Song of Songs 4

New International Version

He

4 How beautiful you are, my darling!
    Oh, how beautiful!
    Your eyes behind your veil^(A) are doves.^(B)
Your hair is like a flock of goats
    descending from the hills of Gilead.^(C)
²Your teeth are like a flock of sheep just shorn,
    coming up from the washing.
Each has its twin;
    not one of them is alone.^(D)
³Your lips are like a scarlet ribbon;
    your mouth^(E) is lovely.^(F)
Your temples behind your veil
    are like the halves of a pomegranate.^(G)
⁴Your neck is like the tower^(H) of David,
    built with courses of stone^[a];
on it hang a thousand shields,^(I)
    all of them shields of warriors.
⁵Your breasts^(J) are like two fawns,
    like twin fawns of a gazelle^(K)
    that browse among the lilies.^(L)
⁶Until the day breaks
    and the shadows flee,^(M)
I will go to the mountain of myrrh^(N)
    and to the hill of incense.
⁷You are altogether beautiful,^(O) my darling;
    there is no flaw^(P) in you.

⁸Come with me from Lebanon, my bride,^(Q)
    come with me from Lebanon.
Descend from the crest of Amana,
    from the top of Senir,^(R) the summit of Hermon,^(S)
from the lions’ dens
    and the mountain haunts of leopards.
⁹You have stolen my heart, my sister, my bride;^(T)
    you have stolen my heart
with one glance of your eyes,
    with one jewel of your necklace.^(U)
¹⁰How delightful^(V) is your love^(W), my sister, my bride!
    How much more pleasing is your love than wine,^(X)
and the fragrance of your perfume^(Y)
    more than any spice!
¹¹Your lips drop sweetness as the honeycomb, my bride;
    milk and honey are under your tongue.^(Z)
The fragrance of your garments
    is like the fragrance of Lebanon.^(AA)
¹²You are a garden^(AB) locked up, my sister, my bride;^(AC)
    you are a spring enclosed, a sealed fountain.^(AD)
¹³Your plants are an orchard of pomegranates^(AE)
    with choice fruits,
    with henna^(AF) and nard,
¹⁴    nard and saffron,
    calamus and cinnamon,^(AG)
    with every kind of incense tree,
    with myrrh^(AH) and aloes^(AI)
    and all the finest spices.^(AJ)
¹⁵You are^[b] a garden^(AK) fountain,^(AL)
    a well of flowing water
    streaming down from Lebanon.

She

¹⁶Awake, north wind,
    and come, south wind!
Blow on my garden,^(AM)
    that its fragrance^(AN) may spread everywhere.
Let my beloved^(AO) come into his garden
    and taste its choice fruits.^(AP)

Footnotes

Song of Songs 4:4 The meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.
Song of Songs 4:15 Or I am (spoken by She)

Luke 9:27-45

New International Version

²⁷“Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God.”

The Transfiguration^(A)

²⁸About eight days after Jesus said this, he took Peter, John and James^(B) with him and went up onto a mountain to pray.^(C) ²⁹As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning. ³⁰Two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared in glorious splendor, talking with Jesus. ³¹They spoke about his departure,^[a]^(D) which he was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem. ³²Peter and his companions were very sleepy,^(E) but when they became fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him. ³³As the men were leaving Jesus, Peter said to him, “Master,^(F) it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” (He did not know what he was saying.)

³⁴While he was speaking, a cloud appeared and covered them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. ³⁵A voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, whom I have chosen;^(G) listen to him.”^(H) ³⁶When the voice had spoken, they found that Jesus was alone. The disciples kept this to themselves and did not tell anyone at that time what they had seen.^(I)

Jesus Heals a Demon-Possessed Boy^(J)

³⁷The next day, when they came down from the mountain, a large crowd met him. ³⁸A man in the crowd called out, “Teacher, I beg you to look at my son, for he is my only child. ³⁹A spirit seizes him and he suddenly screams; it throws him into convulsions so that he foams at the mouth. It scarcely ever leaves him and is destroying him. ⁴⁰I begged your disciples to drive it out, but they could not.”

⁴¹“You unbelieving and perverse generation,”^(K) Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you and put up with you? Bring your son here.”

⁴²Even while the boy was coming, the demon threw him to the ground in a convulsion. But Jesus rebuked the impure spirit, healed the boy and gave him back to his father. ⁴³And they were all amazed at the greatness of God.

Jesus Predicts His Death a Second Time

While everyone was marveling at all that Jesus did, he said to his disciples, ⁴⁴“Listen carefully to what I am about to tell you: The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men.”^(L) ⁴⁵But they did not understand what this meant. It was hidden from them, so that they did not grasp it,^(M) and they were afraid to ask him about it.

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