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

Song of Solomon 3

The Bride's Dream

1 On my bed at night I sought the one I love; I sought him but did not find him. 2 I will arise now and go about the city, through the streets and squares. I will seek the one I love. So I sought him but did not find him. 3 I encountered the watchmen on their rounds of the city: “Have you seen [the one] I love?” 4 I had just passed them when I found the one I love. I held him and would not let go until I had brought him to my mother’s house, to the chamber of the one who conceived me. 5 O daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you by the gazelles and does of the field: Do not arouse or awaken love until the time is right.

Solomon Arrives on His Wedding Day

6 Who is this coming up from the wilderness like a column of smoke, scented with myrrh and frankincense from all the spices of the merchant? 7 Behold, it is Solomon’s carriage, ^{▼▼That is, the couch on which servants carry a king} escorted by sixty warriors from the valiant of Israel. 8 All are skilled with the sword, experienced in warfare. Each has his sword at his side prepared for the terror of night. 9 King Solomon has made his carriage out of the timber of Lebanon. 10 He has made its posts of silver, its base of gold, its seat of purple [fabric] . Its interior is inlaid with love by the daughters of Jerusalem. 11 Come out, O daughters of Zion, and gaze at King Solomon, wearing the crown his mother bestowed on the day of his wedding— the day of his heart’s rejoicing.