The big picture
Song of Solomon 3 opens in verse 1 with “By night on my bed I sought him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, but I found him not.”, reaches its middle movement near verse 6 with “Who is this that cometh out of the wilderness like pillars of smoke, perfumed with myrrh…”, and closes in verse 11 with “Go forth, O ye daughters of Zion, and behold king Solomon with the crown wherewith his…” Repeated or prominent terms include loveth, soul, daughters, sought, city. Together, those details trace this chapter’s own movement from its opening to its conclusion.
Scripture beside the summary
Song of Solomon · King James Version · 11Song of Solomon 3:1-6
1–6: By night on my bed I sought him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, but I…
Song of Solomon 3:1–6 opens with “By night on my bed I sought him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, but I found him not.” and reaches “Who is this that cometh out of the wilderness like pillars of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and…” by its final verse. That movement develops the focus on The woman searching through the city streets at night and asking the watchmen for the one she loves; A wedding procession approaching with attendants, fragrance, and a prepared carriage, with particular weight carried by loveth, soul, sought.
Context that brings the passage to life
This block contains 2 explicit questions. They are more than punctuation: they reveal where a voice is searching, challenging, afraid, or trying to understand.
“By night on my bed I sought him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, but I found him not.” The line’s distinctive content terms include sought, loveth, night. Its relationship to verses 2 shows what work it does in this passage.
Song of Solomon 3:1-6
King James Version1By night on my bed 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 broad ways I will seek him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, but I found him not.
3The watchmen that go about the city found me: to whom I said, Saw ye him whom my soul loveth?
4It was but a little that I passed from them, but 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, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes, and by the hinds of the field, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, till he please.
6Who is this that cometh out of the wilderness like pillars of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, with all powders of the merchant?
Song of Solomon 3:7-11
7–11: Behold his bed, which is Solomon’s; threescore valiant men are about it…
Song of Solomon 3:7–11 opens with “Behold his bed, which is Solomon’s; threescore valiant men are about it, of the valiant of…” and reaches “Go forth, O ye daughters of Zion, and behold king Solomon with the crown wherewith his mother…” by its final verse. That movement develops the focus on The woman searching through the city streets at night and asking the watchmen for the one she loves; A wedding procession approaching with attendants, fragrance, and a prepared carriage, with particular weight carried by daughters, king, Solomon.
Context that brings the passage to life
“Behold his bed, which is Solomon’s; threescore valiant men are about it, of the valiant of Israel.” Naming Israel and Solomon keeps the account rooted in particular people or places. Follow where the name returns and what changes around it.
Song of Solomon 3:7-11
King James Version7Behold his bed, which is Solomon’s; threescore valiant men are about it, of the valiant of Israel.
8They all hold swords, being expert in war: every man hath his sword upon his thigh because of fear in the night.
9King Solomon made himself a chariot of the wood of Lebanon.
10He made the pillars thereof of silver, the bottom thereof of gold, the covering of it of purple, the midst thereof being paved with love, for the daughters of Jerusalem.
11Go forth, O ye 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.
Details worth noticing
The opening image
Song of Solomon 3:1 begins with “By night on my bed I sought him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, but I found him not.”
Where the chapter turns
Song of Solomon 3:6 forms a natural hinge: “Who is this that cometh out of the wilderness like pillars of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, with all powders of the merchant?”
The final note
Song of Solomon 3:11 leaves the reader with “Go forth, O ye 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…”
A word trail through the chapter
The words loveth, soul, daughters, sought, city, Jerusalem help reveal the chapter’s repeated concerns.
How does blame move through the conversation?
The man points to the woman and indirectly to God; the woman points to the serpent. Neither response repairs trust.
Where does mercy appear?
Continued life, the promise involving offspring, and clothing accompany the expulsion.
KJV words made clear
- behold
- look, or pay close attention
- hath
- has
Text first
Where readers differ
The chapter summary begins with what the passage says and how its parts fit together. It does not assume one denomination has already settled every question. Where a conclusion depends on a tradition, literary theory, or historical reconstruction, that dependence is named openly.
The KJV text is presented first. Interpretive conclusions are labeled, and differences are introduced only when they help a reader understand why serious communities do not always reach the same answer.
Comparative interpretive notes for this chapter are in preparation. Until reviewed notes are ready, this page separates the KJV text from summary and application without claiming that serious readers agree on every question.