If in verse 1 the young woman spoke of something she often did, then we can explain verse 2 as what happened on the one night she decided to actually go out and look for her lover. It is less likely, but theoretically possible, that she did this every time she felt the need of him. For those who accept the view that this is actually a dream and not fact, there are no such problems of logic.

We pick up the same theme as the previous verse, using the same keywords, “seek,” “not find,” and “the one whom my soul loves.” The verse is extremely poetic in Hebrew, with the sounds b, q, and sh occurring throughout. The repetitive verb phrases, “I will rise,” “I will go about,” “I will look, ” highlight the young woman’s determination to find her lover. In the third line the rhythm slows, drawing out the suspense. The final words are very brief, expressing her intense disappointment.

I will rise now and go about,
Through the city, the streets, and the squares.
I will look for the one my soul loves.
I looked for him, but I didn’t find him.

I will rise now: in 2.10, 13 the young woman refers to her lover’s invitation for her to come and join him so that they can be alone together. This verse can be seen as something of a response to that. I will rise now expresses her determination to get out of bed and go in search of her lover. In 2.10, 13 “arise” did not necessarily mean to get up from a lying position, but that is obviously what it means here.

Note that here we have a kind of internal dialog; the young woman is speaking to herself. Languages will differ as to how they handle this feature. In colloquial English we might say “OK, I’ll get up…” or “Let me get up….” If we separate this portion off as direct speech, it can be marked by quotes as in Revised Standard Version. Some languages will prefer adding a quote formula, “I said to myself….” We can also render the same meaning by “I thought, ‘I will…,’ ” or “I decided to….”

Go about [the city] renders the same Hebrew root as was used in 2.17 (see comments there). It can mean “wander about” (as in Good News Translation), or “go in circles,” “encircle.” Like rise it is a verb form expressing the subject’s desire to do something. There are two linked clauses in Hebrew: “I will rise” and “I will go about the city.” The two sentences may be translated in this full form or combined, “I will get up and go around….”

We can use the word “town” to more adequately give the meaning of the Hebrew term for city. Modern readers will probably think of a city as covering a large area and having a huge population, far greater than that of ancient cities. Although the young woman is from the countryside, apparently she lives in a town. People in ancient times lived in small towns and villages for protection while working their fields and looking after flocks outside the town walls. The town had watchmen to guard it against possible attack.

In the streets and in the squares: to use the word streets for some of the alleys in the town may seem to be an exaggeration, but the term is quite acceptable. Large open areas, usually by the town gate, were the squares, where all aspects of town life were conducted, including business and legal affairs. The terms streets and squares represent the two main locations where people met; they were the obvious places to look for someone. The sense here is that the woman meant to search everywhere for her lover. Our translation should give that impression. We do not necessarily need to preserve these two words. For example, we can say “everywhere in town” or “through the entire city.”

I will seek him whom my soul loves: see comments above on verse 1. However, if the woman, whether in her imagination or in fact, has gone in search of her lover, then the verb seek here has more of its fundamental sense of “going out to look for.”

A translation of the first part of the verse can be:

• I will get up now and go all over town [around the streets and into the squares]; I will look everywhere for my lover.

I sought him, but found him not: her search was fruitless; she could not find her lover. We may translate as “I looked everywhere for him but could not find him.” Note that these clauses are exactly the same as in the previous verse. If possible it is good to use the same expressions in each place. Repetition adds to the intensity of the feelings expressed in this passage.

We can present the internal dialog as follows:

• I thought, “I’ll get up.
I’ll go through the whole city
to look for the one I love.”

I looked for him,
but I didn’t find him.

Quoted with permission from Ogden, Graham S. and Zogbo, Lynell. A Handbook on the Book of Song of Songs. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1998. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .