Bible Strands
Song of Solomon 3:2
I will arise now and go about the city, through the streets and squares. I will seek the one I love. So I sought him but did not find him.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The woman from Song of Solomon 3 speaks to herself as she leaves her bed at night to search the city. Her movement occurs during the early morning hours while she patrols the streets and open squares for her beloved.
The words — The Hebrew אָק֨וּמָה ('a.Ku.mah) means "I will arise," intensified by the particle נָּ֜א (na') meaning "please" or "now," signaling a deliberate break from rest. The verb אֲבַקְשָֽׁה ('a.vak.Shah) translates literally as "I will seek," describing her physical pursuit through the urban landscape.
The thread — The call to awaken from spiritual slumber runs through Romans 13:11 and Ephesians 5:14, where rising is tied to salvation and Christ's light. The search motif also echoes the desolation of Psalms 22:1, linking the lover's pursuit to broader biblical themes of seeking and divine encounter.
Why it lands — The text demands recognition that pursuit requires leaving comfort and entering active, repeated effort. It asks the reader to accept that seeking what is valued involves moving through uncertainty until the object of search is located.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
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.
Cross-references
- Romans 13:11 And do this, understanding the occasion. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, for our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.
- Ephesians 5:14 So it is said: “Wake up, O sleeper, rise up from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”
- Psalms 22:1 For the choirmaster. To the tune of “The Doe of the Dawn.” A Psalm of David. My God, my God, why have You forsaken me? Why are You so far from saving me, so far from my words of groaning?
- Psalms 42:7 Deep calls to deep in the roar of Your waterfalls; all Your breakers and waves have rolled over me.
- Psalms 43:2 For You are the God of my refuge. Why have You rejected me? Why must I walk in sorrow because of the enemy’s oppression?
- Psalms 77:7 “Will the Lord spurn us forever and never show His favor again?
- Proverbs 1:20 Wisdom calls out in the street, she lifts her voice in the square;
- Proverbs 8:2 On the heights overlooking the road, at the crossroads she takes her stand.
- Proverbs 8:34 Blessed is the man who listens to me, watching daily at my doors, waiting at the posts of my doorway.
- Song of Solomon 5:5 I rose up to open for my beloved. My hands dripped with myrrh, my fingers with flowing myrrh on the handles of the bolt.