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Song of Songs chapter 3 in Hebrew and English

11 verses, about 1 minute to read aloud. The Hebrew has its vowel points and the English stands under each verse.

The whole chapter is here, a verse to a line.

עַל־מִשְׁכָּבִי בַּלֵּילוֹת בִּקַּשְׁתִּי אֵת שֶׁאָהֲבָה נַפְשִׁי בִּקַּשְׁתִּיו וְלֹא מְצָאתִֽיו׃

By night on my bed I sought him whom my soul loveth; I sought him, but I found him not.

אָקוּמָה נָּא וַאֲסוֹבְבָה בָעִיר בַּשְּׁוָקִים וּבָרְחֹבוֹת אֲבַקְשָׁה אֵת שֶׁאָהֲבָה נַפְשִׁי בִּקַּשְׁתִּיו וְלֹא מְצָאתִֽיו׃

’I 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.

מְצָאוּנִי הַשֹּׁמְרִים הַסֹּבְבִים בָּעִיר אֵת שֶׁאָהֲבָה נַפְשִׁי רְאִיתֶֽם׃

The watchmen that go about the city found me: ‘Saw ye him whom my soul loveth?’

כִּמְעַט שֶׁעָבַרְתִּי מֵהֶם עַד שֶׁמָּצָאתִי אֵת שֶׁאָהֲבָה נַפְשִׁי אֲחַזְתִּיו וְלֹא אַרְפֶּנּוּ עַד־שֶׁהֲבֵיאתִיו אֶל־בֵּית אִמִּי וְאֶל־חֶדֶר הוֹרָתִֽי׃

Scarce 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.

הִשְׁבַּעְתִּי אֶתְכֶם בְּנוֹת יְרוּשָׁלִַם בִּצְבָאוֹת אוֹ בְּאַיְלוֹת הַשָּׂדֶה אִם־תָּעִירוּ וְאִם־תְּעוֹרְרוּ אֶת־הָאַהֲבָה עַד שֶׁתֶּחְפָּֽץ׃

’I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, By the gazelles, and by the hinds of the field, That ye awaken not, nor stir up love, Until it please.’

מִי זֹאת עֹלָה מִן־הַמִּדְבָּר כְּתִימֲרוֹת עָשָׁן מְקֻטֶּרֶת מוֹר וּלְבוֹנָה מִכֹּל אַבְקַת רוֹכֵֽל׃

Who is this that cometh up out of the wilderness Like pillars of smoke, Perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, With all powders of the merchant?

הִנֵּה מִטָּתוֹ שֶׁלִּשְׁלֹמֹה שִׁשִּׁים גִּבֹּרִים סָבִיב לָהּ מִגִּבֹּרֵי יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃

Behold, it is the litter of Solomon; Threescore mighty men are about it, Of the mighty men of Israel.

כֻּלָּם אֲחֻזֵי חֶרֶב מְלֻמְּדֵי מִלְחָמָה אִישׁ חַרְבּוֹ עַל־יְרֵכוֹ מִפַּחַד בַּלֵּילּֽוֹת׃

They all handle the sword, And are expert in war; Every man hath his sword upon his thigh, Because of dread in the night.

אַפִּרְיוֹן עָשָׂה לוֹ הַמֶּלֶךְ שְׁלֹמֹה מֵעֲצֵי הַלְּבָנֽוֹן׃

King Solomon made himself a palanquin Of the wood of Lebanon.

עַמּוּדָיו עָשָׂה כֶסֶף רְפִידָתוֹ זָהָב מֶרְכָּבוֹ אַרְגָּמָן תּוֹכוֹ רָצוּף אַהֲבָה מִבְּנוֹת יְרוּשָׁלִָֽם׃

He made the pillars thereof of silver, The top thereof of gold, The seat of it of purple, The inside thereof being inlaid with love, From the daughters of Jerusalem.

צְאֶינָה וּרְאֶינָה בְּנוֹת צִיּוֹן בַּמֶּלֶךְ שְׁלֹמֹה בָּעֲטָרָה שֶׁעִטְּרָה־לּוֹ אִמּוֹ בְּיוֹם חֲתֻנָּתוֹ וּבְיוֹם שִׂמְחַת לִבּֽוֹ׃

Go forth, O ye daughters of Zion, And gaze upon king Solomon, Even upon the crown wherewith his mother hath crowned him in the day of his espousals, And in the day of the gladness of his heart.

The Hebrew is the Leningrad Codex, free to view and copy, compared letter by letter with a second edition, Miqra according to the Masorah, under the CC BY-SA licence. The English is the Jewish Publication Society translation of 1917, in the public domain.

Where this chapter stands in the Tanakh.

  • Chapter 3 of the 8 chapters of Song of Songs
  • Song of Songs is one of the Writings
  • 11 verses, 133 words, about 1 minute to read

Song of Songs has 8 chapters, and each one has its own page.

All of Song of Songs·All the books of the Tanakh·Psalms and prayers

Questions about this chapter

How many verses does Song of Songs chapter 3 have?

Song of Songs chapter 3 has 11 verses and 133 words.

How does Song of Songs chapter 3 begin?

The first verse begins in Hebrew with the words על־משכבי בלילות בקשתי את.

Where does Song of Songs chapter 3 stand in the Tanakh?

It is chapter 3 of the 8 chapters of Song of Songs, which is one of the Writings.

How long does it take to read Song of Songs chapter 3?

About 1 minute, at a steady pace.