⁶ Who, being in very nature^[a] God,^(J)
    did not consider equality with God^(K) something to be used to his own advantage;
⁷ rather, he made himself nothing^(L)
    by taking the very nature^[b] of a servant,^(M)
    being made in human likeness.^(N)
8 And being found in appearance as a man,
    he humbled himself
    by becoming obedient to death^(O)—
        even death on a cross!^(P)

⁹ Therefore God exalted him^(Q) to the highest place
    and gave him the name that is above every name,^(R)
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,^(S)
    in heaven and on earth and under the earth,^(T)
11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,^(U)
    to the glory of God the Father.

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;^(C)
    his love endures forever.^(D)

² Who can proclaim the mighty acts^(E) of the Lord
    or fully declare his praise?
³ Blessed are those who act justly,^(F)
    who always do what is right.^(G)

⁴ Remember me,^(H) Lord, when you show favor^(I) to your people,
    come to my aid^(J) when you save them,
⁵ that I may enjoy the prosperity^(K) of your chosen ones,^(L)
    that I may share in the joy^(M) of your nation
    and join your inheritance^(N) in giving praise.

⁶ We have sinned,^(O) even as our ancestors^(P) did;
    we have done wrong and acted wickedly.^(Q)
7 When our ancestors were in Egypt,
    they gave no thought^(R) to your miracles;
they did not remember^(S) your many kindnesses,
    and they rebelled by the sea,^(T) the Red Sea.^[b]
8 Yet he saved them^(U) for his name’s sake,^(V)
    to make his mighty power^(W) known.
⁹ He rebuked^(X) the Red Sea, and it dried up;^(Y)
    he led them through^(Z) the depths as through a desert.
¹⁰ He saved them^(AA) from the hand of the foe;^(AB)
    from the hand of the enemy he redeemed them.^(AC)
11 The waters covered^(AD) their adversaries;
    not one of them survived.
¹² Then they believed his promises
    and sang his praise.^(AE)

¹³ But they soon forgot^(AF) what he had done
    and did not wait for his plan to unfold.^(AG)
14 In the desert^(AH) they gave in to their craving;
    in the wilderness^(AI) they put God to the test.^(AJ)
15 So he gave them^(AK) what they asked for,
    but sent a wasting disease^(AL) among them.

¹⁶ In the camp they grew envious^(AM) of Moses
    and of Aaron, who was consecrated to the Lord.
¹⁷ The earth opened^(AN) up and swallowed Dathan;^(AO)
    it buried the company of Abiram.^(AP)
18 Fire blazed^(AQ) among their followers;
    a flame consumed the wicked.
¹⁹ At Horeb they made a calf^(AR)
    and worshiped an idol cast from metal.
²⁰ They exchanged their glorious God^(AS)
    for an image of a bull, which eats grass.
²¹ They forgot the God^(AT) who saved them,
    who had done great things^(AU) in Egypt,
²² miracles in the land of Ham^(AV)
    and awesome deeds^(AW) by the Red Sea.
²³ So he said he would destroy^(AX) them—
    had not Moses, his chosen one,
stood in the breach^(AY) before him
    to keep his wrath from destroying them.

²⁴ Then they despised^(AZ) the pleasant land;^(BA)
    they did not believe^(BB) his promise.
²⁵ They grumbled^(BC) in their tents
    and did not obey the Lord.
²⁶ So he swore^(BD) to them with uplifted hand
    that he would make them fall in the wilderness,^(BE)
27 make their descendants fall among the nations
    and scatter^(BF) them throughout the lands.

²⁸ They yoked themselves to the Baal of Peor^(BG)
    and ate sacrifices offered to lifeless gods;
²⁹ they aroused the Lord’s anger^(BH) by their wicked deeds,^(BI)
    and a plague^(BJ) broke out among them.
³⁰ But Phinehas^(BK) stood up and intervened,
    and the plague was checked.^(BL)
31 This was credited to him^(BM) as righteousness
    for endless generations^(BN) to come.
³² By the waters of Meribah^(BO) they angered the Lord,
    and trouble came to Moses because of them;
³³ for they rebelled^(BP) against the Spirit^(BQ) of God,
    and rash words came from Moses’ lips.^[c](BR)

³⁴ They did not destroy^(BS) the peoples
    as the Lord had commanded^(BT) them,
³⁵ but they mingled^(BU) with the nations
    and adopted their customs.
³⁶ They worshiped their idols,^(BV)
    which became a snare^(BW) to them.
³⁷ They sacrificed their sons^(BX)
    and their daughters to false gods.^(BY)
38 They shed innocent blood,
    the blood of their sons^(BZ) and daughters,
whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan,
    and the land was desecrated by their blood.
³⁹ They defiled themselves^(CA) by what they did;
    by their deeds they prostituted^(CB) themselves.

⁴⁰ Therefore the Lord was angry^(CC) with his people
    and abhorred his inheritance.^(CD)
41 He gave them into the hands^(CE) of the nations,
    and their foes ruled over them.
⁴² Their enemies oppressed^(CF) them
    and subjected them to their power.
⁴³ Many times he delivered them,^(CG)
    but they were bent on rebellion^(CH)
    and they wasted away in their sin.
⁴⁴ Yet he took note of their distress
    when he heard their cry;^(CI)
45 for their sake he remembered his covenant^(CJ)
    and out of his great love^(CK) he relented.^(CL)
46 He caused all who held them captive
    to show them mercy.^(CM)

⁴⁷ Save us,^(CN) Lord our God,
    and gather us^(CO) from the nations,
that we may give thanks^(CP) to your holy name^(CQ)
    and glory in your praise.

⁴⁸ Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel,
    from everlasting to everlasting.

Let all the people say, “Amen!”^(CR)

Praise the Lord.

This man’s utterance to Ithiel:

“I am weary, God,
    but I can prevail.^[a]
2 Surely I am only a brute, not a man;
    I do not have human understanding.
³ I have not learned wisdom,
    nor have I attained to the knowledge of the Holy One.^(B)
4 Who has gone up^(C) to heaven and come down?
    Whose hands^(D) have gathered up the wind?
Who has wrapped up the waters^(E) in a cloak?^(F)
    Who has established all the ends of the earth?
What is his name,^(G) and what is the name of his son?
    Surely you know!

⁵ “Every word of God is flawless;^(H)
    he is a shield^(I) to those who take refuge in him.
⁶ Do not add^(J) to his words,
    or he will rebuke you and prove you a liar.

⁷ “Two things I ask of you, Lord;
    do not refuse me before I die:
⁸ Keep falsehood and lies far from me;
    give me neither poverty nor riches,
    but give me only my daily bread.^(K)
9 Otherwise, I may have too much and disown^(L) you
    and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’^(M)
Or I may become poor and steal,
    and so dishonor the name of my God.^(N)

¹⁰ “Do not slander a servant to their master,
    or they will curse you, and you will pay for it.

¹¹ “There are those who curse their fathers
    and do not bless their mothers;^(O)
12 those who are pure in their own eyes^(P)
    and yet are not cleansed of their filth;^(Q)
13 those whose eyes are ever so haughty,^(R)
    whose glances are so disdainful;
¹⁴ those whose teeth^(S) are swords
    and whose jaws are set with knives^(T)
to devour^(U) the poor^(V) from the earth
    and the needy from among mankind.^(W)

¹⁵ “The leech has two daughters.
    ‘Give! Give!’ they cry.

“There are three things that are never satisfied,^(X)
    four that never say, ‘Enough!’:
¹⁶ the grave,^(Y) the barren womb,
    land, which is never satisfied with water,
    and fire, which never says, ‘Enough!’

¹⁷ “The eye that mocks^(Z) a father,
    that scorns an aged mother,
will be pecked out by the ravens of the valley,
    will be eaten by the vultures.^(AA)

¹⁸ “There are three things that are too amazing for me,
    four that I do not understand:
¹⁹ the way of an eagle in the sky,
    the way of a snake on a rock,
the way of a ship on the high seas,
    and the way of a man with a young woman.

²⁰ “This is the way of an adulterous woman:
    She eats and wipes her mouth
    and says, ‘I’ve done nothing wrong.’^(AB)

²¹ “Under three things the earth trembles,
    under four it cannot bear up:
²² a servant who becomes king,^(AC)
    a godless fool who gets plenty to eat,
²³ a contemptible woman who gets married,
    and a servant who displaces her mistress.

²⁴ “Four things on earth are small,
    yet they are extremely wise:
²⁵ Ants are creatures of little strength,
    yet they store up their food in the summer;^(AD)
26 hyraxes^(AE) are creatures of little power,
    yet they make their home in the crags;
²⁷ locusts^(AF) have no king,
    yet they advance together in ranks;
²⁸ a lizard can be caught with the hand,
    yet it is found in kings’ palaces.

²⁹ “There are three things that are stately in their stride,
    four that move with stately bearing:
³⁰ a lion, mighty among beasts,
    who retreats before nothing;
³¹ a strutting rooster, a he-goat,
    and a king secure against revolt.^[b]

³² “If you play the fool and exalt yourself,
    or if you plan evil,
    clap your hand over your mouth!^(AG)
33 For as churning cream produces butter,
    and as twisting the nose produces blood,
    so stirring up anger produces strife.”

