Verse (Click for Chapter) New International Version All night long on my bed I looked for the one my heart loves; I looked for him but did not find him. New Living Translation One night as I lay in bed, I yearned for my lover. I yearned for him, but he did not come. English Standard Version On my bed by night I sought him whom my soul loves; I sought him, but found him not. Berean Standard Bible On my bed at night I sought the one I love; I sought him, but did not find him. King James Bible By night on my bed I sought him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, but I found him not. New King James Version By night on my bed I sought the one I love; I sought him, but I did not find him. New American Standard Bible “On my bed night after night I sought him Whom my soul loves; I sought him but did not find him. NASB 1995 “On my bed night after night I sought him Whom my soul loves; I sought him but did not find him. NASB 1977 “On my bed night after night I sought him Whom my soul loves; I sought him but did not find him. Legacy Standard Bible “On my bed night after night I sought him Whom my soul loves; I sought him but did not find him. Amplified Bible “On my bed night after night [I dreamed that] I sought the one Whom my soul loves; I sought him but did not find him. Christian Standard Bible In my bed at night I sought the one I love; I sought him, but did not find him. Holman Christian Standard Bible In my bed at night I sought the one I love; I sought him, but did not find him. American Standard Version By night on my bed I sought him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, but I found him not. Contemporary English Version While in bed at night, I reached for the one I love with heart and soul. I looked for him, but he wasn't there. English Revised Version By night on my bed I sought him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, but I found him not. GOD'S WORD® Translation Night after night on my bed I looked for the one I love. I looked for him but did not find him. Good News Translation Asleep on my bed, night after night I dreamed of the one I love; I was looking for him, but couldn't find him. International Standard Version Night after night on my bed, I sought the one I love; I sought him, but didn't find him. Majority Standard Bible On my bed at night I sought the one I love; I sought him, but did not find him. NET Bible All night long on my bed I longed for my lover. I longed for him but he never appeared. New Heart English Bible By night on my bed, I sought him whom my soul loves. I sought him, but I did not find him. Webster's Bible Translation By night on my bed I sought him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, but I found him not. World English Bible By night on my bed, I sought him whom my soul loves. I sought him, but I didn’t find him. Literal Translations Literal Standard VersionOn my bed by night, I sought him whom my soul has loved; I sought him, and I did not find him! Young's Literal Translation On my couch by night, I sought him whom my soul hath loved; I sought him, and I found him not! Smith's Literal Translation Upon my bed in the night I sought him whom my soul loved: I sought him, and I found him not. Catholic Translations Douay-Rheims BibleIn my bed by night I sought him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, and found him not. Catholic Public Domain Version Bride: On my bed, throughout the night, I sought him whom my soul loves. I sought him, and did not find him. New American Bible On my bed at night I sought him whom my soul loves— I sought him but I did not find him. New Revised Standard Version Upon my bed at night I sought him whom my soul loves; I sought him, but found him not; I called him, but he gave no answer. Translations from Aramaic Lamsa BibleUPON my bed by night I sought him whom my soul loves; I sought him but found him not. Peshitta Holy Bible Translated On my bed in the nights I begged him whom my soul has loved; I sought him and I did not find him. I called him and I did not find him OT Translations JPS Tanakh 1917By night on my bed I sought him whom my soul loveth; I sought him, but I found him not. Brenton Septuagint Translation By night on my bed I sought him whom my soul loves: I sought him, but found him not; I called him, but he hearkened not to me. Additional Translations ... Audio Bible Context The Bride's Dream1On 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.