Expressions of Praise

The Beloved

How beautiful are your feet in sandals,
(A)O prince’s daughter!
The curves of your thighs are like jewels,
The work of the hands of a skillful workman.
Your navel is a rounded goblet;
It lacks no [a]blended beverage.
Your waist is a heap of wheat
Set about with lilies.
(B)Your two breasts are like two fawns,
Twins of a gazelle.
(C)Your neck is like an ivory tower,
Your eyes like the pools in Heshbon
By the gate of Bath Rabbim.
Your nose is like the tower of Lebanon
Which looks toward Damascus.
Your head crowns you like Mount Carmel,
And the hair of your head is like purple;
A king is held captive by your tresses.

How fair and how pleasant you are,
O love, with your delights!
This stature of yours is like a palm tree,
And your breasts like its clusters.
I said, “I will go up to the palm tree,
I will take hold of its branches.”
Let now your breasts be like clusters of the vine,
The fragrance of your [b]breath like apples,
And the roof of your mouth like the best wine.

The Shulamite

The wine goes down smoothly for my beloved,
[c]Moving gently the [d]lips of sleepers.
10 (D)I am my beloved’s,
And (E)his desire is toward me.

11 Come, my beloved,
Let us go forth to the field;
Let us lodge in the villages.
12 Let us get up early to the vineyards;
Let us (F)see if the vine has budded,
Whether the grape blossoms are open,
And the pomegranates are in bloom.
There I will give you my love.
13 The (G)mandrakes give off a fragrance,
And at our gates (H)are pleasant fruits,
All manner, new and old,
Which I have laid up for you, my beloved.

Lovers Reunited at Their Country Home

Oh, that you were like my brother,
Who nursed at my mother’s breasts!
If I should find you outside,
I would kiss you;
I would not be despised.
I would lead you and bring you
Into the (I)house of my mother,
She who used to instruct me.
I would cause you to drink of (J)spiced wine,
Of the juice of my pomegranate.

(To the Daughters of Jerusalem)

(K)His left hand is under my head,
And his right hand embraces me.
(L)I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
Do not stir up nor awaken love
Until it pleases.

Love Renewed in Lebanon

A Relative

(M)Who is this coming up from the wilderness,
Leaning upon her beloved?

I awakened you under the apple tree.
There your mother brought you forth;
There she who bore you brought you forth.

The Shulamite to Her Beloved

(N)Set me as a seal upon your heart,
As a seal upon your arm;
For love is as strong as death,
(O)Jealousy as [e]cruel as [f]the grave;
Its flames are flames of fire,
[g]A most vehement flame.

Many waters cannot quench love,
Nor can the floods drown it.
(P)If a man would give for love
All the wealth of his house,
It would be utterly despised.

The Shulamite’s Brothers

(Q)We have a little sister,
And she has no breasts.
What shall we do for our sister
In the day when she is spoken for?
If she is a wall,
We will build upon her
A battlement of silver;
And if she is a door,
We will enclose her
With boards of cedar.

The Shulamite

10 I am a wall,
And my breasts like towers;
Then I became in his eyes
As one who found peace.
11 Solomon had a vineyard at Baal Hamon;
(R)He leased the vineyard to keepers;
Everyone was to bring for its fruit
A thousand silver coins.

(To Solomon)

12 My own vineyard is before me.
You, O Solomon, may have a thousand,
And those who tend its fruit two hundred.

The Beloved

13 You who dwell in the gardens,
The companions listen for your voice—
(S)Let me hear it!

The Shulamite

14 (T)Make[h] haste, my beloved,
And (U)be like a gazelle
Or a young stag
On the mountains of spices.

Footnotes

  1. Song of Solomon 7:2 Lit. mixed or spiced drink
  2. Song of Solomon 7:8 Lit. nose
  3. Song of Solomon 7:9 Gliding over
  4. Song of Solomon 7:9 LXX, Syr., Vg. lips and teeth.
  5. Song of Solomon 8:6 severe, lit. hard
  6. Song of Solomon 8:6 Or Sheol
  7. Song of Solomon 8:6 Lit. A flame of Yah, poetic form of YHWH, the Lord
  8. Song of Solomon 8:14 Hurry, lit. Flee

Judah Called to Repentance

The (A)vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the (B)days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.

