Lectionary Calendar
Wednesday, November 26th, 2025
the Week of Christ the King / Proper 29 / Ordinary 34
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Read the Bible

Complete Jewish Bible

Song of Solomon 3:3

The guards roaming the city found me. "Have you seen the man I love?"

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 American Standard Bible
"The watchmen who make the rounds in the city found me, And I said, '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?"
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 Night after night on my bed I looked for the man I love. I looked for him, but I didn't find him. 2 "I will get up now and roam the city, through the streets and the open places, I will look for the man I love." I looked for him, but I didn't find him. 3 The guards roaming the city found me. "Have you seen the man I love?" 4 Scarcely had I left them, when I found the man I love. I took hold of him and would not let him go until I had brought him to my mother's house, to the bedroom of the woman who conceived me. 5 I warn you, daughters of Yerushalayim, by the gazelles and deer in the wilds, not to awaken or stir up love until it wants to arise!

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 replied, "The woman you gave to be with me — she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate."
Genesis 3:13
Adonai , God, said to the woman, "What is this you have done?" The woman answered, "The serpent tricked me, so I ate."
Genesis 3:16
To the woman he said, "I will greatly increase your pain in childbirth. You will bring forth children in pain. Your desire will be toward your husband, but he will rule over you."
Genesis 3:17
To Adam he said, "Because you listened to what your wife said and ate from the tree about which I gave you the order, ‘You are not to eat from it,' the ground is cursed on your account; you will work hard to eat from it as long as you live.
Genesis 20:6
God said to him in the dream, "Yes, I know that in doing this, your heart has been pure; and I too have kept you from sinning against me. This is why I didn't let you touch her.
1 Chronicles 16:22
"Don't touch my anointed ones or do my prophets harm!"
Job 1:11
But if you reach out your hand and touch whatever he has, without doubt he'll curse you to your face!"
Job 2:5
But if you reach out your hand and touch his flesh and bone, without doubt he'll curse you to your face!"
Job 19:21
"Pity me, friends of mine, pity me! For the hand of God has struck me!
1 Corinthians 7:1
Now to deal with the questions you wrote about: "Is it good for a man to keep away from women?"

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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