Song of Songs 3
Beautiful dreams
She speaks:
1While in bed at night,
I reached for the one I love
with heart and soul.
I looked for him,
but he wasn't there.
2So I searched through the town
for the one I love.
I looked in every street,
but he wasn't there.
3I even asked the guards
patrolling the town,
“Have you seen the one
I love so much?”
4Straight after that, I found him.
I held him and would not let go
until I had taken him
to the home of my mother.
5Young women of Jerusalem,
promise me by the power
of deer and gazelles,
never to awaken love
before it is ready.
The wedding
The groom and the wedding party
Their friends speak:
6What do we see approaching
from the desert
like a cloud of smoke?
With it comes the sweet smell
of spices, including myrrh
and frankincense.
7It is King Solomon
carried on a throne,
surrounded by sixty
of Israel's best soldiers.
8Each of them wears a sword.
They are experts at fighting,
even in the dark.
9The throne is made of trees
from Lebanon.
10Its posts are silver,
the back is gold,
and the seat is covered
with purple cloth.
You women of Jerusalem
have taken great care
to furnish the inside.
11Now come and see the crown
given to Solomon by his mother
on his happy wedding day.
Contemporary English Version (Anglicised) 2012 © British and Foreign Bible Society 2012
Audio text: © 1991 American Bible Society
Audio: ℗ 1995 Hosanna
℗ Voices 1997 ABS, Music 1997 Hosanna