² From the ends of the earth I call to you,
    I call as my heart grows faint;^(C)
    lead me to the rock^(D) that is higher than I.
³ For you have been my refuge,^(E)
    a strong tower against the foe.^(F)

⁴ I long to dwell^(G) in your tent forever
    and take refuge in the shelter of your wings.^[b](H)
5 For you, God, have heard my vows;^(I)
    you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name.^(J)

⁶ Increase the days of the king’s life,^(K)
    his years for many generations.^(L)
7 May he be enthroned in God’s presence forever;^(M)
    appoint your love and faithfulness to protect him.^(N)

⁸ Then I will ever sing in praise of your name^(O)
    and fulfill my vows day after day.^(P)

³ How long will you assault me?
    Would all of you throw me down—
    this leaning wall,^(W) this tottering fence?
⁴ Surely they intend to topple me
    from my lofty place;
    they take delight in lies.
With their mouths they bless,
    but in their hearts they curse.^[d](X)

⁵ Yes, my soul, find rest in God;^(Y)
    my hope comes from him.
⁶ Truly he is my rock and my salvation;
    he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.
⁷ My salvation and my honor depend on God^[e];
    he is my mighty rock, my refuge.^(Z)
8 Trust in him at all times, you people;^(AA)
    pour out your hearts to him,^(AB)
    for God is our refuge.

⁹ Surely the lowborn^(AC) are but a breath,^(AD)
    the highborn are but a lie.
If weighed on a balance,^(AE) they are nothing;
    together they are only a breath.
¹⁰ Do not trust in extortion^(AF)
    or put vain hope in stolen goods;^(AG)
though your riches increase,
    do not set your heart on them.^(AH)

¹¹ One thing God has spoken,
    two things I have heard:
“Power belongs to you, God,^(AI)
12     and with you, Lord, is unfailing love”;^(AJ)
and, “You reward everyone
    according to what they have done.”^(AK)

² I have seen you in the sanctuary^(AN)
    and beheld your power and your glory.^(AO)
3 Because your love is better than life,^(AP)
    my lips will glorify you.
⁴ I will praise you as long as I live,^(AQ)
    and in your name I will lift up my hands.^(AR)
5 I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods;^(AS)
    with singing lips my mouth will praise you.

⁶ On my bed I remember you;
    I think of you through the watches of the night.^(AT)
7 Because you are my help,^(AU)
    I sing in the shadow of your wings.^(AV)
8 I cling to you;^(AW)
    your right hand upholds me.^(AX)

⁹ Those who want to kill me will be destroyed;^(AY)
    they will go down to the depths of the earth.^(AZ)
10 They will be given over to the sword^(BA)
    and become food for jackals.^(BB)

¹¹ But the king will rejoice in God;
    all who swear by God will glory in him,^(BC)
    while the mouths of liars will be silenced.^(BD)

² Hide me from the conspiracy^(BG) of the wicked,^(BH)
    from the plots of evildoers.
³ They sharpen their tongues like swords^(BI)
    and aim cruel words like deadly arrows.^(BJ)
4 They shoot from ambush at the innocent;^(BK)
    they shoot suddenly, without fear.^(BL)

⁵ They encourage each other in evil plans,
    they talk about hiding their snares;^(BM)
    they say, “Who will see it^[h]?”^(BN)
6 They plot injustice and say,
    “We have devised a perfect plan!”
    Surely the human mind and heart are cunning.