The Wickedness of Judah

(C)Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth!
For the Lord has spoken:
“I have nourished and brought up children,
And they have rebelled against Me;
(D)The ox knows its owner
And the donkey its master’s [a]crib;
But Israel (E)does not know,
My people do not [b]consider.”

Alas, sinful nation,
A people [c]laden with iniquity,
(F)A [d]brood of evildoers,
Children who are corrupters!
They have forsaken the Lord,
They have provoked to anger
The Holy One of Israel,
They have turned away backward.

(G)Why should you be stricken again?
You will revolt more and more.
The whole head is sick,
And the whole heart faints.
From the sole of the foot even to the head,
There is no soundness in it,
But wounds and bruises and putrefying sores;
They have not been closed or bound up,
Or soothed with ointment.

(H)Your country is desolate,
Your cities are burned with fire;
Strangers devour your land in your presence;
And it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers.
So the daughter of Zion is left (I)as a [e]booth in a vineyard,
As a hut in a garden of cucumbers,
(J)As a besieged city.
(K)Unless the Lord of hosts
Had left to us a very small remnant,
We would have become like (L)Sodom,
We would have been made like Gomorrah.

10 Hear the word of the Lord,
You rulers (M)of Sodom;
Give ear to the law of our God,
You people of Gomorrah:
11 “To what purpose is the multitude of your (N)sacrifices to Me?”
Says the Lord.
“I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams
And the fat of fed cattle.
I do not delight in the blood of bulls,
Or of lambs or goats.

12 “When you come (O)to appear before Me,
Who has required this from your hand,
To trample My courts?
13 Bring no more (P)futile[f] sacrifices;
Incense is an abomination to Me.
The New Moons, the Sabbaths, and (Q)the calling of assemblies—
I cannot endure iniquity and the sacred meeting.
14 Your (R)New Moons and your (S)appointed feasts
My soul hates;
They are a trouble to Me,
I am weary of bearing them.
15 (T)When you [g]spread out your hands,
I will hide My eyes from you;
(U)Even though you make many prayers,
I will not hear.
Your hands are full of [h]blood.

16 “Wash(V) yourselves, make yourselves clean;
Put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes.
(W)Cease to do evil,
17 Learn to do good;
Seek justice,
Rebuke [i]the oppressor;
[j]Defend the fatherless,
Plead for the widow.

18 “Come now, and let us (X)reason together,”
Says the Lord,
“Though your sins are like scarlet,
(Y)They shall be as white as snow;
Though they are red like crimson,
They shall be as wool.
19 If you are willing and obedient,
You shall eat the good of the land;
20 But if you refuse and rebel,
You shall be devoured by the sword”;
(Z)For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

The Degenerate City

21 (AA)How the faithful city has become a [k]harlot!
It was full of justice;
Righteousness lodged in it,
But now (AB)murderers.
22 (AC)Your silver has become dross,
Your wine mixed with water.
23 (AD)Your princes are rebellious,
And (AE)companions of thieves;
(AF)Everyone loves bribes,
And follows after rewards.
They (AG)do not defend the fatherless,
Nor does the cause of the widow come before them.

24 Therefore the Lord says,
The Lord of hosts, the Mighty One of Israel,
“Ah, (AH)I will [l]rid Myself of My adversaries,
And [m]take vengeance on My enemies.
25 I will turn My hand against you,
And (AI)thoroughly[n] purge away your dross,
And take away all your alloy.
26 I will restore your judges (AJ)as at the first,
And your counselors as at the beginning.
Afterward (AK)you shall be called the city of righteousness, the faithful city.”

27 Zion shall be redeemed with justice,
And her [o]penitents with righteousness.
28 The (AL)destruction of transgressors and of sinners shall be together,
And those who forsake the Lord shall be consumed.
29 For [p]they shall be ashamed of the [q]terebinth trees
Which you have desired;
And you shall be embarrassed because of the gardens
Which you have chosen.
30 For you shall be as a terebinth whose leaf fades,
And as a garden that has no water.
31 (AM)The strong shall be as tinder,
And the work of it as a spark;
Both will burn together,
And no one shall (AN)quench them.

