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About this chapterThe woman recalls a night of searching the city streets for the one her heart loves, finding him and refusing to let him go until she brings him home. The refrain again asks the daughters of Jerusalem not to awaken love too soon. The scene shifts to a grand procession: a carriage rising like smoke from the wilderness, guarded by sixty warriors, and built with costly wood, silver, and gold. King Solomon appears on his wedding day, crowned by his mother. Readers see here a portrait of wedding joy, and some hear royal splendor pointing to a greater king.

The woman recalls a night of searching the city streets for the one her heart loves, finding him and refusing to let him go until she brings him home. The refrain again asks the daughters of Jerusalem not to awaken love too soon. The scene shifts to a grand procession: a carriage rising like smoke from the wilderness, guarded by sixty warriors, and built with costly wood, silver, and gold. King Solomon appears on his wedding day, crowned by his mother. Readers see here a portrait of wedding joy, and some hear royal splendor pointing to a greater king.

Themes

  • Seeking and finding
  • Wedding procession
  • Patience in love

Key verses

Audio Bible · Song of Solomon 3

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Song of Solomon 3

Berean Standard Bible11 verses · 1 min read

1On my bed at night I sought the one I love; I sought him, but did not find him. 2I will arise now and go about the city, through the streets and squares. I will seek the one I love. So I sought him but did not find him. 3I encountered the watchmen on their rounds of the city: “Have you seen the one I love?” 4I had just passed them when I found the one I love. I held him and would not let go until I had brought him to my mother’s house, to the chamber of the one who conceived me. 5O daughters of Jerusalem, I adjure you by the gazelles and does of the field: Do not arouse or awaken love until the time is right. 6Who is this coming up from the wilderness like a column of smoke, scented with myrrh and frankincense from all the spices of the merchant? 7Behold, it is Solomon’s carriage, escorted by sixty of the mightiest men of Israel. 8All are skilled with the sword, experienced in warfare. Each has his sword at his side prepared for the terror of the night. 9King Solomon has made his carriage out of the timber of Lebanon. 10He has made its posts of silver, its base of gold, its seat of purple fabric. Its interior is inlaid with love by the daughters of Jerusalem. 11Come out, O daughters of Zion, and gaze at King Solomon, wearing the crown with which his mother crowned him on the day of his wedding— the day of his heart’s rejoicing.
Verses in Song of Solomon 3

Chapters of Song of Solomon

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