 3 | HCSB | STEP | In my bed at night I sought the one I love ; I sought him, but did not find him.

‏ Song of Solomon 3

1 In my bed at night ^{▼▼Or bed night after night}

I sought the one I love; ^b
I sought him, but did not find him. ^{▼▼LXX adds I called him, but he did not answer me
,} ^d
2 I will arise now and go about the city,
through the streets and the plazas. ^e
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. ^f
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 ^g –
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. ^{▼▼Lit until it pleases
,} ⁱ

6 N : What is this ^j coming up from the wilderness
like columns of smoke,
scented with myrrh and frankincense ^k
from every fragrant powder of the merchant?
7 It is Solomon’s royal litter ^{▼▼A conveyance carried on the shoulders of servants}
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 ^m
to guard against the terror of the night. ⁿ

9 King Solomon made a sedan chair ^{▼▼In Hb, the term sedan chair is possibly a synonym for “litter”; it is also called a palanquin.} for himself
with wood from Lebanon.
10 He made its posts of silver,
its back ^{▼▼Or base, or canopy} of gold,
and its seat of purple.
Its interior is inlaid with love ^{▼▼Or leather}
by the young women of Jerusalem. ^r
11 Come out, young women of ^{▼▼Zion: Originally a term for the fortified section of Jerusalem and then, by extension, used for the temple and the city of Jerusalem both in the present time and in the future}Zion, ^t
and gaze at King Solomon,
wearing the crown his mother placed on him
the day of his wedding ^u –
the day of his heart’s rejoicing.