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[He]

How beautiful you are, my love!
How beautiful you are!
Your eyes are doves behind your veil.
Your hair is like a flock of goats
streaming down Mount Gil‘ad.
Your teeth are like a flock of shorn sheep
that have just come up from being washed;
each of them is matched,
and none of them is missing.
Your lips are like a scarlet thread,
and your mouth is lovely.
Your cheeks are like a pomegranate
split open behind your veil.
Your neck is like the tower of David,
built magnificently,
on which hang a thousand bucklers,
each one a brave warrior’s shield.
Your two breasts are like two fawns,
twins of a gazelle grazing among lilies.
When the day’s cool breeze comes up
and the shadows lengthen,
I will get myself to the mountain of myrrh
to the hill of frankincense.
Everything about you is beautiful, my love;
you are without a flaw.

Come with me from the L’vanon, my bride,
come with me from the L’vanon.
Come down from the heights of Amanah,
from the heights of S’nir and Hermon,
down from the lions’ lairs
and the leopard-haunted hills.
My sister, my bride,
you have carried my heart away!
With just one glance, with one bead of your necklace
you have carried my heart away.
10 My sister, my bride,
how sweet is your love!
How much better your love than wine,
more fragrant your perfumes than any spice!
11 Your lips, my bride, drip honey;
honey and milk are under your tongue;
and the scent of your garments is like
the scent of the L’vanon.

12 My sister, my bride, is a garden locked up,
a pool covered over, a spring sealed shut.

13 You are an orchard that puts forth pomegranates
and other precious fruits, henna and nard —
14 nard, saffron and aromatic cane,
cinnamon and all kinds of frankincense trees,
myrrh, aloes, all the best spices.
15 You are a garden fountain,
a spring of running water,
flowing down from the L’vanon.

[She]

16 Awake, north wind! Come, south wind!
Blow on my garden to spread its fragrance.
Let my darling enter his garden
and eat its finest fruit.

[He]

My sister, my bride, I have entered my garden;
I am gathering my myrrh and my spices;
I am eating my honeycomb along with my honey;
I am drinking my wine as well as my milk.

[Chorus]

Eat, friends, and drink,
until you are drunk with love!

[She]

I am asleep, but my heart is awake.
Listen! I hear my darling knocking!

[He]

Open for me, my sister, my love,
my dove, my flawless one!
For my head is wet with dew,
my hair with the moisture of the night.

[She]

I’ve removed my coat; must I put it back on?
I’ve washed my feet; must I dirty them again?

The man I love put his hand through the hole by the door-latch,
and my heart began pounding at the thought of him.
I got up to open for the man I love.
My hands were dripping with myrrh —
pure myrrh ran off my fingers
onto the handle of the bolt.
I opened for my darling,
but my darling had turned and gone.
My heart had failed me when he spoke —
I sought him, but I couldn’t find him;
I called him, but he didn’t answer.
The watchmen roaming the city found me;
they beat me, they wounded me;
they took away my cloak,
those guardians of the walls!

I charge you, daughters of Yerushalayim,
that if you find the man I love,
what are you to tell him?
That I am sick with love.

[Chorus]

How does the man you love differ from any other,
you most beautiful of women?
How does the man you love differ from any other,
that you should give us this charge?

[She]

10 The man I love is radiant and ruddy;
he stands out among ten thousand.
11 His head is like the finest gold;
his locks are wavy and black as a raven.
12 His eyes are like doves by running streams,
bathed in milk and set just right.
13 His cheeks are like beds of spices,
like banks of fragrant herbs.
His lips are like lilies
dripping with sweet myrrh.
14 His arms are rods of gold set with beryl,
his body polished ivory adorned with sapphires.
15 His legs are like pillars of marble
set on bases of pure gold.
His appearance is like the L’vanon,
as imposing as the cedars.
16 His words are sweetness itself;
he is altogether desirable.
This is my darling, and this is my friend,
daughters of Yerushalayim.

He

How beautiful you are, my darling!
    Oh, how beautiful!
    Your eyes behind your veil(A) are doves.(B)
Your hair is like a flock of goats
    descending from the hills of Gilead.(C)
Your teeth are like a flock of sheep just shorn,
    coming up from the washing.
Each has its twin;
    not one of them is alone.(D)
Your lips are like a scarlet ribbon;
    your mouth(E) is lovely.(F)
Your temples behind your veil
    are like the halves of a pomegranate.(G)
Your neck is like the tower(H) of David,
    built with courses of stone[a];
on it hang a thousand shields,(I)
    all of them shields of warriors.
Your breasts(J) are like two fawns,
    like twin fawns of a gazelle(K)
    that browse among the lilies.(L)
Until the day breaks
    and the shadows flee,(M)
I will go to the mountain of myrrh(N)
    and to the hill of incense.
You are altogether beautiful,(O) my darling;
    there is no flaw(P) in you.

