Song of Solomon 2-4
English Standard Version
He
2 As a lily among brambles,
so is (B)my love among the young women.
She
3 As an apple tree among the trees of the forest,
so is my (C)beloved among the young men.
With great delight I sat (D)in his shadow,
and his (E)fruit was sweet to my taste.
4 He (F)brought me to the banqueting house,[b]
and his (G)banner over me was love.
5 Sustain me with (H)raisins;
refresh me with apples,
(I)for I am sick with love.
6 His (J)left hand is under my head,
and his right hand (K)embraces me!
7 I (L)adjure you,[c] O (M)daughters of Jerusalem,
by (N)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 (O)over the mountains,
bounding over the hills.
9 My beloved is like (P)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:
(Q)“Arise, my love, my beautiful one,
and come away,
11 for behold, the winter is past;
(R)the rain is over and gone.
12 (S)The flowers appear on the earth,
the time of singing[d] has come,
and the voice of (T)the turtledove
is heard in our land.
13 (U)The fig tree ripens its figs,
and (V)the vines are in blossom;
they give forth fragrance.
(W)Arise, my love, my beautiful one,
and come away.
14 O my (X)dove, in the (Y)clefts of the rock,
in the crannies of the cliff,
let me see your face,
let me (Z)hear your voice,
for your voice is sweet,
and your face is (AA)lovely.
15 Catch (AB)the foxes[e] for us,
the little foxes
that spoil the vineyards,
(AC)for our vineyards are in blossom.”
16 (AD)My beloved is mine, and I am his;
he (AE)grazes[f] among the lilies.
17 Until (AF)the day breathes
and (AG)the shadows flee,
turn, my beloved, be like (AH)a gazelle
or a young stag on cleft mountains.[g]
The Bride's Dream
3 On my bed (AI)by night
I sought (AJ)him whom my soul loves;
(AK)I sought him, but found him not.
2 I will rise now and go about the city,
in (AL)the streets and in the squares;
I will seek (AM)him whom my soul loves.
I sought him, but found him not.
3 (AN)The watchmen found me
as they went about in the city.
“Have you seen him whom my soul loves?”
4 Scarcely had I passed them
when I found (AO)him whom my soul loves.
I (AP)held him, and would not let him go
until I had (AQ)brought him into my mother's house,
and into the chamber of (AR)her who conceived me.
5 (AS)I adjure you, (AT)O daughters of Jerusalem,
(AU)by the gazelles or the does of the field,
that you not stir up or awaken love
until it pleases.
Solomon Arrives for the Wedding
6 (AV)What is that coming up from the wilderness
like (AW)columns of smoke,
perfumed with (AX)myrrh and frankincense,
with all the fragrant powders of a merchant?
7 Behold, it is the litter[h] of Solomon!
Around it are (AY)sixty (AZ)mighty men,
some of the mighty men of Israel,
8 all of them wearing swords
and expert in war,
each with his (BA)sword at his thigh,
against (BB)terror by night.
9 King Solomon made himself a carriage[i]
from the wood of Lebanon.
10 He made its posts of silver,
its back of gold, its seat of purple;
its interior was inlaid with love
by (BC)the daughters of Jerusalem.
11 Go out, O (BD)daughters of Zion,
and look upon King Solomon,
with the crown with which his mother crowned him
on (BE)the day of his wedding,
on the day of the gladness of his heart.
Solomon Admires His Bride's Beauty
He
4 Behold, (BF)you are beautiful, my love,
behold, you are beautiful!
(BG)Your eyes are doves
(BH)behind your veil.
(BI)Your hair is like a flock of goats
leaping down (BJ)the slopes of Gilead.
2 Your (BK)teeth are like a flock of shorn ewes
that have come up from the washing,
all of which bear twins,
and not one among them has lost its young.
3 Your lips are like (BL)a scarlet thread,
and your mouth is (BM)lovely.
Your (BN)cheeks are like halves of a pomegranate
(BO)behind your veil.
4 Your (BP)neck is like the tower of David,
built in (BQ)rows of stone;[j]
on it (BR)hang a thousand shields,
all of (BS)them shields of warriors.
5 Your (BT)two breasts are like two (BU)fawns,
twins of a gazelle,
that (BV)graze among the lilies.
6 (BW)Until the day breathes
and the shadows flee,
I will go away to the mountain of (BX)myrrh
and the hill of (BY)frankincense.
7 (BZ)You are altogether beautiful, my love;
there is no (CA)flaw in you.
8 (CB)Come with me from (CC)Lebanon, my (CD)bride;
come with me from (CE)Lebanon.
Depart[k] from the peak of Amana,
from the peak of (CF)Senir and (CG)Hermon,
from the dens of lions,
from the mountains of leopards.
9 You have captivated my heart, my (CH)sister, my bride;
you have captivated my heart with one glance of your eyes,
with one (CI)jewel of your necklace.
10 How beautiful is your love, my (CJ)sister, my bride!
How much (CK)better is your love than wine,
and (CL)the fragrance of your oils than any spice!
11 Your (CM)lips drip nectar, my bride;
(CN)honey and milk are under your tongue;
the fragrance of your garments is (CO)like the fragrance of (CP)Lebanon.
12 A garden locked is my (CQ)sister, my bride,
a spring locked, (CR)a fountain (CS)sealed.
13 Your shoots are (CT)an orchard of pomegranates
with all (CU)choicest fruits,
(CV)henna with (CW)nard,
14 nard and saffron, (CX)calamus and (CY)cinnamon,
with all trees of (CZ)frankincense,
(DA)myrrh and (DB)aloes,
with all (DC)choice spices—
15 a garden fountain, a well of (DD)living water,
and flowing streams from (DE)Lebanon.
16 Awake, O north wind,
and come, O south wind!
Blow upon my (DF)garden,
let its spices flow.
Together in the Garden of Love
She
Footnotes
- 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
- Song of Solomon 3:7 That is, the couch on which servants carry a king
- Song of Solomon 3:9 Or sedan chair
- Song of Solomon 4:4 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain
- Song of Solomon 4:8 Or Look
2 Corinthians 12:1-10
English Standard Version
Paul's Visions and His Thorn
12 I must go on boasting. Though there is nothing to be gained by it, I will go on to visions and (A)revelations of the Lord. 2 I know a man (B)in Christ who fourteen years ago was (C)caught up to (D)the third heaven—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, (E)God knows. 3 And I know that this man was caught up into (F)paradise—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, (G)God knows— 4 and he heard things that cannot be told, which man may not utter. 5 On behalf of this man I will boast, but on my own behalf I will not boast, (H)except of my weaknesses— 6 though if I should wish to boast, (I)I would not be a fool, for I would be speaking the truth; but I refrain from it, so that no one may think more of me than he sees in me or hears from me. 7 So (J)to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations,[a] (K)a thorn was given me in the flesh, (L)a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. 8 (M)Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. 9 But he said to me, (N)“My grace is sufficient for you, for (O)my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that (P)the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 (Q)For the sake of Christ, then, (R)I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For (S)when I am weak, then I am strong.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 2 Corinthians 12:7 Or hears from me, even because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations. So to keep me from becoming conceited
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.