Song of Solomon 3:2
What does Song of Solomon 3:2 mean?
A plain-English look at Song of Solomon 3:2 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.
What Song of Solomon 3:2 means
Unable to remain passive, she rises and takes her search into the public spaces—the streets and broad ways. Love moves her from private yearning to purposeful action. She seeks diligently where people gather, yet her efforts still yield no success. The verse honors both the sincerity of longing and the necessity of pursuit; desire alone is not enough, and action does not always bring immediate results. The city, often a place of connection, offers no quick answers. Still, her decision to go out at night shows courage and determination. Love is persistent, willing to risk inconvenience and exposure to find the one it cherishes above all others.
Parallel translations
WEB
World English Bible · 2000I said, 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.
KJV
King James Version · 1611I 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.
ASV
American Standard Version · 1901I said, 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.
BBE
Bible in Basic English · 1949I will get up now and go about the town, in the streets and in the wide ways I will go after him who is the love of my soul: I went after him, but I did not see him.
YLT
Young's Literal Translation · 1862--Pray, let me rise, and go round the city, In the streets and in the broad places, I seek him whom my soul hath loved! --I sought him, and I found him not.
DRA
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752I will rise, and will go about the city: in the streets and the broad ways I will seek him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, and I found him not.
DBY
Darby Bible · 1890I will rise now, and go about the city; In the streets and in the broadways Will I seek him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, but I found him not.
Context
This verse advances the narrative from inward longing to outward effort. It follows the unfulfilled seeking of verse 1 and intensifies the pursuit: no longer confined to her bed, she ventures into the city. The continued failure to find him deepens suspense and prepares for the pivotal encounter with the watchmen in verse 3. The flow matters: the reader should feel the rising urgency—private ache, public search, then appeal to those who might know. The next verse will show the city’s guardians finding her, which cues a turning point toward discovery and reunion in verse 4, followed by a cautionary refrain in verse 5.
Cross references
Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.
- Ephesians 5:14
Wherefore he saith, Awake, thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall shine upon thee.
- Song of Solomon 5:5
I rose up to open to my beloved; And my hands dropped with myrrh, And my fingers with liquid myrrh, Upon the handles of the bolt.
- Proverbs 1:20
Wisdom crieth aloud in the street; She uttereth her voice in the broad places;
- Matthew 26:40
And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them sleeping, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour?
- 1 Corinthians 15:34
Awake to soberness righteously, and sin not; for some have no knowledge of God: I speak this to move you to shame.
- Proverbs 8:2
On the top of high places by the way, Where the paths meet, she standeth;
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