Song of Solomon 1-2
English Standard Version
1 The Song of (A)Songs, which is Solomon's.
The Bride Confesses Her Love
She[a]
2 Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth!
For your (B)love is better than wine;
3 your (C)anointing oils are fragrant;
your (D)name is oil poured out;
therefore virgins love you.
4 (E)Draw me after you; (F)let us run.
(G)The king has brought me into his chambers.
Others
We will (H)exult and rejoice in you;
we will extol (I)your love more than wine;
rightly do they love you.
She
5 I am very dark, but (J)lovely,
O (K)daughters of Jerusalem,
like (L)the tents of (M)Kedar,
like the curtains of Solomon.
6 Do not gaze at me because I am dark,
because the sun has looked upon me.
My (N)mother's sons were angry with me;
they made me (O)keeper of (P)the vineyards,
but (Q)my own vineyard I have not kept!
7 Tell me, you (R)whom my soul loves,
where you (S)pasture your flock,
where you make it (T)lie down at noon;
for why should I be like one who veils herself
beside the flocks of your (U)companions?
Solomon and His Bride Delight in Each Other
He
8 If you do not know,
O (V)most beautiful among women,
follow in the tracks of the flock,
and pasture your young goats
beside the shepherds' tents.
9 I compare you, (W)my love,
to (X)a mare among Pharaoh's chariots.
10 (Y)Your cheeks are lovely with ornaments,
your neck with strings of jewels.
Others
11 We will make for you[b] ornaments of gold,
studded with silver.
She
12 While (Z)the king was on his couch,
my (AA)nard gave forth its fragrance.
13 My beloved is to me a sachet of (AB)myrrh
that lies between my breasts.
14 My beloved is to me a cluster of (AC)henna blossoms
in the vineyards of (AD)Engedi.
He
15 (AE)Behold, (AF)you are beautiful, (AG)my love;
behold, you are beautiful;
your (AH)eyes are doves.
She
16 Behold, you are beautiful, (AI)my beloved, truly (AJ)delightful.
Our couch is green;
17 the beams of our house are (AK)cedar;
our rafters are (AL)pine.
He
2 As a lily among brambles,
so is (AN)my love among the young women.
She
3 As an apple tree among the trees of the forest,
so is my (AO)beloved among the young men.
With great delight I sat (AP)in his shadow,
and his (AQ)fruit was sweet to my taste.
4 He (AR)brought me to the banqueting house,[d]
and his (AS)banner over me was love.
5 Sustain me with (AT)raisins;
refresh me with apples,
(AU)for I am sick with love.
6 His (AV)left hand is under my head,
and his right hand (AW)embraces me!
7 I (AX)adjure you,[e] O (AY)daughters of Jerusalem,
by (AZ)the gazelles or the does of the field,
that you not stir up or awaken love
until it pleases.
The Bride Adores Her Beloved
8 The voice of my beloved!
Behold, he comes,
leaping (BA)over the mountains,
bounding over the hills.
9 My beloved is like (BB)a gazelle
or a young stag.
Behold, there he stands
behind our wall,
gazing through the windows,
looking through the lattice.
10 My beloved speaks and says to me:
(BC)“Arise, my love, my beautiful one,
and come away,
11 for behold, the winter is past;
(BD)the rain is over and gone.
12 (BE)The flowers appear on the earth,
the time of singing[f] has come,
and the voice of (BF)the turtledove
is heard in our land.
13 (BG)The fig tree ripens its figs,
and (BH)the vines are in blossom;
they give forth fragrance.
(BI)Arise, my love, my beautiful one,
and come away.
14 O my (BJ)dove, in the (BK)clefts of the rock,
in the crannies of the cliff,
let me see your face,
let me (BL)hear your voice,
for your voice is sweet,
and your face is (BM)lovely.
15 Catch (BN)the foxes[g] for us,
the little foxes
that spoil the vineyards,
(BO)for our vineyards are in blossom.”
16 (BP)My beloved is mine, and I am his;
he (BQ)grazes[h] among the lilies.
