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Tuesday, May 6th, 2025
the Third Week after Easter
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Read the Bible

New American Standard Bible

Song of Solomon 3:3

"The watchmen who make the rounds in the city found me, And I said, 'Have you seen him whom my soul loves?'

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Seekers;   Watchman;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Cities;   Watchmen;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Watchmen;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Watches of the Night;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Song of Solomon;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - City;   Song of Songs;   The Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary - City;   Smith Bible Dictionary - Street;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Song of Songs;   Watchman;   Wisdom of Solomon, the;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Police Laws;   Simeon (Ben Gamaliel Ii.);   Tagin;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
The guards who go about the city found me.I asked them, “Have you seen the one I love?”
Hebrew Names Version
The watchmen who go about the city found me; "Have you seen him whom my soul loves?"
King James Version
The watchmen that go about the city found me: to whom I said, Saw ye him whom my soul loveth?
English Standard Version
The watchmen found me as they went about in the city. "Have you seen him whom my soul loves?"
New Century Version
The watchmen found me as they patrolled the city, so I asked, "Have you seen the one I love?"
Amplified Bible
"The watchmen who go around the city found me, And I said, 'Have you seen him whom my soul loves?'
World English Bible
The watchmen who go about the city found me; "Have you seen him whom my soul loves?"
Geneva Bible (1587)
The watchmen that went about the citie, found mee: to whome I said, Haue you seene him, whome my soule loueth?
Legacy Standard Bible
The watchmen who go about the city found me,And I said, ‘Have you seen him whom my soul loves?'
Berean Standard Bible
I encountered the watchmen on their rounds of the city: "Have you seen the one I love?"
Contemporary English Version
I even asked the guards patrolling the town, "Have you seen the one I love so much?"
Complete Jewish Bible
The guards roaming the city found me. "Have you seen the man I love?"
Darby Translation
The watchmen that go about the city found me:—Have ye seen him whom my soul loveth?
Easy-to-Read Version
The guards patrolling the city found me. I asked them, "Have you seen the man I love?"
George Lamsa Translation
The watchmen that go about the city found me; I asked them, Have you seen him whom my soul loves?
Good News Translation
The sentries patrolling the city saw me. I asked them, "Have you found my lover?"
Lexham English Bible
The sentinels who go about in the city found me. "Have you seen the one whom my heart loves?"
Literal Translation
The one watching going about in the city found me. I said , Have you seen Him whom my soul loves?
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
The watchmen that go aboute ye cite, founde me. Sawe ye not him, whom my soule loueth?
American Standard Version
The watchmen that go about the city found me; To whom I said, Saw ye him whom my soul loveth?
Bible in Basic English
The watchmen who go about the town came by me; to them I said, Have you seen him who is my heart's desire?
JPS Old Testament (1917)
The watchmen that go about the city found me: 'Saw ye him whom my soul loveth?'
King James Version (1611)
The watchmen that goe about the citie, found me: to whom I said, Saw ye him whom my soule loueth?
Bishop's Bible (1568)
The watchmen also that go about the citie, founde me [to whom I sayde] Sawe ye not hym whom my soule loueth?
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
The watchmen who go their rounds in the city found me. I said, Have ye seen him whom my soul loves?
English Revised Version
The watchmen that go about the city found me: [to whom I said], Saw ye him whom my soul loveth?
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Wakeris, that kepen the citee, founden me. Whether ye sien hym, whom my soule loueth?
Update Bible Version
The watchmen that go about the city found me; [To whom I said], Did you see him whom my soul loves?
Webster's Bible Translation
The watchmen that go about the city found me: [to whom I said], Saw ye him whom my soul loveth?
New English Translation
The night watchmen found me—the ones who guard the city walls. "Have you seen my beloved?"
New King James Version
The watchmen who go about the city found me; I said, "Have you seen the one I love?"
New Living Translation
The watchmen stopped me as they made their rounds, and I asked, "Have you seen the one I love?"
New Life Bible
The men who watch over the city found me, and I said, ‘Have you seen him whom my soul loves?'
New Revised Standard
The sentinels found me, as they went about in the city. "Have you seen him whom my soul loves?"
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
The watchmen that go round in the city, found me, The beloved of my soul, have ye seen?
Douay-Rheims Bible
The watchmen who keep the city, found me: Have you seen him, whom my soul loveth?
Revised Standard Version
The watchmen found me, as they went about in the city. "Have you seen him whom my soul loves?"
Young's Literal Translation
The watchmen have found me, (Who are going round about the city), `Him whom my soul have loved saw ye?'
New American Standard Bible (1995)
"The watchmen who make the rounds in the city found me, And I said, 'Have you seen him whom my soul loves?'

