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The Woman Dreams

·At night [or During many nights] on my bed,
    I ·looked [searched] for the one ·I love [my soul loves];
    I ·looked [searched] for him, but I could not find him.
I ·got [rose] up and went around the city,
    in the streets and ·squares [public areas],
·looking [searching] for the one ·I love [my soul loves].
    I ·looked [searched] for him, but I could not find him.
The ·watchmen [guards; C ancient equivalent to the police] found me as they patrolled the city,
    so I asked, “Have you seen the one ·I love [L my soul loves]?”
·As soon as [or A little while after] I had left them,
    I found the one ·I love [L my soul loves].
I ·held [seized; grabbed] him and would not let him go
    until I brought him to my mother’s house,
to the room where ·I was born [L she conceived me; 8:2].

The Woman Speaks to the Friends

·Women [L Daughters] of Jerusalem [1:5], ·promise me [I adjure you]
    by the gazelles and the deer of the field [C in Hebrew sounds like “by the (Lord) of Hosts” or “by God Almighty”]
not to awaken
    or ·excite [arouse] love
    until it ·is ready [so desires; C likely a warning to the women to wait for love until the right person comes along; 2:7; 8:4].
·Who [or What] is this coming out of the ·desert [wilderness]
    like a ·cloud [pillar] of smoke?
·Who is this that smells like [L …perfumed with] myrrh, ·incense [frankincense],
    and ·other spices [L from all the scented powders of the trader]?
Look, it’s Solomon’s ·couch [palanquin; litter; C a bed carried by servants]
    with sixty soldiers around it,
    the ·finest soldiers [heroes; mighty men] of Israel.
These soldiers all carry swords
    and have been trained in war.
Every man wears a sword at his ·side [thigh]
    and is ready for the dangers of the night.
King Solomon had a ·couch [litter; v. 7] made for himself
    of wood from Lebanon.
10 He made its posts of silver
    and its ·braces [canopy] of gold.
The seat was covered with purple [C the color of royalty] cloth
    that the ·women [L daughters] of Jerusalem [1:5] ·wove [inlaid its interior] with love.
11 ·Women [L Daughters] of ·Jerusalem [L Zion; 1:5], go out and see King Solomon.
    He is wearing the crown his mother put on his head
on his wedding day,
    when his heart was happy!

All night long on my bed
    I looked(A) for the one my heart loves;
    I looked for him but did not find him.
I will get up now and go about the city,
    through its streets and squares;
I will search for the one my heart loves.
    So I looked for him but did not find him.
The watchmen found me
    as they made their rounds in the city.(B)
    “Have you seen the one my heart loves?”
Scarcely had I passed them
    when I found the one my heart loves.
I held him and would not let him go
    till I had brought him to my mother’s house,(C)
    to the room of the one who conceived me.(D)
Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you(E)
    by the gazelles and by the does of the field:
Do not arouse or awaken love
    until it so desires.(F)

Who is this coming up from the wilderness(G)
    like a column of smoke,
perfumed with myrrh(H) and incense
    made from all the spices(I) of the merchant?
Look! It is Solomon’s carriage,
    escorted by sixty warriors,(J)
    the noblest of Israel,
all of them wearing the sword,
    all experienced in battle,
each with his sword at his side,
    prepared for the terrors of the night.(K)
King Solomon made for himself the carriage;
    he made it of wood from Lebanon.
10 Its posts he made of silver,
    its base of gold.
Its seat was upholstered with purple,
    its interior inlaid with love.
Daughters of Jerusalem, 11 come out,
    and look, you daughters of Zion.(L)
Look[a] on King Solomon wearing a crown,
    the crown with which his mother crowned him
on the day of his wedding,
    the day his heart rejoiced.(M)

Footnotes

  1. Song of Songs 3:11 Or interior lovingly inlaid / by the daughters of Jerusalem. / 11 Come out, you daughters of Zion, / and look