Song of Solomon 1

English Standard Version

1 The Song of ^(A)Songs, which is Solomon's.

The Bride Confesses Her Love

She^[a]

²Let 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

⁵I am very dark, but ^(J)lovely,
    O ^(K)daughters of Jerusalem,
like ^(L)the tents of ^(M)Kedar,
    like the curtains of Solomon.
⁶Do 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!
⁷Tell 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

⁸If 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.

⁹I 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

¹¹We will make for you^[b] ornaments of gold,
studded with silver.

She

¹²While ^(Z)the king was on his couch,
    my ^(AA)nard gave forth its fragrance.
¹³My beloved is to me a sachet of ^(AB)myrrh
    that lies between my breasts.
¹⁴My 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

¹⁶Behold, 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.

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

Psalm 92

English Standard Version

How Great Are Your Works

A Psalm. A Song for the Sabbath.

92 ^(A)It is good to give thanks to the Lord,
    to sing praises to your name, ^(B)O Most High;
²to declare your ^(C)steadfast love in ^(D)the morning,
    and your ^(E)faithfulness by ^(F)night,
³to the music of ^(G)the lute and ^(H)the harp,
    to the melody of ^(I)the lyre.
⁴For you, O Lord, have made me glad by your ^(J)work;
    at ^(K)the works of your hands I sing for joy.

⁵How ^(L)great are your works, O Lord!
    Your ^(M)thoughts are very ^(N)deep!
⁶The stupid man cannot know;
    the fool cannot understand this:
⁷that though ^(O)the wicked sprout like grass
    and all ^(P)evildoers flourish,
they are doomed to destruction forever;
⁸    but you, O Lord, are ^(Q)on high forever.
⁹For behold, your enemies, O Lord,
    for behold, your enemies shall perish;
    all evildoers shall be ^(R)scattered.

¹⁰But you have exalted my ^(S)horn like that of ^(T)the wild ox;
you have ^(U)poured over me^[a] fresh oil.
¹¹My ^(V)eyes have seen the downfall of my enemies;
my ears have heard the doom of my evil assailants.

¹²^(W)The righteous flourish like the palm tree
    and grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
¹³They are planted in the house of the Lord;
    they flourish in ^(X)the courts of our God.
¹⁴They still bear fruit in old age;
    they are ever full of sap and green,
¹⁵^(Y)to declare that the Lord is upright;
    he is my ^(Z)rock, and there is ^(AA)no unrighteousness in him.

Footnotes

Psalm 92:10 Compare Syriac; the meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain

Esther 3

English Standard Version

Haman Plots Against the Jews

3 After these things King Ahasuerus ^(A)promoted Haman ^(B)the Agagite, the son of Hammedatha, ^(C)and advanced him and set his throne above all the officials who were with him. ²And all the king's servants who were at the king's gate bowed down and paid homage to Haman, for the king had so commanded concerning him. ^(D)But Mordecai did not bow down or pay homage. ³Then the king's servants who were ^(E)at the king's gate said to Mordecai, “Why do you transgress ^(F)the king's command?” ⁴And when they spoke to him day after day and he would not listen to them, they told Haman, in order to see whether Mordecai's words would stand, for he had told them that he was a Jew. ⁵And when Haman saw that ^(G)Mordecai did not bow down or pay homage to him, Haman was ^(H)filled with fury. ⁶But he disdained^[a] to lay hands on Mordecai alone. So, as they had made known to him the people of Mordecai, Haman sought to destroy^[b] all the Jews, the people of Mordecai, throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus.

⁷In the first month, which is the month of Nisan, in the twelfth year of King Ahasuerus, ^(I)they cast Pur (that is, they cast lots) before Haman day after day; and they cast it month after month till the twelfth month, which is ^(J)the month of Adar. ⁸Then Haman said to King Ahasuerus, “There is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom. ^(K)Their laws are different from those of every other people, and they do not keep the king's laws, so that it is not to the king's profit to tolerate them. ⁹If it please the king, let it be decreed that they be destroyed, and I will pay 10,000 talents^[c] of silver into the hands of those who have charge of the king's business, that they may put it into the king's treasuries.” ¹⁰^(L)So the king took his signet ring from his hand and gave it to Haman ^(M)the Agagite, the son of Hammedatha, ^(N)the enemy of the Jews. ¹¹And the king said to Haman, “The money is given to you, the people also, to do with them as it seems good to you.”

¹²^(O)Then the king's scribes were summoned on the thirteenth day of the first month, and an edict, according to all that Haman commanded, was written to the king's ^(P)satraps and to the governors over all the provinces and to the officials of all the peoples, ^(Q)to every province in its own script and every people in its own language. It was written ^(R)in the name of King Ahasuerus ^(S)and sealed with the king's signet ring. ¹³Letters were sent ^(T)by couriers to all the king's provinces with instruction ^(U)to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate all Jews, young and old, women and children, ^(V)in one day, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar, ^(W)and to plunder their goods. ¹⁴^(X)A copy of the document was to be issued as a decree in every province by proclamation to all the peoples to be ready for that day. ¹⁵^(Y)The couriers went out hurriedly by order of the king, and the decree was issued in Susa the citadel. And the king and Haman sat down to drink, ^(Z)but the city of Susa was thrown into confusion.