Passage

Song of Solomon 3

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"1. By night on my bed I sought him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, but I found him not. 2. I said, I will rise now, and go about the city; In the streets and in the broad ways I will seek him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, but I found him not. 3. The watchmen that go about the city found me; To whom I said, Saw ye him whom my soul loveth? 4. It was but a little that I passed from them, When I found him whom my soul loveth: I held him, and would not let him go, Until I had brought him into my mother's house, And into the chamber of her that conceived me. 5. I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, By the roes, or by the hinds of the field, That ye stir not up, nor awake my love, Until he please. 6. Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness Like pillars of smoke, Perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, With all powders of the merchant? 7. Behold, it is the litter Threescore mighty men are about it, Of the mighty men of Israel. 8. They all handle the sword, and are expert in war: Every man hath his sword upon his thigh, Because of fear in the night. 9. King Solomon made himself a palanquin Of the wood of Lebanon. 10. He made the pillars thereof of silver, The bottom thereof of gold, the seat of it of purple, The midst thereof being paved with love, From the daughters of Jerusalem. 11. Go forth, O ye daughters of Zion, and behold king Solomon, With the crown wherewith his mother hath crowned him In the day of his espousals, And in the day of the gladness of his heart." (Song of Solomon 3:1-11, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"1. By night on my bed, I sought him whom my soul loves. I sought him, but I didn’t find him. 2. I will get up now, and go about the city; in the streets and in the squares I will seek him whom my soul loves. I sought him, but I didn’t find him. 3. The watchmen who go about the city found me; “Have you seen him whom my soul loves?” 4. I had scarcely passed from them, when I found him whom my soul loves. I held him, and would not let him go, until I had brought him into my mother’s house, into the room of her who conceived me. 5. I adjure you, daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes, or by the hinds of the field, that you not stir up, nor awaken love, until it so desires. 6. Who is this who comes up from the wilderness like pillars of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, with all spices of the merchant? 7. Behold, it is Solomon’s carriage! Sixty mighty men are around it, of the mighty men of Israel. 8. They all handle the sword, and are expert in war. Every man has his sword on his thigh, because of fear in the night. 9. King Solomon made himself a carriage of the wood of Lebanon. 10. He made its pillars of silver, its bottom of gold, its seat of purple, the middle of it being paved with love, from the daughters of Jerusalem. 11. Go out, you daughters of Zion, and see king Solomon, with the crown with which his mother has crowned him, in the day of his weddings, in the day of the gladness of his heart." (Song of Solomon 3:1-11, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"1. By night on my bed I sought him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, but I found him not. 2. I will rise now, and go about the city in the streets, and in the broad ways I will seek him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, but I found him not. 3. The watchmen that go about the city found me: to whom I said, Saw ye him whom my soul loveth? 4. It was but a little that I passed from them, but I found him whom my soul loveth: I held him, and would not let him go, until I had brought him into my mother's house, and into the chamber of her that conceived me. 5. I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes, and by the hinds of the field, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, till he please. 6. Who is this that cometh out of the wilderness like pillars of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, with all powders of the merchant? 7. Behold his bed, which is Solomon's; threescore valiant men are about it, of the valiant of Israel. 8. They all hold swords, being expert in war: every man hath his sword upon his thigh because of fear in the night. 9. King Solomon made himself a chariot of the wood of Lebanon. ^{a chariot: or, a bed} 10. He made the pillars thereof of silver, the bottom thereof of gold, the covering of it of purple, the midst thereof being paved with love, for the daughters of Jerusalem. 11. Go forth, O ye daughters of Zion, and behold king Solomon with the crown wherewith his mother crowned him in the day of his espousals, and in the day of the gladness of his heart." (Song of Solomon 3:1-11, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"1. On my couch by night, I sought him whom my soul hath loved; I sought him, and I found him not! 2., Pray, let me rise, and go round the city, In the streets and in the broad places, I seek him whom my soul hath loved!, I sought him, and I found him not. 3. The watchmen have found me, (Who are going round about the city), 'Him whom my soul have loved saw ye?' 4. But a little I passed on from them, Till I found him whom my soul hath loved! I seized him, and let him not go, Till I brought him in unto the house of my mother, And the chamber of her that conceived me. 5. I have adjured you, daughters of Jerusalem, By the roes or by the hinds of the field, Stir not up nor wake the love till she please! 6. Who [is] this coming up from the wilderness, Like palm-trees of smoke, Perfumed [with] myrrh and frankincense, From every powder of the merchant? 7. Lo, his couch, that [is] Solomon's, Sixty mighty ones [are] around it, Of the mighty of Israel, 8. All of them holding sword, taught of battle, Each his sword by his thigh, for fear at night. 9. A palanquin king Solomon made for himself, Of the wood of Lebanon, 10. Its pillars he made of silver, Its bottom of gold, its seat of purple, Its midst lined [with] love, By the daughters of Jerusalem. 11. Go forth, and look, ye daughters of Zion, On king Solomon, with the crown, With which his mother crowned him, In the day of his espousals, And in the day of the joy of his heart!" (Song of Solomon 3:1-11, YLT)

Setting

Speaker: TBD
Audience: TBD
Location: TBD
Time period: TBD

Theological reading

Patristic / early-church-father exegesis, to be added.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap.

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Quoted in

H5650 - ebed

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.