Come with me from Lebanon, my bride,(Q)
    come with me from Lebanon.
Descend from the crest of Amana,
    from the top of Senir,(R) the summit of Hermon,(S)
from the lions’ dens
    and the mountain haunts of leopards.
You have stolen my heart, my sister, my bride;(T)
    you have stolen my heart
with one glance of your eyes,
    with one jewel of your necklace.(U)
10 How delightful(V) is your love(W), my sister, my bride!
    How much more pleasing is your love than wine,(X)
and the fragrance of your perfume(Y)
    more than any spice!
11 Your lips drop sweetness as the honeycomb, my bride;
    milk and honey are under your tongue.(Z)
The fragrance of your garments
    is like the fragrance of Lebanon.(AA)
12 You are a garden(AB) locked up, my sister, my bride;(AC)
    you are a spring enclosed, a sealed fountain.(AD)
13 Your plants are an orchard of pomegranates(AE)
    with choice fruits,
    with henna(AF) and nard,
14     nard and saffron,
    calamus and cinnamon,(AG)
    with every kind of incense tree,
    with myrrh(AH) and aloes(AI)
    and all the finest spices.(AJ)
15 You are[b] a garden(AK) fountain,(AL)
    a well of flowing water
    streaming down from Lebanon.

She

16 Awake, north wind,
    and come, south wind!
Blow on my garden,(AM)
    that its fragrance(AN) may spread everywhere.
Let my beloved(AO) come into his garden
    and taste its choice fruits.(AP)

He

I have come into my garden,(AQ) my sister, my bride;(AR)
    I have gathered my myrrh with my spice.
I have eaten my honeycomb and my honey;
    I have drunk my wine and my milk.(AS)

Friends

Eat, friends, and drink;
    drink your fill of love.

She

I slept but my heart was awake.
    Listen! My beloved is knocking:
“Open to me, my sister, my darling,
    my dove,(AT) my flawless(AU) one.(AV)
My head is drenched with dew,
    my hair with the dampness of the night.”
I have taken off my robe—
    must I put it on again?
I have washed my feet—
    must I soil them again?
My beloved thrust his hand through the latch-opening;
    my heart began to pound for him.
I arose to open for my beloved,
    and my hands dripped with myrrh,(AW)
my fingers with flowing myrrh,
    on the handles of the bolt.
I opened for my beloved,(AX)
    but my beloved had left; he was gone.(AY)
    My heart sank at his departure.[c]
I looked(AZ) for him but did not find him.
    I called him but he did not answer.
The watchmen found me
    as they made their rounds in the city.(BA)
They beat me, they bruised me;
    they took away my cloak,
    those watchmen of the walls!
Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you(BB)
    if you find my beloved,(BC)
what will you tell him?
    Tell him I am faint with love.(BD)

Friends

How is your beloved better than others,
    most beautiful of women?(BE)
How is your beloved better than others,
    that you so charge us?

She

10 My beloved is radiant and ruddy,
    outstanding among ten thousand.(BF)
11 His head is purest gold;
    his hair is wavy
    and black as a raven.
12 His eyes are like doves(BG)
    by the water streams,
washed in milk,(BH)
    mounted like jewels.
13 His cheeks(BI) are like beds of spice(BJ)
    yielding perfume.
His lips are like lilies(BK)
    dripping with myrrh.(BL)
14 His arms are rods of gold
    set with topaz.
His body is like polished ivory
    decorated with lapis lazuli.(BM)
15 His legs are pillars of marble
    set on bases of pure gold.
His appearance is like Lebanon,(BN)
    choice as its cedars.
16 His mouth(BO) is sweetness itself;
    he is altogether lovely.
This is my beloved,(BP) this is my friend,
    daughters of Jerusalem.(BQ)

Footnotes

  1. Song of Songs 4:4 The meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.
  2. Song of Songs 4:15 Or I am (spoken by She)
  3. Song of Songs 5:6 Or heart had gone out to him when he spoke

The cohen hagadol asked, “Are these accusations true?” and Stephen said:

“Brothers and fathers, listen to me! The God of glory appeared to Avraham avinu in Mesopotamia before he lived in Haran and said to him, ‘Leave your land and your family, and go into the land that I will show you.’[a] So he left the land of the Kasdim and lived in Haran. After his father died, God made him move to this land where you are living now. He gave him no inheritance in it, not even space for one foot;[b] yet he promised to give it to him as a possession and to his descendants after him,[c] even though at the time he was childless. What God said to him was, ‘Your descendants will be aliens in a foreign land, where they will be in slavery and oppressed for four hundred years. But I will judge the nation that enslaves them,’ God said, ‘and afterwards they will leave and worship me in this place.’[d] And he gave him b’rit-milah. So he became the father of Yitz’chak and did his b’rit-milah on the eighth day, and Yitz’chak became the father of Ya‘akov, and Ya‘akov became the father of the Twelve Patriarchs.

