Song of Solomon 3:1–4:16

A Troubled Night

The Shulamite

3 By anight on my bed I sought the one I love;

I sought him, but I did not find him.

2 “I will rise now,” I said,

“And go about the city;

In the streets and in the squares

I will seek the one I love.”

I sought him, but I did not find him.

3 bThe watchmen who go about the city found me;

I said,

“Have you seen the one I love?”

4 Scarcely had I passed by them,

When I found the one I love.

I held him and would not let him go,

Until I had brought him to the chouse of my mother,

And into the 1chamber of her who conceived me.

5 dI 2charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem,

By the gazelles or by the does of the field,

Do not stir up nor awaken love

Until it pleases.

The Coming of Solomon

The Shulamite

6 eWho is this coming out of the wilderness

Like pillars of smoke,

Perfumed with myrrh and frankincense,

With all the merchant’s fragrant powders?

7 Behold, it is Solomon’s couch,

With sixty valiant men around it,

Of the valiant of Israel.

8 They all hold swords,

Being expert in war.

Every man has his sword on his thigh

Because of fear in the night.

9 Of the wood of Lebanon

Solomon the King

Made himself a 3palanquin:

10 He made its pillars of silver,

Its support of gold,

Its seat of purple,

Its interior paved with love

By the daughters of Jerusalem.

11 Go forth, O daughters of Zion,

And see King Solomon with the crown

With which his mother crowned him

On the day of his wedding,

The day of the gladness of his heart.

The Beloved

4 Behold, ayou are fair, my love!

Behold, you are fair!

You have dove’s eyes behind your veil.

Your hair is like a bflock of goats,

Going down from Mount Gilead.

2 cYour teeth are like a flock of shorn sheep

Which have come up from the washing,

Every one of which bears twins,

And none is 1barren among them.

3 Your lips are like a strand of scarlet,

And your mouth is lovely.

dYour temples behind your veil

Are like a piece of pomegranate.

4 eYour neck is like the tower of David,

Built ffor an armory,

On which hang a thousand 2bucklers,

All shields of mighty men.

5 gYour two breasts are like two fawns,

Twins of a gazelle,

Which feed among the lilies.

6 hUntil the day breaks

And the shadows flee away,

I will go my way to the mountain of myrrh

And to the hill of frankincense.

7 iYou are all fair, my love,

And there is no spot in you.

8 Come with me from Lebanon, my spouse,

With me from Lebanon.

Look from the top of Amana,

From the top of Senir jand Hermon,

From the lions’ dens,

From the mountains of the leopards.

9 You have ravished my heart,

My sister, my spouse;

You have ravished my heart

With one look of your eyes,

With one link of your necklace.

10 How fair is your love,

My sister, my spouse!

kHow much better than wine is your love,

And the 3scent of your perfumes

Than all spices!

11 Your lips, O my spouse,

Drip as the honeycomb;

lHoney and milk are under your tongue;

And the fragrance of your garments

Is mlike the fragrance of Lebanon.

12 A garden 4enclosed

Is my sister, my spouse,

A spring shut up,

A fountain sealed.

13 Your plants are an orchard of pomegranates

With pleasant fruits,

Fragrant henna with spikenard,

14 Spikenard and saffron,

Calamus and cinnamon,

With all trees of frankincense,

Myrrh and aloes,

With all the chief spices—

15 A fountain of gardens,

A well of nliving waters,

And streams from Lebanon.

The Shulamite

16 Awake, O north wind,

And come, O south!

Blow upon my garden,

That its spices may flow out.

oLet my beloved come to his garden

And eat its pleasant pfruits.