Contextual Overview

1 "On my bed night after night I sought him Whom my soul loves; I sought him but did not find him. 2 'I must arise now and go around in the city; In the streets and in the public squares I must seek him whom my soul loves.' I sought him but did not find him. 3 "The watchmen who make the rounds in the city found me, And I said, 'Have you seen him whom my soul loves?'4 "Hardly had I left them When I found him whom my soul loves; I held on to him and would not let him go Until I had brought him to my mother's house, And into the room of her who conceived me." 5 "Swear to me, you daughters of Jerusalem, By the gazelles or by the does of the field, That you will not disturb or awaken my love Until she pleases."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

watchmen: Song of Solomon 5:7, Isaiah 21:6-8, Isaiah 21:11, Isaiah 21:12, Isaiah 56:10, Isaiah 62:6, Ezekiel 3:17, Ezekiel 33:2-9, Hebrews 13:17

Saw: John 20:15

Reciprocal: Psalms 127:1 - the watchman Isaiah 52:8 - Thy Ezekiel 33:7 - I have Hosea 9:8 - watchman Matthew 28:9 - and held John 20:14 - and saw

Cross-References

Genesis 3:12
The man said, "The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me some of the fruit of the tree, and I ate."
Genesis 3:13
Then the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this that you have done?" And the woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate."
Genesis 3:16
To the woman He said, "I will greatly multiply Your pain in childbirth, In pain you shall deliver children; Yet your desire will be for your husband, And he shall rule over you."
Genesis 3:17
Then to Adam He said, "Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, 'You shall not eat from it'; Cursed is the ground because of you; With hard labor you shall eat from it All the days of your life.
Genesis 20:6
Then God said to him in the dream, "Yes, I know that in the integrity of your heart you have done this, and I also kept you from sinning against Me; therefore I did not let you touch her.
1 Chronicles 16:22
"Do not touch My anointed ones, And do not harm My prophets."
Job 1:11
"But reach out with Your hand now and touch all that he has; he will certainly curse You to Your face."
Job 2:5
"However, reach out with Your hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh; he will curse You to Your face!"
Job 19:21
"Pity me, pity me, you friends of mine, For the hand of God has struck me.
1 Corinthians 7:1
Now concerning the things about which you wrote, it is good for a man not to touch a woman.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

The watchmen that go about the city found me,.... By whom are meant the ministers of the Gospel; who are called watchmen, as the prophets were under the Old Testament, Isaiah 52:8; in allusion to watchmen in cities; and are so called in regard to themselves, it being their duty to watch over themselves; and to their doctrine, and all opportunities to preach it, and the success of it: their business with respect to others is to give the time of night; to point out the state and condition of the church; to give notice of danger to sinners in the broad road to destruction; and to saints, through the prevalence of error, heresy, and immorality; all which require sobriety, vigilance, prudence, courage, and faithfulness; and show the necessity and utility of the Gospel ministry, and the awfulness of it; and the care Christ takes of his churches, in providing such officers in them. These are said to "go about the city", denoting their industry and diligence; and being in the way of their duty, they "found" the church, fell upon her case in their ministry, and hit it exactly; which shows the efficacy of the word under a divine direction; which finds out sinners, and their sins; saints, and their particular cases, unknown to ministers; and the church, having met with something suitable to her case under their ministry,

[to whom I said], took an opportunity privately to discourse with them, and put this question to them,

Saw ye him whom my soul loveth? meaning Christ; who was still the object of her love, and uppermost in her thoughts; whom she thus describes, without mentioning his name, as if he was the only "Him" in the world worthy of any regard; which shows how much he was in her mind, how much the desires and affections of her soul were towards him, and that these ministers needed no other description of him. No answer is returned to her question that is recorded; not because they were not able to give one, nor because they did not; and if they did not, it might be owing to her haste, not waiting for one; and if they did, she not being able to apply it to her case, no notice is taken of it: however, though she did not find immediate relief by them, yet she met with something from them that was of use to her afterwards, as appears by what follows.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The city - One near the bride’s native home, possibly Shunem.


 
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