Song of Songs 1-4
Christian Standard Bible
1 The Song of Songs, which is Solomon’s.(A)
Woman
2 Oh, that he would kiss me with the kisses of his mouth!
For your caresses[a] are more delightful than wine.(B)
3 The fragrance of your perfume is intoxicating;(C)
your name is perfume poured out.(D)
No wonder young women[b] adore you.
4 Take me with you(E)—let’s hurry.
Oh, that the king would bring[c] me to his chambers.
Young Women
We will rejoice and be glad in you;
we will celebrate your caresses more than wine.
Woman
It is only right that they adore you.
5 Daughters of Jerusalem,(F)
I am dark like the tents of Kedar,(G)
yet lovely(H) like the curtains of Solomon.
6 Do not stare at me because I am dark,
for the sun has gazed on me.
My mother’s sons were angry with me;(I)
they made me take care of the vineyards.(J)
I have not taken care of my own vineyard.
7 Tell me, you whom I love:(K)
Where do you pasture your sheep?(L)
Where do you let them rest at noon?(M)
Why should I be like one who veils herself[d]
beside the flocks of your companions?(N)
Man
8 [e]If you do not know,
most beautiful of women,(O)
follow[f] the tracks of the flock,
and pasture your young goats
near the shepherds’ tents.
9 I compare you, my darling,(P)
to a[g] mare among Pharaoh’s chariots.(Q)
10 Your cheeks are beautiful with jewelry,(R)
your neck with its necklace.
11 We will make gold jewelry for you,
accented with silver.
Woman
12 While the king is on his couch,[h]
my perfume[i] releases its fragrance.(S)
13 The one I love is a sachet of myrrh to me,(T)
spending the night between my breasts.
14 The one I love is a cluster of henna blossoms to me,(U)
in the vineyards of En-gedi.(V)
Man
15 How beautiful you are, my darling.
How very beautiful!
Your eyes are doves.(W)
Woman
16 How handsome you are, my love.(X)
How delightful!
Our bed is verdant;
17 the beams of our house are cedars,
and our rafters are cypresses.[j]
2 I am a wildflower[k] of Sharon,
a lily[l] of the valleys.(Y)
Man
2 Like a lily among thorns,
so is my darling among the young women.
Woman
3 Like an apricot[m] tree among the trees of the forest,
so is my love among the young men.
I delight to sit in his shade,
and his fruit is sweet to my taste.
4 He brought me to the banquet hall,[n](Z)
and he looked on me with love.[o](AA)
5 Sustain me with raisins;
refresh me with apricots,[p]
for I am lovesick.(AB)
6 May his left hand be under my head,
and his right arm embrace me.(AC)
7 Young women of Jerusalem, I charge you
by the gazelles and the wild does of the field,
do not stir up or awaken love
until the appropriate time.[q](AD)
8 Listen! My love is approaching.
Look! Here he comes,
leaping over the mountains,(AE)
bounding over the hills.
9 My love is like a gazelle
or a young stag.(AF)
See, he is standing behind our wall,
gazing through the windows,
peering through the lattice.
10 My love calls to me:
Man
Arise,(AG) my darling.
Come away, my beautiful one.
11 For now the winter is past;
the rain has ended and gone away.
12 The blossoms appear in the countryside.
The time of singing[r] has come,
and the turtledove’s cooing is heard in our land.(AH)
13 The fig tree ripens its figs;(AI)
the blossoming vines give off their fragrance.(AJ)
Arise, my darling.
Come away, my beautiful one.
14 My dove,(AK) in the clefts of the rock,(AL)
in the crevices of the cliff,
let me see your face,[s]
let me hear your voice;(AM)
for your voice is sweet,
and your face is lovely.(AN)
Woman
15 [t]Catch the foxes for us(AO)—
the little foxes that ruin the vineyards—
for our vineyards are in bloom.(AP)
Woman
16 My love is mine and I am his;(AQ)
he feeds among the lilies.