⁷ But God will shoot them with his arrows;
    they will suddenly be struck down.
⁸ He will turn their own tongues against them^(BO)
    and bring them to ruin;
    all who see them will shake their heads^(BP) in scorn.^(BQ)
9 All people will fear;^(BR)
    they will proclaim the works of God
    and ponder what he has done.^(BS)

¹⁰ The righteous will rejoice in the Lord^(BT)
    and take refuge in him;^(BU)
    all the upright in heart will glory in him!^(BV)

⁵ You answer us with awesome and righteous deeds,^(CE)
    God our Savior,^(CF)
the hope of all the ends of the earth^(CG)
    and of the farthest seas,^(CH)
6 who formed the mountains^(CI) by your power,
    having armed yourself with strength,^(CJ)
7 who stilled the roaring of the seas,^(CK)
    the roaring of their waves,
    and the turmoil of the nations.^(CL)
8 The whole earth is filled with awe at your wonders;
    where morning dawns, where evening fades,
    you call forth songs of joy.^(CM)

⁹ You care for the land and water it;^(CN)
    you enrich it abundantly.^(CO)
The streams of God are filled with water
    to provide the people with grain,^(CP)
    for so you have ordained it.^[l]
10 You drench its furrows and level its ridges;
    you soften it with showers^(CQ) and bless its crops.
¹¹ You crown the year with your bounty,^(CR)
    and your carts overflow with abundance.^(CS)
12 The grasslands of the wilderness overflow;^(CT)
    the hills are clothed with gladness.^(CU)
13 The meadows are covered with flocks^(CV)
    and the valleys are mantled with grain;^(CW)
    they shout for joy and sing.^(CX)

⁵ Come and see what God has done,
    his awesome deeds^(DF) for mankind!
⁶ He turned the sea into dry land,^(DG)
    they passed through^(DH) the waters on foot—
    come, let us rejoice^(DI) in him.
⁷ He rules forever^(DJ) by his power,
    his eyes watch^(DK) the nations—
    let not the rebellious^(DL) rise up against him.

⁸ Praise^(DM) our God, all peoples,
    let the sound of his praise be heard;
⁹ he has preserved our lives^(DN)
    and kept our feet from slipping.^(DO)
10 For you, God, tested^(DP) us;
    you refined us like silver.^(DQ)
11 You brought us into prison^(DR)
    and laid burdens^(DS) on our backs.
¹² You let people ride over our heads;^(DT)
    we went through fire and water,
    but you brought us to a place of abundance.^(DU)

¹³ I will come to your temple with burnt offerings^(DV)
    and fulfill my vows^(DW) to you—
¹⁴ vows my lips promised and my mouth spoke
    when I was in trouble.
¹⁵ I will sacrifice fat animals to you
    and an offering of rams;
    I will offer bulls and goats.^(DX)

¹⁶ Come and hear,^(DY) all you who fear God;
    let me tell^(DZ) you what he has done for me.
¹⁷ I cried out to him with my mouth;
    his praise was on my tongue.
¹⁸ If I had cherished sin in my heart,
    the Lord would not have listened;^(EA)
19 but God has surely listened
    and has heard^(EB) my prayer.
²⁰ Praise be to God,
    who has not rejected^(EC) my prayer
    or withheld his love from me!

³ May the peoples praise you, God;
    may all the peoples praise you.^(EG)
4 May the nations be glad and sing for joy,^(EH)
    for you rule the peoples with equity^(EI)
    and guide the nations of the earth.^(EJ)
5 May the peoples praise you, God;
    may all the peoples praise you.

⁶ The land yields its harvest;^(EK)
    God, our God, blesses us.^(EL)
7 May God bless us still,
    so that all the ends of the earth^(EM) will fear him.^(EN)

⁵ Dark am I, yet lovely,^(J)
    daughters of Jerusalem,^(K)
dark like the tents of Kedar,^(L)
    like the tent curtains of Solomon.^[c]
6 Do not stare at me because I am dark,
    because I am darkened by the sun.
My mother’s sons were angry with me
    and made me take care of the vineyards;^(M)
    my own vineyard I had to neglect.
⁷ Tell me, you whom I love,
    where you graze your flock
    and where you rest your sheep^(N) at midday.
Why should I be like a veiled^(O) woman
    beside the flocks of your friends?

