The Bride’s Troubled Dream
1“[a]On my bed night after night I sought him
Whom my soul loves;
I sought him but did not find him.
2 ‘[b]I must arise now and [c]go about the city;
In the streets and in the squares
[d]I must seek him whom my soul loves.’
I sought him but did not find him.
3 “The watchmen who make the rounds in the city found me,
And I said, ‘Have you seen him whom my soul loves?’
4 “Scarcely had I [e]left them
When I found him whom my soul loves;
I held on to him and would not let him go
Until I had brought him to my mother’s house,
And into the room of her who conceived me.”
5 “[f]I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
By the gazelles or by the hinds of the field,
That you will not arouse or awaken my love
Until [g]she pleases.”
Solomon’s Wedding Day
6 “[h][i]What is this coming up from the wilderness
Like columns of smoke,
Perfumed with myrrh and frankincense,
With all scented powders of the merchant?
7 “Behold, it is the traveling couch of Solomon;
Sixty mighty men around it,
Of the mighty men of Israel.
8 “All of them are wielders of the sword,
Expert in war;
Each man has his sword at his side,
Guarding against the [j]terrors of the night.
9 “King Solomon has made for himself a sedan chair
From the timber of Lebanon.
10 “He made its posts of silver,
Its [k]back of gold
And its seat of purple fabric,
With its interior lovingly fitted out
By the daughters of Jerusalem.
11 “Go forth, O daughters of Zion,
And gaze on King Solomon with the [l]crown
With which his mother has crowned him
On the day of his wedding,
And on the day of his gladness of heart.”
Footnotes
- Song of Solomon 3:1 BRIDE
- Song of Solomon 3:2 Or Let me arise
- Song of Solomon 3:2 Or Let me arise
- Song of Solomon 3:2 Or Let me seek
- Song of Solomon 3:4 Lit passed
- Song of Solomon 3:5 BRIDEGROOM
- Song of Solomon 3:5 Or it
- Song of Solomon 3:6 CHORUS
- Song of Solomon 3:6 Lit Who
- Song of Solomon 3:8 Lit terror in the nights
- Song of Solomon 3:10 Or support
- Song of Solomon 3:11 Or wreath