17 Until the day breaks[u]
and the shadows flee,
turn around, my love, and be like a gazelle
or a young stag(AR) on the divided mountains.[v](AS)
3 In my bed at night[w]
I sought the one I love;(AT)
I sought him, but did not find him.[x](AU)
2 I will arise now and go about the city,
through the streets and the plazas.(AV)
I will seek the one I love.
I sought him, but did not find him.
3 The guards who go about the city found me.(AW)
I asked them, “Have you seen the one I love?”
4 I had just passed them
when I found the one I love.
I held on to him and would not let him go
until I brought him to my mother’s house(AX)—
to the chamber of the one who conceived me.
5 Young women of Jerusalem, I charge you
by the gazelles and the wild does of the field,
do not stir up or awaken love
until the appropriate time.[y](AY)
Narrator
6 Who is this(AZ) coming up from the wilderness
like columns of smoke,
scented with myrrh and frankincense(BA)
from every fragrant powder of the merchant?
7 Look! Solomon’s bed
surrounded by sixty warriors
from the mighty men of Israel.
8 All of them are skilled with swords
and trained in warfare.
Each has his sword at his side(BB)
to guard against the terror of the night.(BC)
9 King Solomon made a carriage for himself
with wood from Lebanon.
10 He made its posts of silver,
its back[z] of gold,
and its seat of purple.
Its interior is inlaid with love[aa]
by the young women of Jerusalem.(BD)
11 Go out, young women of Zion,(BE)
and gaze at King Solomon,
wearing the crown his mother placed on him
on the day of his wedding(BF)—
the day of his heart’s rejoicing.
Man
4 How beautiful you are, my darling.
How very beautiful!
Behind your veil,
your eyes are doves.(BG)
Your hair is like a flock of goats
streaming down Mount Gilead.(BH)
2 Your teeth are like a flock of newly shorn sheep
coming up from washing,
each one bearing twins,
and none has lost its young.[ab](BI)
3 Your lips are like a scarlet cord,(BJ)
and your mouth[ac] is lovely.
Behind your veil,
your brow[ad] is like a slice of pomegranate.(BK)
4 Your neck is like the tower of David,(BL)
constructed in layers.
A thousand shields are hung on it—
all of them shields of warriors.
5 Your breasts are like two fawns,
twins of a gazelle,(BM) that feed among the lilies.
6 Until the day breaks[ae]
and the shadows flee,(BN)
I will make my way to the mountain of myrrh
and the hill of frankincense.(BO)
7 You are absolutely beautiful,(BP) my darling;
there is no imperfection in you.
8 Come with me from Lebanon,[af](BQ) my bride;(BR)
come with me from Lebanon!
Descend from the peak of Amana,
from the summit of Senir and Hermon,(BS)
from the dens of the lions,
from the mountains of the leopards.
9 You have captured my heart,(BT) my sister,(BU) my bride.
You have captured my heart with one glance of your eyes,
with one jewel of your necklace.
10 How delightful your caresses are, my sister, my bride.
Your caresses are much better than wine,(BV)
and the fragrance of your perfume than any balsam.
11 Your lips drip sweetness like the honeycomb, my bride.(BW)
Honey and milk(BX) are under your tongue.
The fragrance of your garments is like the fragrance of Lebanon.
12 My sister, my bride, you are a locked garden—
a locked garden[ag] and a sealed spring.(BY)
13 Your branches are a paradise[ah] of pomegranates
with choicest fruits;(BZ)
henna with nard,
14 nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon,(CA)
with all the trees of frankincense,(CB)
myrrh and aloes,(CC)
with all the best spices.
15 You are a garden spring,
a well of flowing water(CD)
streaming from Lebanon.
Woman
16 Awaken,(CE) north wind;
come, south wind.
Blow on my garden,
and spread the fragrance of its spices.
