On my bed at night I sought the one I love; I sought him, but did not find him.
Parallel translations
- WEB By night on my bed, I sought him whom my soul loves. I sought him, but I didn’t find him.
- KJV By night on my bed I sought him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, but I found him not.
- NKJV By night on my bed I sought the one I love; I sought him, but I did not find him.
- NASB “On my bed night after night I sought him Whom my soul loves; I sought him but did not find him.
- NLT One night as I lay in bed, I yearned for my lover. I yearned for him, but he did not come.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
On her bed at night she seeks her beloved but does not find him. It pictures the distress of love when the beloved seems absent.
Overview
Through the night she longs for and seeks the one her soul loves, yet he is not found. The verse honestly portrays the pain of perceived absence within love. Believers have likened this to seasons when the Lord seems hidden, prompting earnest seeking of His face (Ps. 30:7; Isa. 55:6).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 15
- 1 Pet 1:8Though you have not seen Him, you love Him; and though you do not see Him now, you believe in Him and rejoice with an inexpressible and glorious joy,
- Song 1:7Tell me, O one I love, where do you pasture your sheep? Where do you rest them at midday? Why should I be like a veiled woman beside the flocks of your companions?
- Song 5:6I opened for my beloved, but he had turned and gone. My heart sank at his departure. I sought him, but did not find him. I called, but he did not answer.
- Isa 26:9My 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.
- Isa 55:6Seek the LORD while He may be found; call on Him while He is near.
- Song 5:8O daughters of Jerusalem, I adjure you, if you find my beloved, tell him I am sick with love.
- Ps 22:2I cry out by day, O my God, but You do not answer, and by night, but I have no rest.
- Ps 130:1–2A song of ascents. Out of the depths I cry to You, O LORD!
- Ps 63:6–8When I remember You on my bed, I think of You through the watches of the night.
- John 21:17Jesus asked a third time, “Simon son of John, do you love Me?” Peter was deeply hurt that Jesus had asked him a third time, “Do you love Me?” “Lord, You know all things,” he replied. “You know I love You.” Jesus said to him, “Feed My sheep.
- Ps 77:2–4In the day of trouble I sought the Lord; through the night my outstretched hands did not grow weary; my soul refused to be comforted.
- Luke 13:24“Make every effort to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able.
- Ps 6:6I am weary from groaning; all night I flood my bed with weeping and drench my couch with tears.
- Job 23:8–9If I go east, He is not there, and if I go west, I cannot find Him.
- Ps 4:4Be angry, yet do not sin; on your bed, search your heart and be still. Selah
Resources, by level
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
The poetry of covenant love between bride and bridegroom pictures, at its highest, the love of Christ for his church — the Bridegroom who gave himself for his bride.
How Song of Songs 3:1 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.