Song of Songs 3
Darby Translation · 11 verses
1On my bed, in the nights, I sought him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, but I found him not. 2I will rise now, and go about the city; In the streets and in the broadways Will I seek him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, but I found him not. 3The watchmen that go about the city found me: — Have ye seen him whom my soul loveth? 4— Scarcely had 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. 5I charge you, daughters of Jerusalem, By the gazelles, or by the hinds of the field, That ye stir not up, nor awake [my] love, till he please. 6Who is this, [she] that cometh up from the wilderness Like pillars of smoke, Perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, With all powders of the merchant?... 7Behold his couch, Solomon's own: Threescore mighty men are about it, Of the mighty of Israel. 8They all hold the sword, Experts in war; Each hath his sword upon his thigh Because of alarm in the nights. 9King Solomon made himself a palanquin Of the wood of Lebanon. 10Its pillars he made of silver, Its support of gold, Its seat of purple; The midst thereof was paved [with] love By the daughters of Jerusalem. 11Go forth, 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.
Darby's Synopsis
In Canticles 3 we have another attitude, another state of heart. She is alone and in darkness. She seeks her Beloved, but finds Him not. There is affection, but no joy. She questions the watchmen in Jerusalem who go about the city. As soon as she passes from them, she finds Him. Again He will have her rest in His love. But all this is only prophetically and in testimony, for the comfort of those who have not yet found Him, by shewing them what He is for them.
Study resources for this chapter
Ministry meetings
- Coming Up Out of the WildernessPDF, 5 pages
Assembly ministry, December 6, 2009
Text: J. N. Darby, The Holy Scriptures: A New Translation from the Original Languages, public domain. Emphasized words are Darby's own. Provenance on the sources page.