⁸ Listen! My beloved!
    Look! Here he comes,
leaping across the mountains,
    bounding over the hills.^(AP)
9 My beloved is like a gazelle^(AQ) or a young stag.^(AR)
    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;^(AS)
    the blossoming^(AT) vines spread their fragrance.
Arise, come, my darling;
    my beautiful one, come with me.”

3 All night long on my bed
    I looked^(BF) 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.^(BG)
    “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,^(BH)
    to the room of the one who conceived me.^(BI)
5 Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you^(BJ)
    by the gazelles and by the does of the field:
Do not arouse or awaken love
    until it so desires.^(BK)

⁶ Who is this coming up from the wilderness^(BL)
    like a column of smoke,
perfumed with myrrh^(BM) and incense
    made from all the spices^(BN) of the merchant?
⁷ Look! It is Solomon’s carriage,
    escorted by sixty warriors,^(BO)
    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.^(BP)
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.^(BQ)
Look^[h] 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.^(BR)

⁸ Come with me from Lebanon, my bride,^(CI)
    come with me from Lebanon.
Descend from the crest of Amana,
    from the top of Senir,^(CJ) the summit of Hermon,^(CK)
from the lions’ dens
    and the mountain haunts of leopards.
⁹ You have stolen my heart, my sister, my bride;^(CL)
    you have stolen my heart
with one glance of your eyes,
    with one jewel of your necklace.^(CM)
10 How delightful^(CN) is your love^(CO), my sister, my bride!
    How much more pleasing is your love than wine,^(CP)
and the fragrance of your perfume^(CQ)
    more than any spice!
¹¹ Your lips drop sweetness as the honeycomb, my bride;
    milk and honey are under your tongue.^(CR)
The fragrance of your garments
    is like the fragrance of Lebanon.^(CS)
12 You are a garden^(CT) locked up, my sister, my bride;^(CU)
    you are a spring enclosed, a sealed fountain.^(CV)
13 Your plants are an orchard of pomegranates^(CW)
    with choice fruits,
    with henna^(CX) and nard,
¹⁴     nard and saffron,
    calamus and cinnamon,^(CY)
    with every kind of incense tree,
    with myrrh^(CZ) and aloes^(DA)
    and all the finest spices.^(DB)
15 You are^[j] a garden^(DC) fountain,^(DD)
    a well of flowing water
    streaming down from Lebanon.

7 ^[n]How beautiful your sandaled feet,
    O prince’s^(FE) daughter!
Your graceful legs are like jewels,
    the work of an artist’s hands.
² Your navel is a rounded goblet
    that never lacks blended wine.
Your waist is a mound of wheat
    encircled by lilies.
³ Your breasts^(FF) are like two fawns,
    like twin fawns of a gazelle.
⁴ Your neck is like an ivory tower.^(FG)
Your eyes are the pools of Heshbon^(FH)
    by the gate of Bath Rabbim.
Your nose is like the tower of Lebanon^(FI)
    looking toward Damascus.
⁵ Your head crowns you like Mount Carmel.^(FJ)
    Your hair is like royal tapestry;
    the king is held captive by its tresses.
⁶ How beautiful^(FK) you are and how pleasing,
    my love, with your delights!^(FL)
7 Your stature is like that of the palm,
    and your breasts^(FM) like clusters of fruit.
⁸ I said, “I will climb the palm tree;
    I will take hold of its fruit.”
May your breasts be like clusters of grapes on the vine,
    the fragrance of your breath like apples,^(FN)
9     and your mouth like the best wine.

8 If only you were to me like a brother,
    who was nursed at my mother’s breasts!
Then, if I found you outside,
    I would kiss you,
    and no one would despise me.
² I would lead you
    and bring you to my mother’s house^(FY)—
    she who has taught me.
I would give you spiced wine to drink,
    the nectar of my pomegranates.
³ His left arm is under my head
    and his right arm embraces me.^(FZ)
4 Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you:
    Do not arouse or awaken love
    until it so desires.^(GA)