Humanitext Reader

Septuagint · Song of Songs §3.1-3.11

The Search for the Beloved and Solomon's Litter

Passage 3 of 8 · Greek

Summary

The female narrator goes out into the city by night to search for her beloved, and after encountering the watchmen, she finds him and brings him to her mother's house. Subsequently, the splendidly decorated wedding carriage and crown of King Solomon, guarded by valiant men, are described.

§3.1ἐπὶ κοίτην μου ἐν νυξὶν ἐζήτησα ὃν ἠγάπησεν ἡ ψυχή μου· ἐζήτησα αὐτὸν καὶ οὐχ εὗρον αὐτόν, ἐκάλεσα αὐτὸν καὶ οὐχ ὑπήκουσέν μου.
On my bed by night I sought him whom my soul loved; I sought him, but I found him not; I called him, but he gave no answer.
§3.2ἀναστήσομαι δὴ καὶ κυκλώσω ἐν τῇ πόλει, ἐν ταῖς ἀγοραῖς καὶ ἐν ταῖς πλατείαις, καὶ ζητήσω ὃν ἠγάπησεν ἡ ψυχή μου· ἐζήτησα αὐτὸν καὶ οὐχ εὗρον αὐτόν.
"I will rise now, and go about the city, in the streets and in the broad ways, and I will seek him whom my soul loves." I sought him, but I found him not.
§3.3εὕροσάν με οἱ τηροῦντες, οἱ κυκλοῦντες ἐν τῇ πόλει Μὴ ὃν ἠγάπησεν ἡ ψυχή μου εἴδετε; §3.4ὡς μικρὸν ὅτε παρῆλθον ἀπʼ αὐτῶν, ἕως οὗ εὗρον ὃν ἠγάπησεν ἡ ψυχή μου· ἐκράτησα αὐτὸν καὶ οὐκ ἀφῆκα αὐτόν, ἕως οὗ εἰσήγαγον αὐτὸν εἰς οἶκον μητρός μου καὶ εἰς ταμεῖον τῆς συλλαβούσης με.
The watchmen who go about the city found me. "Have you seen him whom my soul loves?" It was but a little after I passed from them, until I found him whom my soul loves; 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 who conceived me.
§3.5Ὥρκισα ὑμᾶς, θυγατέρες Ἰερουσαλήμ, ἐν ταῖς δυνάμεσιν καὶ ἐν ταῖς ἰσχύσεσιν τοῦ ἀγροῦ, ἐὰν ἐγείρητε καὶ ἐξεγείρητε τὴν ἀγάπην ἕως ἂν θελήσῃ.
I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, by the powers and by the virtues of the field, that you do not rouse or wake love until it pleases.
§3.6Τίς αὕτη ἡ ἀναβαίνουσα ἀπὸ τῆς ἐρήμου. ὡς στελέχη καπνοῦ τεθυμιαμένη σμύρναν καὶ λίβανον ἀπὸ πάντων κονιορτῶν μυρεψοῦ;
Who is this that comes up out of the wilderness like pillars of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, with all powders of the merchant?
§3.7ἰδοὺ ἡ κλίνη τοῦ Σαλωμών, ἐξήκοντα δυνατοὶ κύκλῳ αὐτῆς ἀπὸ δυνατῶν Ἰσραήλ·
Behold his bed, which is Solomon's; threescore valiant men are about it, of the valiant of Israel.
§3.8πάντες κατέχοντες ῥομφαίαν, δεδιδαγμένοι πόλεμον· ἀνὴρ ῥομφαία αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ μηρὸν αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ θάμβους ἐν νυξίν.
They all hold swords, being expert in war; every man has his sword upon his thigh because of fear in the night.
§3.9φορεῖον ἐποίησεν ἑαυτῷ ὁ βασιλεὺς Σαλωμὼν¶ ἀπὸ ξύλων τοῦ Λιβάνου·
King Solomon made himself a carriage of the wood of Lebanon.
§3.10στύλους αὐτοῦ ἐποίησεν ἀργύριον, καὶ ἀνάκλιτον αὐτοῦ χρύσεον· ἐπίβασις αὐτοῦ πορφυρᾶ, ἐντὸς αὐτοῦ λιθόστρωτον, ἀγάπην ἀπὸ θυγατέρων Ἰερουσαλήμ.
He made the pillars thereof of silver, the bottom thereof of gold, the covering of it of purple, the midst thereof being paved with love by the daughters of Jerusalem.
§3.11ἐξέλθατε καὶ ἴδετε ἐν τῷ βασιλεῖ Σαλωμών, ἐν τῷ στεφάνῳ ᾧ ἐστεφάνωσεν αὐτὸν ἡ μήτηρ αὐτοῦ ἐν ἡμέρᾳ νυμφεύσεως αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐν ἡμέρᾳ εὐφροσύνης καρδίας αὐτοῦ.
Go forth, 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.

Notes

  1. 3.4ὡς μικρὸν ὅτε παρῆλθον ἀπʼ αὐτῶν, ἕως οὗ εὗρον — An expression indicating temporal proximity. "A little while (ὡς μικρόν) after... until (ἕως οὗ)", meaning "It was but a little after I passed from them that I found." The phrase ἕως οὗ here marks not just a limit but the eventual realization of the action.
  2. 3.10ἀγάπην — An accusative noun meaning 'love.' It functions either in apposition to the preceding λιθόστρωτον ('paved', neuter singular), or adverbially ('with love'). It describes the interior of the carriage as being filled or decorated with the love (or love-gifts) of the daughters of Jerusalem.
  3. 3.11ἴδετε ἐν τῷ βασιλεῖ — The verb ἴδετε ('behold') followed by the preposition ἐν with the dative. This is not a standard classical Greek construction, but a literal translation of the Hebrew rā'āh bᵉ- ('to look upon [with pleasure]'), which is a typical Hebraism in the Septuagint.

Cite this passage

Septuagint, Song of Songs §3.1-3.11. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0527.tlg031.humanitext-grc1:3.1-3.11

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