Song of Solomon 3:1-9

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

2 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.

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

4 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.

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

6 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?

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

8 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.

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

Song of Solomon 3:1-9 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO SONG OF SOLOMON 3

In this chapter an account is given of an adventure of the church, in quest of her beloved; of the time when, and places where, and the persons of whom she sought him; and of her success upon the whole; with a charge she give to the daughters of Jerusalem, So 3:1-5; by whom she is commended, So 3:6; and then Christ, her beloved, is described by her; by his bed, and the guard about it, So 3:7,8; by the chariot he rode in, So 3:9,10; and by the crown he wore on his coronation day, So 3:11.

Footnotes

• [a]. Or not to awaken love until it is ready.