² Listen, my son! Listen, son of my womb!
    Listen, my son, the answer to my prayers!^(AI)
3 Do not spend your strength^[c] on women,
    your vigor on those who ruin kings.^(AJ)

⁴ It is not for kings, Lemuel—
    it is not for kings to drink wine,^(AK)
    not for rulers to crave beer,
⁵ lest they drink^(AL) and forget what has been decreed,^(AM)
    and deprive all the oppressed of their rights.
⁶ Let beer be for those who are perishing,
    wine^(AN) for those who are in anguish!
⁷ Let them drink^(AO) and forget their poverty
    and remember their misery no more.

⁸ Speak^(AP) up for those who cannot speak for themselves,
    for the rights of all who are destitute.
⁹ Speak up and judge fairly;
    defend the rights of the poor and needy.^(AQ)

⁸ Listen! My beloved!
    Look! Here he comes,
leaping across the mountains,
    bounding over the hills.^(N)
9 My beloved is like a gazelle^(O) or a young stag.^(P)
    Look! There he stands behind our wall,
gazing through the windows,
    peering through the lattice.
¹⁰ My beloved spoke and said to me,
    “Arise, my darling,
    my beautiful one, come with me.
¹¹ See! The winter is past;
    the rains are over and gone.
¹² Flowers appear on the earth;
    the season of singing has come,
the cooing of doves
    is heard in our land.
¹³ The fig tree forms its early fruit;^(Q)
    the blossoming^(R) vines spread their fragrance.
Arise, come, my darling;
    my beautiful one, come with me.”

3 All night long on my bed
    I looked^(AD) for the one my heart loves;
    I looked for him but did not find him.
² I will get up now and go about the city,
    through its streets and squares;
I will search for the one my heart loves.
    So I looked for him but did not find him.
³ The watchmen found me
    as they made their rounds in the city.^(AE)
    “Have you seen the one my heart loves?”
⁴ Scarcely had I passed them
    when I found the one my heart loves.
I held him and would not let him go
    till I had brought him to my mother’s house,^(AF)
    to the room of the one who conceived me.^(AG)
5 Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you^(AH)
    by the gazelles and by the does of the field:
Do not arouse or awaken love
    until it so desires.^(AI)

⁶ Who is this coming up from the wilderness^(AJ)
    like a column of smoke,
perfumed with myrrh^(AK) and incense
    made from all the spices^(AL) of the merchant?
⁷ Look! It is Solomon’s carriage,
    escorted by sixty warriors,^(AM)
    the noblest of Israel,
⁸ all of them wearing the sword,
    all experienced in battle,
each with his sword at his side,
    prepared for the terrors of the night.^(AN)
9 King Solomon made for himself the carriage;
    he made it of wood from Lebanon.
¹⁰ Its posts he made of silver,
    its base of gold.
Its seat was upholstered with purple,
    its interior inlaid with love.
Daughters of Jerusalem, ¹¹ come out,
    and look, you daughters of Zion.^(AO)
Look^[e] on King Solomon wearing a crown,
    the crown with which his mother crowned him
on the day of his wedding,
    the day his heart rejoiced.^(AP)

⁸ Come with me from Lebanon, my bride,^(BG)
    come with me from Lebanon.
Descend from the crest of Amana,
    from the top of Senir,^(BH) the summit of Hermon,^(BI)
from the lions’ dens
    and the mountain haunts of leopards.
⁹ You have stolen my heart, my sister, my bride;^(BJ)
    you have stolen my heart
with one glance of your eyes,
    with one jewel of your necklace.^(BK)
10 How delightful^(BL) is your love^(BM), my sister, my bride!
    How much more pleasing is your love than wine,^(BN)
and the fragrance of your perfume^(BO)
    more than any spice!
¹¹ Your lips drop sweetness as the honeycomb, my bride;
    milk and honey are under your tongue.^(BP)
The fragrance of your garments
    is like the fragrance of Lebanon.^(BQ)
12 You are a garden^(BR) locked up, my sister, my bride;^(BS)
    you are a spring enclosed, a sealed fountain.^(BT)
13 Your plants are an orchard of pomegranates^(BU)
    with choice fruits,
    with henna^(BV) and nard,
¹⁴     nard and saffron,
    calamus and cinnamon,^(BW)
    with every kind of incense tree,
    with myrrh^(BX) and aloes^(BY)
    and all the finest spices.^(BZ)
15 You are^[g] a garden^(CA) fountain,^(CB)
    a well of flowing water
    streaming down from Lebanon.