Song Of Solomon 3

AMP — Amplified Bible (AMP)

NLT — New Living Translation Bible (NLT)

Verse 1

“On my bed night after night [I dreamed that] I sought the one
Whom my soul loves;
I sought him but did not find him.

One night as I lay in bed, I yearned for my lover.
I yearned for him, but he did not come.

Verse 2

“I said ‘So I must arise now and go out into the city;
Into the streets and into the squares [places I do not know]
I must seek him whom my soul loves.’
I sought him but I did not find him.

So I said to myself, “I will get up and roam the city,
searching in all its streets and squares.
I will search for the one I love.”
So I searched everywhere but did not find him.

Verse 3

“The watchmen who go around the city found me,
And I said, ‘Have you seen him whom my soul loves?’

The watchmen stopped me as they made their rounds,
and I asked, “Have you seen the one I love?”

Verse 4

“Scarcely had I passed 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 chamber of her who conceived me.”

(The Bridegroom)

Then scarcely had I left them
    when I found my love!
I caught and held him tightly,
    then I brought him to my mother’s house,
    into my mother’s bed, where I had been conceived.

Verse 5

“I command that you take an oath, O daughters of Jerusalem,
By the gazelles or by the does of the field,
That you do not rouse nor awaken my love
Until she pleases.”

Solomon’s Wedding Day

(The Shulammite Bride)

Promise me, O women of Jerusalem,
by the gazelles and wild deer,
not to awaken love until the time is right.^[a]

Young Women of Jerusalem

Verse 6

“What is this coming up from the wilderness
Like [stately] pillars of smoke
Perfumed with myrrh and frankincense,
With all the fragrant powders of the merchant?”

(The Chorus)

Who is this sweeping in from the wilderness
like a cloud of smoke?
Who is it, fragrant with myrrh and frankincense
and every kind of spice?

Verse 7

“Behold, it is the couch (^[a]palanquin) of Solomon;
Sixty mighty men around it,
Of the mighty men of Israel.

Look, it is Solomon’s carriage,
surrounded by sixty heroic men,
the best of Israel’s soldiers.

Verse 8

“All of them handle the sword,
All expert in war;
Each man has his sword at his thigh,
Guarding against the terrors of the night.

They are all skilled swordsmen,
experienced warriors.
Each wears a sword on his thigh,
ready to defend the king against an attack in the night.

Verse 9

“King Solomon has made for himself a palanquin
From the [cedar] wood of Lebanon.

King Solomon’s carriage is built
of wood imported from Lebanon.

Verse 10

“He made its posts of silver,
Its back of gold,
Its seat of purple cloth,
The interior lovingly and intricately wrought
By the daughters of Jerusalem.

Its posts are silver,
    its canopy gold;
    its cushions are purple.
It was decorated with love
    by the young women of Jerusalem.

Young Woman

Verse 11

“Go forth, O daughters of Zion,
And gaze on King Solomon wearing the crown
With which his mother [Bathsheba] has crowned him
On the day of his wedding,
On the day of his gladness of heart.”

Come out to see King Solomon,
young women of Jerusalem.^[b]
He wears the crown his mother gave him on his wedding day,
his most joyous day.