The Future House of God(AO)

The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.

Now (AP)it shall come to pass (AQ)in the latter days
(AR)That the mountain of the Lord’s house
Shall be established on the top of the mountains,
And shall be exalted above the hills;
And all nations shall flow to it.
Many people shall come and say,
(AS)“Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
To the house of the God of Jacob;
He will teach us His ways,
And we shall walk in His paths.”
(AT)For out of Zion shall go forth the law,
And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
He shall judge between the nations,
And rebuke many people;
They shall beat their swords into plowshares,
And their spears into pruning [r]hooks;
Nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
Neither shall they learn war anymore.

The Day of the Lord

O house of Jacob, come and let us (AU)walk
In the light of the Lord.

For You have forsaken Your people, the house of Jacob,
Because they are filled (AV)with eastern ways;
They are (AW)soothsayers like the Philistines,
(AX)And they [s]are pleased with the children of foreigners.
(AY)Their land is also full of silver and gold,
And there is no end to their treasures;
Their land is also full of horses,
And there is no end to their chariots.
(AZ)Their land is also full of idols;
They worship the work of their own hands,
That which their own fingers have made.
People bow down,
And each man humbles himself;
Therefore do not forgive them.

10 (BA)Enter into the rock, and hide in the dust,
From the terror of the Lord
And the glory of His majesty.
11 The [t]lofty looks of man shall be (BB)humbled,
The haughtiness of men shall be bowed down,
And the Lord alone shall be exalted (BC)in that day.

12 For the day of the Lord of hosts
Shall come upon everything proud and lofty,
Upon everything lifted up—
And it shall be brought low—
13 Upon all (BD)the cedars of Lebanon that are high and lifted up,
And upon all the oaks of Bashan;
14 (BE)Upon all the high mountains,
And upon all the hills that are lifted up;
15 Upon every high tower,
And upon every fortified wall;
16 (BF)Upon all the ships of Tarshish,
And upon all the beautiful sloops.
17 The [u]loftiness of man shall be bowed down,
And the haughtiness of men shall be brought low;
The Lord alone will be exalted in that day,
18 But the idols [v]He shall utterly abolish.

19 They shall go into the (BG)holes of the rocks,
And into the caves of the [w]earth,
(BH)From the terror of the Lord
And the glory of His majesty,
When He arises (BI)to shake the earth mightily.

20 In that day a man will cast away his idols of silver
And his idols of gold,
Which they made, each for himself to worship,
To the moles and bats,
21 To go into the clefts of the rocks,
And into the crags of the rugged rocks,
From the terror of the Lord
And the glory of His majesty,
When He arises to shake the earth mightily.

22 (BJ)Sever[x] yourselves from such a man,
Whose (BK)breath is in his nostrils;
For [y]of what account is he?

Judgment on Judah and Jerusalem

For behold, the Lord, the Lord of hosts,
(BL)Takes away from Jerusalem and from Judah
(BM)The[z] stock and the store,
The whole supply of bread and the whole supply of water;
(BN)The mighty man and the man of war,
The judge and the prophet,
And the diviner and the elder;
The captain of fifty and the [aa]honorable man,
The counselor and the skillful artisan,
And the expert enchanter.

“I will give (BO)children[ab] to be their princes,
And [ac]babes shall rule over them.
The people will be oppressed,
Every one by another and every one by his neighbor;
The child will be insolent toward the [ad]elder,
And the [ae]base toward the honorable.”

When a man takes hold of his brother
In the house of his father, saying,
“You have clothing;
You be our ruler,
And let these ruins be under your [af]power,”
In that day he will protest, saying,
“I cannot cure your ills,
For in my house is neither food nor clothing;
Do not make me a ruler of the people.”

For (BP)Jerusalem stumbled,
And Judah is fallen,
Because their tongue and their doings
Are against the Lord,
To provoke the eyes of His glory.
The look on their countenance witnesses against them,
And they declare their sin as (BQ)Sodom;
They do not hide it.
Woe to their soul!
For they have brought evil upon themselves.

