Font Size
Song of Solomon 3
International Standard Version
Song of Solomon 3
International Standard Version
The Loved One
3 Night after night on my bed,
I sought the one I love;
I sought him, but didn’t find him.
2 I’ll get up and go all around the city,
throughout the streets, and in the squares.
I’ll seek the one I love.
I sought him, but didn’t find him.
3 The watchmen who go all around the city found me.
I asked,[a] “Have you seen the one I love?”
4 I had just passed them
when I found the one I love.
I held him and wouldn’t let him go
until I brought him to my mother’s house,
to the room of the one who conceived me.
5 Swear to me, young women of Jerusalem,
by the gazelles or by the does of the field,
that you won’t awaken or arouse love
before its proper time![b]
The Lover Arrives
6 What[c] is this coming up from the desert
like columns of smoke,
perfumed with myrrh[d] and incense[e]
from all the fragrant powders of the merchant?
7 Look! It’s Solomon’s sedan chair,[f]
with 60 of the best soldiers in Israel[g] surrounding it.
8 All of them are wearing swords and are
experienced in battle.
Each has his sword on his thigh,
ready for the terror of the night.[h]
9 King Solomon made the sedan chair for himself
from the trees of Lebanon.
10 He made its posts of silver,
its back of gold.
Its seat was purple,
and its interior was lovingly inlaid
by the young women of Jerusalem.
11 Come out, young women of Zion,
and see King Solomon with the crown
with which his mother crowned him
on his wedding day—
his day of great delight.[i]
Footnotes
- Song of Solomon 3:3 The Heb. lacks I asked
- Song of Solomon 3:5 Lit. until it pleases
- Song of Solomon 3:6 Or Who
- Song of Solomon 3:6 Myrrh was a fragrant spice used as a perfume.
- Song of Solomon 3:6 Or frankincense
- Song of Solomon 3:7 Or palanquin; i.e. a portable compartment for carrying important people.
- Song of Solomon 3:7 Lit. mighty men from the mighty men of Israel
- Song of Solomon 3:8 Lit. thigh, from the terror of the night
- Song of Solomon 3:11 Lit. day of the rejoicing of his heart
Song of Songs 3
New International Version
Song of Songs 3
New International Version
3 All night long on my bed
I looked(A) for the one my heart loves;
I looked for him but did not find him.
2 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.
3 The watchmen found me
as they made their rounds in the city.(B)
“Have you seen the one my heart loves?”
4 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)
5 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)
6 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?
7 Look! It is Solomon’s carriage,
escorted by sixty warriors,(J)
the noblest of Israel,
8 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)
9 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
- Song of Songs 3:11 Or interior lovingly inlaid / by the daughters of Jerusalem. / 11 Come out, you daughters of Zion, / and look
International Standard Version (ISV) 
Copyright © 1995-2014 by ISV Foundation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. Used by permission of Davidson Press, LLC.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.