Song 3 | LEB | STEP | On my bed in the night, I sought him whom my ⌞heart⌟ loves. I sought him, but I did not find him.

Song of Solomon 3

Maiden’s Dream (?): Seeking and Finding

1 On my bed in the night,
I sought ^{▼▼Or “I seek”} him whom my ⌞heart⌟ ^{▼▼Literally “soul”} loves.
I sought him, but I did not find him.
2 Now I will arise, and I will go about in the city,
in the streets and in the squares;
I will seek him whom my ⌞heart⌟ ^{▼▼Literally “soul”} loves.
I sought him, but I did not find him.
3 The sentinels who go about in the city found me.
“Have you seen the one whom my ⌞heart⌟ ^{▼▼Literally “soul”} loves?”
4 ⌞Scarcely had I passed⌟ ^{▼▼Literally “As little that I passed”} by them
when I found him whom my ⌞heart⌟ ^{▼▼Literally “soul”} loves.
I held him and I would not let him go
until I brought him to the house of my mother,
into the bedroom chamber of she who conceived me.

Adjuration Refrain

5 I adjure you, ⌞O maidens of Jerusalem⌟, ^{▼▼Literally “O daughters of Jerusalem”}
by the gazelles or by the does of the field,
do not arouse or awaken love until it pleases! ^{▼▼Or “Do not stir up or awaken the love until it is willing,” or “Do not disturb or interrupt our love-making until it is satisfied”}

Royal Wedding Procession

6 What is this coming up from the desert
like a column of smoke,
perfumed with myrrh and frankincense
from all the fragrant powders of the merchant?
7 Look! It is Solomon’s ⌞portable couch⌟! ^{▼▼Literally “couch” or “portable sedan chair”}
Sixty mighty men surround ⌞it⌟, ^{▼▼Literally “her”}
the mighty men of Israel.
8 All of them ⌞wield swords⌟; ^{▼▼Literally “holders of sword”}
they are ⌞trained in warfare⌟, ^{▼▼Literally “learnt of war”}
each with his sword at his thigh
to guard ⌞against terror⌟ ^{▼▼Literally “because of the fear”} in the night.
9 ⌞King Solomon⌟ ^{▼▼Literally “The king, Solomon”} made for himself a sedan chair
from the wood of Lebanon.
10 He made its column of silver, its back ^{▼▼Or “its support,” “its base,” “its headrest,” “its litter,” “its cover”} of gold, its seat of purple;
its interior is inlaid with leather ^{▼▼Or “love.” The Hebrew term here translated “leather” is spelled the same as the term for “love.” Most likely this is an example of a word play that puns on the intentional ambiguity: “Its interior was inlaid with leather
love by the maidens of Jerusalem”} by ⌞the maidens of Jerusalem⌟. ^{▼▼Literally “by the daughters of Jerusalem”}
11 Come out and look, ⌞O maidens of Zion⌟, ^{▼▼Literally “O daughters of Zion”} at ⌞King Solomon⌟, ^{▼▼Literally “the king, Solomon”}
at the crown with which his mother crowned him
on the day of his wedding,
on the day of the joy of his heart!