Let my love come to his garden
and eat its choicest fruits.(CF)
Footnotes
- 1:2 Or acts of love
- 1:3 Or wonder virgins
- 1:4 Or The king has brought
- 1:7 Or who wanders
- 1:8 Some understand the young women to be the speakers in this verse.
- 1:8 Lit go out for yourself into
- 1:9 Lit my
- 1:12 Or is at his table
- 1:12 Lit nard
- 1:17 Or firs, or pines
- 2:1 Traditionally rose
- 2:1 Or lotus
- 2:3 Or apple
- 2:4 Lit the house of wine
- 2:4 Or and his banner over me is love
- 2:5 Or apples
- 2:7 Lit until it pleases
- 2:12 Or pruning
- 2:14 Or form
- 2:15 The speaker could be the woman, the man, or both.
- 2:17 Lit breathes
- 2:17 Or the Bether mountains, or the mountains of spices; Hb obscure
- 3:1 Or bed night after night
- 3:1 LXX adds I called him, but he did not answer me
- 3:5 Lit until it pleases
- 3:10 Or base, or canopy
- 3:10 Or leather
- 4:2 Lit and no one bereaved among them
- 4:3 Or speech
- 4:3 Or temple, or cheek, or lips
- 4:6 Lit breathes
- 4:8 In Hb, the word for Lebanon is similar to “frankincense” in Sg 4:6,14,15.
- 4:12 Some Hb mss read locked fountain
- 4:13 Or park, or orchard
Ephesians 6
Christian Standard Bible
Children and Parents
6 Children, obey(A) your parents in the Lord, because this is right. 2 Honor your father and mother, which is the first commandment with a promise, 3 so that it may go well with you and that you may have a long life in the land.[a][b](B) 4 Fathers, don’t stir up anger(C) in your children, but bring them up in the training(D) and instruction of the Lord.
Slaves and Masters
5 Slaves, obey your human[c] masters(E) with fear and trembling,(F) in the sincerity(G) of your heart, as you would Christ. 6 Don’t work only while being watched, as people-pleasers, but as slaves of Christ, doing God’s will(H) from your heart. 7 Serve with a good attitude, as to the Lord and not to people,(I) 8 knowing that whatever good each one does, slave or free, he will receive this back from the Lord. 9 And masters, treat your slaves the same way, without threatening(J) them, because you know that both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism(K) with him.(L)
Christian Warfare
10 Finally, be strengthened by the Lord and by his vast strength.(M) 11 Put on(N) the full armor(O) of God so that you can stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh(P) and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities,(Q) against the cosmic powers of this darkness, against evil,(R) spiritual forces in the heavens.(S) 13 For this reason take up the full armor(T) of God, so that you may be able to resist(U) in the evil day, and having prepared everything, to take your stand. 14 Stand,(V) therefore, with truth(W) like a belt around your waist, righteousness(X) like armor on your chest,(Y) 15 and your feet sandaled with readiness for the gospel of peace. 16 In every situation take up the shield(Z) of faith(AA) with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.(AB) 17 Take the helmet(AC) of salvation and the sword(AD) of the Spirit(AE)—which is the word of God. 18 Pray(AF) at all times in the Spirit(AG) with every prayer and request, and stay alert(AH) with all perseverance and intercession for all the saints. 19 Pray also for me, that the message may be given to me when I open my mouth to make known with boldness(AI) the mystery of the gospel. 20 For this I am an ambassador(AJ) in chains. Pray that I might be bold enough to speak about it as I should.
Paul’s Farewell
21 Tychicus,(AK) our dearly loved brother and faithful servant[d] in the Lord, will tell you all the news about me so that you may be informed. 22 I am sending him to you for this very reason, to let you know how we are and to encourage(AL) your hearts.(AM)
23 Peace to the brothers and sisters, and love with faith, from God the Father(AN) and the Lord Jesus Christ. 24 Grace be with all who have undying love for our Lord Jesus Christ.[e][f]
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.
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