10 “Say to the righteous (BR)that it shall be well with them,
(BS)For they shall eat the fruit of their doings.
11 Woe to the wicked! (BT)It shall be ill with him,
For the reward of his hands shall be [ag]given him.
12 As for My people, children are their oppressors,
And women rule over them.
O My people! (BU)Those who lead you [ah]cause you to err,
And destroy the way of your paths.”

Oppression and Luxury Condemned

13 The Lord stands up (BV)to [ai]plead,
And stands to judge the people.
14 The Lord will enter into judgment
With the elders of His people
And His princes:
“For you have [aj]eaten up (BW)the vineyard;
The plunder of the poor is in your houses.
15 What do you mean by (BX)crushing My people
And grinding the faces of the poor?”
Says the Lord God of hosts.

16 Moreover the Lord says:

“Because the daughters of Zion are haughty,
And walk with [ak]outstretched necks
And [al]wanton eyes,
Walking and [am]mincing as they go,
Making a jingling with their feet,
17 Therefore the Lord will strike with (BY)a scab
The crown of the head of the daughters of Zion,
And the Lord will (BZ)uncover their secret parts.”

18 In that day the Lord will take away the finery:
The jingling anklets, the [an]scarves, and the (CA)crescents;
19 The pendants, the bracelets, and the veils;
20 The headdresses, the leg ornaments, and the headbands;
The perfume boxes, the charms,
21     and the rings;
The nose jewels,
22     the festal apparel, and the mantles;
The outer garments, the purses,
23     and the mirrors;
The fine linen, the turbans, and the robes.

24 And so it shall be:

Instead of a sweet smell there will be a stench;
Instead of a sash, a rope;
Instead of well-set hair, (CB)baldness;
Instead of a rich robe, a girding of sackcloth;
And [ao]branding instead of beauty.
25 Your men shall fall by the sword,
And your [ap]mighty in the war.

26 (CC)Her gates shall lament and mourn,
And she being desolate (CD)shall sit on the ground.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 1:3 manger or feed trough
  2. Isaiah 1:3 understand
  3. Isaiah 1:4 Lit. heavy, weighed down
  4. Isaiah 1:4 offspring, seed
  5. Isaiah 1:8 shelter
  6. Isaiah 1:13 worthless
  7. Isaiah 1:15 Pray
  8. Isaiah 1:15 bloodshed
  9. Isaiah 1:17 Some ancient vss. the oppressed
  10. Isaiah 1:17 Vindicate
  11. Isaiah 1:21 Unfaithful
  12. Isaiah 1:24 be relieved of
  13. Isaiah 1:24 avenge Myself
  14. Isaiah 1:25 refine with lye
  15. Isaiah 1:27 Lit. returners
  16. Isaiah 1:29 So with MT, LXX, Vg.; some Heb. mss., Tg. you
  17. Isaiah 1:29 Sites of pagan worship
  18. Isaiah 2:4 knives
  19. Isaiah 2:6 Or clap, shake hands to make bargains with the children
  20. Isaiah 2:11 proud
  21. Isaiah 2:17 pride
  22. Isaiah 2:18 Or shall utterly vanish
  23. Isaiah 2:19 Lit. dust
  24. Isaiah 2:22 Lit. Cease yourselves from the man
  25. Isaiah 2:22 Lit. in what is he to be esteemed
  26. Isaiah 3:1 Every support
  27. Isaiah 3:3 Eminent looking men
  28. Isaiah 3:4 boys
  29. Isaiah 3:4 Or capricious ones
  30. Isaiah 3:5 aged
  31. Isaiah 3:5 despised, lightly esteemed
  32. Isaiah 3:6 Lit. hand
  33. Isaiah 3:11 done to him
  34. Isaiah 3:12 lead you astray
  35. Isaiah 3:13 contend, plead His case
  36. Isaiah 3:14 burned
  37. Isaiah 3:16 Head held high
  38. Isaiah 3:16 seductive, ogling
  39. Isaiah 3:16 tripping or skipping
  40. Isaiah 3:18 headbands
  41. Isaiah 3:24 burning scar
  42. Isaiah 3:25 Lit. strength

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