… Cross References Psalm 63:1 A Psalm of David, when he was in the Wilderness of Judah. O God, You are my God. Earnestly I seek You; my soul thirsts for You. My body yearns for You in a dry and weary land without water. Isaiah 26:9 My soul longs for You in the night; indeed, my spirit seeks You at dawn. For when Your judgments come upon the earth, the people of the world learn righteousness. Matthew 7:7-8 Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you. / For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. Jeremiah 29:13 You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. Psalm 42:1-2 For the choirmaster. A Maskil of the sons of Korah. As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul longs after You, O God. / My soul thirsts for God, the living God. When shall I come and appear in God’s presence? Matthew 5:6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Psalm 77:2 In the day of trouble I sought the Lord; through the night my outstretched hands did not grow weary; my soul refused to be comforted. Lamentations 3:25 The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him. John 20:11-16 But Mary stood outside the tomb weeping. And as she wept, she bent down to look into the tomb, / and she saw two angels in white sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and the other at the feet. / “Woman, why are you weeping?” they asked. “Because they have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I do not know where they have put Him.” ... Proverbs 8:17 I love those who love me, and those who seek me early shall find me. Luke 11:9-10 So I tell you: Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you. / For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. Psalm 119:10 With all my heart I have sought You; do not let me stray from Your commandments. Hosea 5:6 They go with their flocks and herds to seek the LORD, but they do not find Him; He has withdrawn Himself from them. Philippians 3:10 I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to Him in His death, Psalm 27:4 One thing I have asked of the LORD; this is what I desire: to dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the LORD and seek Him in His temple. Treasury of Scripture By night on my bed I sought him whom my soul loves: I sought him, but I found him not. night Psalm 4:4 Stand in awe, and sin not: commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah. Psalm 6:6 I am weary with my groaning; all the night make I my bed to swim; I water my couch with my tears. Psalm 22:2 O my God, I cry in the daytime, but thou hearest not; and in the night season, and am not silent. him whom Song of Solomon 1:7 Tell me, O thou whom my soul loveth, where thou feedest, where thou makest thy flock to rest at noon: for why should I be as one that turneth aside by the flocks of thy companions? Song of Solomon 5:8 I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, if ye find my beloved, that ye tell him, that I am sick of love. John 21:17 He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep. i sought him Song of Solomon 5:6 I opened to my beloved; but my beloved had withdrawn himself, and was gone: my soul failed when he spake: I sought him, but I could not find him; I called him, but he gave me no answer. Job 23:8,9 Behold, I go forward, but he is not there; and backward, but I cannot perceive him: … Psalm 130:1,2 A Song of degrees. Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O LORD… Jump to Previous Bed Couch Find Found Heart Loved Loves Night Nights Sought SoulJump to Next Bed Couch Find Found Heart Loved Loves Night Nights Sought SoulSong of Solomon 3 1. the church's fight and victory in temptation6. The church glories in Christ On my bed at night This phrase suggests a time of solitude and introspection, often associated with vulnerability and longing. In biblical times, the night was a period of rest but also of reflection and sometimes anxiety. The bed symbolizes a place of intimacy and personal thoughts. The night can also represent a spiritual darkness or a period of waiting for God's presence, as seen in Psalm 63:6, where David meditates on God during the night watches. I sought the one I love; I sought him, but did not find him. Persons / Places / Events 1. The Shulammite WomanThe speaker in this verse, traditionally understood to be the bride or beloved in the Song of Solomon. She represents the longing and desire for her beloved, which can be seen as a metaphor for the soul's longing for God. 2. The Beloved The one whom the Shulammite woman seeks. In a spiritual allegory, he can represent Christ or God, whom believers seek in their spiritual journey. 3. The Bed Symbolic of a place of rest and intimacy, it represents the personal and private space where one reflects and seeks connection with the beloved. 