“Now the Patriarchs grew jealous of Yosef and sold him into slavery in Egypt. But Adonai was with him;[e] 10 he rescued him from all his troubles and gave him favor and wisdom before Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who appointed him chief administrator over Egypt and over all his household.[f] 11 Now there came a famine that caused much suffering throughout Egypt and Kena‘an[g] 12 But when Ya‘akov heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent our fathers there the first time. 13 The second time, Yosef revealed his identity to his brothers,[h] and Yosef’s family became known to Pharaoh. 14 Yosef then sent for his father Ya‘akov and all his relatives, seventy-five people. 15 And Ya‘akov went down to Egypt; there he died, as did our other ancestors. 16 Their bodies were removed to Sh’khem and buried in the tomb Avraham had bought from the family of Hamor in Sh’khem for a certain sum of money.

17 “As the time drew near for the fulfillment of the promise God had made to Avraham, the number of our people in Egypt increased greatly, 18 until there arose another king over Egypt who had no knowledge of Yosef.[i] 19 With cruel cunning this man forced our fathers to put their newborn babies outside their homes, so that they would not survive.

20 “It was then that Moshe was born, and he was beautiful in God’s sight. For three months he was reared in his father’s house; 21 and when he was put out of his home, Pharaoh’s daughter took him and brought him up as her own son.

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Footnotes

  1. Acts 7:3 Genesis 12:1
  2. Acts 7:5 Deuteronomy 2:5
  3. Acts 7:5 Genesis 12:7; 13:15; 15:4, 7, 18–21; 17:8; 24:7; 48:4
  4. Acts 7:7 Genesis 15:13–14, 16
  5. Acts 7:9 Genesis 37:11, 28; 39:1–3, 21, 23
  6. Acts 7:10 Genesis 41:37–44
  7. Acts 7:11 Genesis 41:54; 42:5
  8. Acts 7:13 Genesis 45:1
  9. Acts 7:18 Exodus 1:7–8

Stephen’s Speech to the Sanhedrin

Then the high priest asked Stephen, “Are these charges true?”

To this he replied: “Brothers and fathers,(A) listen to me! The God of glory(B) appeared to our father Abraham while he was still in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Harran.(C) ‘Leave your country and your people,’ God said, ‘and go to the land I will show you.’[a](D)

“So he left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Harran. After the death of his father, God sent him to this land where you are now living.(E) He gave him no inheritance here,(F) not even enough ground to set his foot on. But God promised him that he and his descendants after him would possess the land,(G) even though at that time Abraham had no child. God spoke to him in this way: ‘For four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated.(H) But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves,’ God said, ‘and afterward they will come out of that country and worship me in this place.’[b](I) Then he gave Abraham the covenant of circumcision.(J) And Abraham became the father of Isaac and circumcised him eight days after his birth.(K) Later Isaac became the father of Jacob,(L) and Jacob became the father of the twelve patriarchs.(M)

“Because the patriarchs were jealous of Joseph,(N) they sold him as a slave into Egypt.(O) But God was with him(P) 10 and rescued him from all his troubles. He gave Joseph wisdom and enabled him to gain the goodwill of Pharaoh king of Egypt. So Pharaoh made him ruler over Egypt and all his palace.(Q)

11 “Then a famine struck all Egypt and Canaan, bringing great suffering, and our ancestors could not find food.(R) 12 When Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent our forefathers on their first visit.(S) 13 On their second visit, Joseph told his brothers who he was,(T) and Pharaoh learned about Joseph’s family.(U) 14 After this, Joseph sent for his father Jacob and his whole family,(V) seventy-five in all.(W) 15 Then Jacob went down to Egypt, where he and our ancestors died.(X) 16 Their bodies were brought back to Shechem and placed in the tomb that Abraham had bought from the sons of Hamor at Shechem for a certain sum of money.(Y)

17 “As the time drew near for God to fulfill his promise to Abraham, the number of our people in Egypt had greatly increased.(Z) 18 Then ‘a new king, to whom Joseph meant nothing, came to power in Egypt.’[c](AA) 19 He dealt treacherously with our people and oppressed our ancestors by forcing them to throw out their newborn babies so that they would die.(AB)

20 “At that time Moses was born, and he was no ordinary child.[d] For three months he was cared for by his family.(AC) 21 When he was placed outside, Pharaoh’s daughter took him and brought him up as her own son.(AD)

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Footnotes

  1. Acts 7:3 Gen. 12:1
  2. Acts 7:7 Gen. 15:13,14
  3. Acts 7:18 Exodus 1:8
  4. Acts 7:20 Or was fair in the sight of God