What does the chapter actually say?
Identify the explicit claims before importing later doctrine or assumptions.
SONG OF SOLOMON • CHAPTER 3
Song of Solomon 3
Erotic love poetry, desire, beauty, longing, mutual attraction, separation, and reunion.
READ THE CHAPTER
Song of Solomon 3
WORLD ENGLISH BIBLE
The complete biblical text below is stored on this website.
You do not need to leave The Bible for Smart People to read it.
1
By night on my bed,
I sought him whom my soul loves.
I sought him, but I didn’t find him.
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.
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?”
“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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
POETRY
Where this chapter fits
Song of Solomon belongs to Israel's wisdom/poetic tradition, where literary form matters as much as historical setting.
Chapter numbers were added long after the biblical books were written.
Read this chapter together with what comes immediately before and after it.
ANCIENT TEXT, MODERN QUESTIONS
Historical claims should be compared with historical evidence.
Scientific claims should be compared with science.
Moral claims should be examined morally.
Theological claims require theological and philosophical argument.
QUESTIONS WORTH ASKING
Don't skip the hard parts.
What kind of literature is this?
Narrative, poetry, prophecy, law, letters, wisdom, and apocalypse communicate differently.
What historical evidence matters?
Ask whether names, places, institutions, events, customs, and chronology can be independently investigated.
What are the strongest competing interpretations?
Compare serious Jewish, Christian, academic, and skeptical readings rather than caricatures.
CONTINUE THE INVESTIGATION
You've reached the member analysis.
You can keep reading every Bible chapter on this site for free.
Membership unlocks the deeper analysis, historical context, competing interpretations, perspectives, and conclusion.
WANT TO KEEP READING FOR FREE?
Continue to Song of Solomon 4
The complete biblical text of the next chapter is free to read.
You only need membership when you want the deeper analysis and side-by-side investigation.
READ NEXT CHAPTER FREEUNLOCK THE ANALYSIS
Already a member?
Sign in to continue →