4. Night Often symbolizes a time of searching, longing, or spiritual darkness, where the soul seeks the presence of God. 5. Seeking The act of searching for the beloved, which can be seen as a metaphor for the spiritual pursuit of God. Teaching Points The Nature of Spiritual LongingThe Shulammite's search for her beloved reflects the deep spiritual longing that believers experience. This longing is a natural part of the Christian journey and should be embraced as a call to draw closer to God. Persistence in Seeking God Just as the Shulammite continues to seek her beloved despite not finding him immediately, believers are encouraged to persist in their pursuit of God, trusting that He will reveal Himself in His timing. The Role of Intimacy in Faith The setting of the bed at night suggests a place of intimacy and vulnerability. Believers are invited to cultivate a personal and intimate relationship with God, seeking Him in the quiet and private moments of life. The Challenge of Spiritual Dryness The experience of not finding the beloved can mirror times of spiritual dryness or distance from God. These moments challenge believers to deepen their faith and trust in God's presence, even when He seems distant.III. (1) A reminiscence (elaborated in Song of Solomon 5:2 seq.) of the intensity of their love before their union, put by the poet into his lady's mouth. She "arises from dreams" of him, and goes to find him. Verse 1. - By night on my bed I sought him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, but I found him not. The bride is probably relating a dream. The time referred to is the close of the day on which she had been visited by her lover. She is retired to rest, and dreams that she searches for the beloved object in the neighbouring city (cf. Job 33:15). It is another way of telling her love. She is always longing for the beloved one. She had been waiting for him, and he came not, and retired to rest with a heart troubled and anxious because her lover did not appear as she expected at the evening hour. The meaning may be "night after night (לֵילות)" (cf. Song of Solomon 3:8), or the plural maybe used poetically for the singular. Ginsburg observes that "by night on my bed" is opposed to midday couch (cf. 2 Samuel 4:5), merely to express what came into her thoughts at night in her dreams or as the result of a dream. It is difficult to avoid the conclusion that the bride intends to represent herself as suffering from self-reproach in having grieved her lover and kept him away from her. In that case the typical meaning would be simple and direct. The soul grieves when it is conscious of estrangement from him whom it loves, and the sense of separation becomes intolerable, impelling to new efforts to deepen the spiritual life.Parallel Commentaries ... Hebrew Onעַל־ (‘al-) Preposition Strong's 5921: Above, over, upon, against my bed מִשְׁכָּבִי֙ (miš·kā·ḇî) Noun - masculine singular construct | first person common singular Strong's 4904: Place of lying, a couch, act of lying at night בַּלֵּיל֔וֹת (bal·lê·lō·wṯ) Preposition-b, Article | Noun - masculine plural Strong's 3915: A twist, night, adversity I sought בִּקַּ֕שְׁתִּי (biq·qaš·tî) Verb - Piel - Perfect - first person common singular Strong's 1245: To search out, to strive after the one אֵ֥ת (’êṯ) Direct object marker Strong's 853: Untranslatable mark of the accusative case I נַפְשִׁ֑י (nap̄·šî) Noun - feminine singular construct | first person common singular Strong's 5315: A soul, living being, life, self, person, desire, passion, appetite, emotion love; שֶׁאָהֲבָ֖ה (še·’ā·hă·ḇāh) Pronoun - relative | Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person feminine singular Strong's 157: To have affection f I sought him בִּקַּשְׁתִּ֖יו (biq·qaš·tîw) Verb - Piel - Perfect - first person common singular | third person masculine singular Strong's 1245: To search out, to strive after but did not וְלֹ֥א (wə·lō) Conjunctive waw | Adverb - Negative particle Strong's 3808: Not, no find him. מְצָאתִֽיו׃ (mə·ṣā·ṯîw) Verb - Qal - Perfect - first person common singular | third person masculine singular Strong's 4672: To come forth to, appear, exist, to attain, find, acquire, to occur, meet, be present Links Song of Solomon 3:1 NIVSong of Solomon 3:1 NLT Song of Solomon 3:1 ESV Song of Solomon 3:1 NASB Song of Solomon 3:1 KJV Song of Solomon 3:1 BibleApps.com Song of Solomon 3:1 Biblia Paralela Song of Solomon 3:1 Chinese Bible Song of Solomon 3:1 French Bible Song of Solomon 3:1 Catholic Bible OT Poetry: Song of Solomon 3:1 By night on my bed I sought (Song Songs SS So Can) |
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