Song of Solomon 3:1-5:9

English Standard Version

The Bride's Dream

3 On my bed ^(A)by night
I sought ^(B)him whom my soul loves;
    ^(C)I sought him, but found him not.
²I will rise now and go about the city,
    in ^(D)the streets and in the squares;
I will seek ^(E)him whom my soul loves.
    I sought him, but found him not.
³^(F)The watchmen found me
    as they went about in the city.
“Have you seen him whom my soul loves?”
⁴Scarcely had I passed them
    when I found ^(G)him whom my soul loves.
I ^(H)held him, and would not let him go
    until I had ^(I)brought him into my mother's house,
    and into the chamber of ^(J)her who conceived me.
⁵^(K)I adjure you, ^(L)O daughters of Jerusalem,
    ^(M)by the gazelles or the does of the field,
that you not stir up or awaken love
    until it pleases.

Solomon Arrives for the Wedding

⁶^(N)What is that coming up from the wilderness
    like ^(O)columns of smoke,
perfumed with ^(P)myrrh and frankincense,
    with all the fragrant powders of a merchant?
⁷Behold, it is the litter^[a] of Solomon!
Around it are ^(Q)sixty ^(R)mighty men,
    some of the mighty men of Israel,
⁸all of them wearing swords
    and expert in war,
each with his ^(S)sword at his thigh,
    against ^(T)terror by night.
⁹King Solomon made himself a carriage^[b]
    from the wood of Lebanon.
¹⁰He made its posts of silver,
    its back of gold, its seat of purple;
its interior was inlaid with love
    by ^(U)the daughters of Jerusalem.
¹¹Go out, O ^(V)daughters of Zion,
    and look upon King Solomon,
with the crown with which his mother crowned him
    on ^(W)the day of his wedding,
    on the day of the gladness of his heart.

Solomon Admires His Bride's Beauty

He

4 Behold, ^(X)you are beautiful, my love,
    behold, you are beautiful!
^(Y)Your eyes are doves
    ^(Z)behind your veil.
^(AA)Your hair is like a flock of goats
    leaping down ^(AB)the slopes of Gilead.
²Your ^(AC)teeth are like a flock of shorn ewes
    that have come up from the washing,
all of which bear twins,
    and not one among them has lost its young.
³Your lips are like ^(AD)a scarlet thread,
    and your mouth is ^(AE)lovely.
Your ^(AF)cheeks are like halves of a pomegranate
    ^(AG)behind your veil.
⁴Your ^(AH)neck is like the tower of David,
    built in ^(AI)rows of stone;^[c]
on it ^(AJ)hang a thousand shields,
    all of ^(AK)them shields of warriors.
⁵Your ^(AL)two breasts are like two ^(AM)fawns,
    twins of a gazelle,
    that ^(AN)graze among the lilies.
⁶^(AO)Until the day breathes
    and the shadows flee,
I will go away to the mountain of ^(AP)myrrh
    and the hill of ^(AQ)frankincense.
⁷^(AR)You are altogether beautiful, my love;
    there is no ^(AS)flaw in you.
⁸^(AT)Come with me from ^(AU)Lebanon, my ^(AV)bride;
    come with me from ^(AW)Lebanon.
Depart^[d] from the peak of Amana,
    from the peak of ^(AX)Senir and ^(AY)Hermon,
from the dens of lions,
    from the mountains of leopards.

⁹You have captivated my heart, my ^(AZ)sister, my bride;
    you have captivated my heart with one glance of your eyes,
    with one ^(BA)jewel of your necklace.
¹⁰How beautiful is your love, my ^(BB)sister, my bride!
    How much ^(BC)better is your love than wine,
    and ^(BD)the fragrance of your oils than any spice!
¹¹Your ^(BE)lips drip nectar, my bride;
    ^(BF)honey and milk are under your tongue;
    the fragrance of your garments is ^(BG)like the fragrance of ^(BH)Lebanon.
¹²A garden locked is my ^(BI)sister, my bride,
    a spring locked, ^(BJ)a fountain ^(BK)sealed.
¹³Your shoots are ^(BL)an orchard of pomegranates
    with all ^(BM)choicest fruits,
    ^(BN)henna with ^(BO)nard,
¹⁴nard and saffron, ^(BP)calamus and ^(BQ)cinnamon,
    with all trees of ^(BR)frankincense,
^(BS)myrrh and ^(BT)aloes,
    with all ^(BU)choice spices—
¹⁵a garden fountain, a well of ^(BV)living water,
    and flowing streams from ^(BW)Lebanon.

¹⁶Awake, O north wind,
and come, O south wind!
Blow upon my ^(BX)garden,
let its spices flow.

Together in the Garden of Love

She

^(BY)Let my beloved come to his ^(BZ)garden,
and eat its ^(CA)choicest fruits.

He

5 I ^(CB)came to my garden, my ^(CC)sister, my bride,
    I gathered my ^(CD)myrrh with my spice,
    I ate my ^(CE)honeycomb with my honey,
    I ^(CF)drank my wine with my milk.

Others

Eat, ^(CG)friends, drink,
and be drunk with love!

The Bride Searches for Her Beloved

She

²I slept, but my heart was awake.
A sound! My beloved is ^(CH)knocking.
“Open to me, my ^(CI)sister, my ^(CJ)love,
    my ^(CK)dove, my ^(CL)perfect one,
for my head is wet with dew,
    my ^(CM)locks with the drops of the night.”
³^(CN)I had put off my garment;
    how could I put it on?
I had ^(CO)bathed my feet;
    how could I soil them?
⁴My beloved put his hand to the latch,
    and my heart was thrilled within me.
⁵I arose to open to my beloved,
    and my hands dripped with myrrh,
my fingers with ^(CP)liquid myrrh,
    on the handles of the bolt.
⁶I opened to my beloved,
    but my beloved had turned and gone.
My soul failed me when he ^(CQ)spoke.
^(CR)I sought him, but found him not;
    ^(CS)I called him, but he gave no answer.
⁷^(CT)The watchmen found me
    as they went about in the city;
they beat me, they bruised me,
    they took away my veil,
    those watchmen of the walls.
⁸I ^(CU)adjure you, O ^(CV)daughters of Jerusalem,
    if you find my beloved,
that you tell him
    ^(CW)I am sick with love.

Others

⁹What is your beloved more than another beloved,
O ^(CX)most beautiful among women?
What is your beloved more than another beloved,
that you thus ^(CY)adjure us?