17 Until (BR)the day breathes
and (BS)the shadows flee,
turn, my beloved, be like (BT)a gazelle
or a young stag on cleft mountains.[i]
Footnotes
- Song of Solomon 1:2 The translators have added speaker identifications based on the gender and number of the Hebrew words
- Song of Solomon 1:11 The Hebrew for you is feminine singular
- Song of Solomon 2:1 Probably a bulb, such as a crocus, asphodel, or narcissus
- Song of Solomon 2:4 Hebrew the house of wine
- Song of Solomon 2:7 That is, I put you on oath; so throughout the Song
- Song of Solomon 2:12 Or pruning
- Song of Solomon 2:15 Or jackals
- Song of Solomon 2:16 Or he pastures his flock
- Song of Solomon 2:17 Or mountains of Bether
Romans 11:11-36
English Standard Version
Gentiles Grafted In
11 So I ask, did they stumble in order that they might fall? By no means! Rather, through their trespass (A)salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous. 12 Now if their trespass means riches for the world, and if their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their full inclusion[a] mean!
13 Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch then as (B)I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry 14 in order somehow to make my fellow Jews jealous, and (C)thus save some of them. 15 For if their rejection means (D)the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead? 16 (E)If the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, so is the whole lump, and if the root is holy, so are the branches.
17 But if (F)some of the branches were broken off, and you, (G)although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root[b] of the olive tree, 18 do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you. 19 Then you will say, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” 20 That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you (H)stand fast through faith. So (I)do not become proud, but (J)fear. 21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you. 22 Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God's kindness to you, (K)provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise (L)you too will be cut off. 23 And (M)even they, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again. 24 For if you were cut from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, the natural branches, be grafted back into their own olive tree.
The Mystery of Israel's Salvation
25 (N)Lest you be wise in your own sight, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers:[c] (O)a partial hardening has come upon Israel, (P)until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. 26 And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written,
(Q)“The Deliverer will come (R)from Zion,
he will banish ungodliness from Jacob”;
27 “and this will be my (S)covenant with them
(T)when I take away their sins.”
28 As regards the gospel, they are enemies for your sake. But as regards election, they are (U)beloved for the sake of their forefathers. 29 For the gifts and (V)the calling of God are irrevocable. 30 For just as (W)you were at one time disobedient to God but now have received mercy because of their disobedience, 31 so they too have now been disobedient in order that by the mercy shown to you they also may now[d] receive mercy. 32 For God (X)has consigned all to disobedience, that he may have mercy on all.
33 Oh, the depth of the riches and (Y)wisdom and knowledge of God! (Z)How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!
34 “For (AA)who has known the mind of the Lord,
or (AB)who has been his counselor?”
35 “Or (AC)who has given a gift to him
that he might be repaid?”
36 For (AD)from him and through him and to him are all things. (AE)To him be glory forever. Amen.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Romans 11:12 Greek their fullness
- Romans 11:17 Greek root of richness; some manuscripts richness
- Romans 11:25 Or brothers and sisters
- Romans 11:31 Some manuscripts omit now
Psalm 99
English Standard Version
The Lord Our God Is Holy
99 (A)The Lord reigns; (B)let the peoples tremble!
He (C)sits enthroned upon the cherubim; (D)let the earth quake!
2 The Lord is (E)great in Zion;
he is (F)exalted over all the peoples.
3 Let them praise your (G)great and awesome name!
(H)Holy is he!
4 (I)The King in his might (J)loves justice.[a]
You have established equity;
you have executed justice
and righteousness in Jacob.
5 (K)Exalt the Lord our God;
(L)worship at his (M)footstool!
(N)Holy is he!
6 (O)Moses and Aaron were among his (P)priests,
Samuel also was among those who (Q)called upon his name.
They (R)called to the Lord, and he answered them.
7 In (S)the pillar of the cloud he spoke to them;
they (T)kept his testimonies
and the statute that he gave them.
8 O Lord our God, you answered them;
you were (U)a forgiving God to them,
but (V)an avenger of their wrongdoings.
9 Exalt the Lord our God,
and worship at his (W)holy mountain;
for the Lord our God is holy!
Footnotes
- Psalm 99:4 Or The might of the King loves justice
Proverbs 21:1-3
English Standard Version
21 The king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord;
he (A)turns it wherever he will.
2 (B)Every way of a man is right in his own eyes,
but the Lord (C)weighs the heart.
3 (D)To do righteousness and justice
is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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