Song of Solomon 3:1
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 Version
On 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 Bible
In 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 Bible
UPON 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 1917
By 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 Dream
1On 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…

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Song of Solomon 3
1. the church's fight and victory in temptation
6. The church glories in Christ














On my bed at night
This phrase sets the scene in a personal and intimate setting, suggesting a time of vulnerability and introspection. The Hebrew word for "bed" (מִשְׁכָּב, mishkav) often implies a place of rest and personal reflection. In the context of the Song of Solomon, which is a poetic and allegorical book, the "bed" can symbolize the inner chamber of the heart where deep desires and longings reside. The "night" (לַיְלָה, laylah) can represent a time of uncertainty or spiritual searching, a period when the soul yearns for divine connection or understanding.

I sought the one I love
The act of seeking here is active and intentional. The Hebrew root for "sought" (בָּקַשׁ, baqash) implies a diligent search, a pursuit that is earnest and heartfelt. This reflects the believer's pursuit of God, echoing the biblical theme of seeking God with all one's heart (Jeremiah 29:13). The "one I love" is a term of endearment and deep affection, often interpreted as the soul's longing for communion with God or Christ, the ultimate beloved in Christian theology.

I sought him, but did not find him
This repetition emphasizes the intensity and persistence of the search. The phrase "did not find him" introduces a moment of tension and longing, a common experience in the spiritual journey where God may seem distant or hidden. This can be a test of faith, encouraging believers to continue seeking and trusting in God's timing and presence. The absence of the beloved can also symbolize the trials and challenges faced in maintaining a close relationship with God amidst life's distractions and difficulties.

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
On
עַל־ (‘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


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OT Poetry: Song of Solomon 3:1 By night on my bed I sought (Song Songs SS So Can)
Song of Solomon 2:17
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