Song of Solomon 1-3
English Standard Version
1 The Song of (A)Songs, which is Solomon's.
The Bride Confesses Her Love
She[a]
2 Let 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
5 I am very dark, but (J)lovely,
O (K)daughters of Jerusalem,
like (L)the tents of (M)Kedar,
like the curtains of Solomon.
6 Do 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!
7 Tell 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
8 If 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.
9 I 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
11 We will make for you[b] ornaments of gold,
studded with silver.
She
12 While (Z)the king was on his couch,
my (AA)nard gave forth its fragrance.
13 My beloved is to me a sachet of (AB)myrrh
that lies between my breasts.
14 My 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
16 Behold, 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.
He
2 As a lily among brambles,
so is (AN)my love among the young women.
She
3 As an apple tree among the trees of the forest,
so is my (AO)beloved among the young men.
With great delight I sat (AP)in his shadow,
and his (AQ)fruit was sweet to my taste.
4 He (AR)brought me to the banqueting house,[d]
and his (AS)banner over me was love.
5 Sustain me with (AT)raisins;
refresh me with apples,
(AU)for I am sick with love.
6 His (AV)left hand is under my head,
and his right hand (AW)embraces me!
7 I (AX)adjure you,[e] O (AY)daughters of Jerusalem,
by (AZ)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 (BA)over the mountains,
bounding over the hills.
9 My beloved is like (BB)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:
(BC)“Arise, my love, my beautiful one,
and come away,
11 for behold, the winter is past;
(BD)the rain is over and gone.
12 (BE)The flowers appear on the earth,
the time of singing[f] has come,
and the voice of (BF)the turtledove
is heard in our land.
13 (BG)The fig tree ripens its figs,
and (BH)the vines are in blossom;
they give forth fragrance.
(BI)Arise, my love, my beautiful one,
and come away.
14 O my (BJ)dove, in the (BK)clefts of the rock,
in the crannies of the cliff,
let me see your face,
let me (BL)hear your voice,
for your voice is sweet,
and your face is (BM)lovely.
15 Catch (BN)the foxes[g] for us,
the little foxes
that spoil the vineyards,
(BO)for our vineyards are in blossom.”
16 (BP)My beloved is mine, and I am his;
he (BQ)grazes[h] among the lilies.
17 Until (BR)the day breathes
and (BS)the shadows flee,
turn, my beloved, be like (BT)a gazelle
or a young stag on cleft mountains.[i]
The Bride's Dream
3 On my bed (BU)by night
I sought (BV)him whom my soul loves;
(BW)I sought him, but found him not.
2 I will rise now and go about the city,
in (BX)the streets and in the squares;
I will seek (BY)him whom my soul loves.
I sought him, but found him not.
3 (BZ)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 (CA)him whom my soul loves.
I (CB)held him, and would not let him go
until I had (CC)brought him into my mother's house,
and into the chamber of (CD)her who conceived me.
5 (CE)I adjure you, (CF)O daughters of Jerusalem,
(CG)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 (CH)What is that coming up from the wilderness
like (CI)columns of smoke,
perfumed with (CJ)myrrh and frankincense,
with all the fragrant powders of a merchant?
7 Behold, it is the litter[j] of Solomon!
Around it are (CK)sixty (CL)mighty men,
some of the mighty men of Israel,
8 all of them wearing swords
and expert in war,
each with his (CM)sword at his thigh,
against (CN)terror by night.
9 King Solomon made himself a carriage[k]
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 (CO)the daughters of Jerusalem.
11 Go out, O (CP)daughters of Zion,
and look upon King Solomon,
with the crown with which his mother crowned him
on (CQ)the day of his wedding,
on the day of the gladness of his heart.
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
- 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
John 21
English Standard Version
Jesus Appears to Seven Disciples
21 After this Jesus (A)revealed himself (B)again to the disciples by (C)the Sea of Tiberias, and he revealed himself in this way. 2 Simon Peter, (D)Thomas (called the Twin), Nathanael of (E)Cana in Galilee, (F)the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples were together. 3 Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will go with you.” They went out and got into the boat, but (G)that night they caught nothing.
4 Just as day was breaking, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples (H)did not know that it was Jesus. 5 (I)Jesus said to them, “Children, do you have any fish?” They answered him, “No.” 6 (J)He said to them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in, because of the quantity of fish. 7 That disciple (K)whom Jesus loved therefore said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, (L)he put on his outer garment, for he was (M)stripped for work, and (N)threw himself into the sea. 8 The other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, but about a hundred yards[a] off.
9 When they got out on land, they saw a charcoal fire in place, with fish laid out on it, and bread. 10 Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.” 11 So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, 153 of them. And although there were so many, the net was not torn. 12 Jesus said to them, (O)“Come and (P)have breakfast.” Now (Q)none of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. 13 Jesus came and (R)took the bread and gave it to them, and so with the fish. 14 (S)This was now the third time that Jesus was revealed to the disciples after he was raised from the dead.
Jesus and Peter
15 When they had (T)finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, (U)“Simon, (V)son of John, (W)do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed (X)my lambs.” 16 He said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, (Y)“Tend (Z)my sheep.” 17 He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved because he said to him (AA)the third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, (AB)you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed (AC)my sheep. 18 (AD)Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, (AE)you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.” 19 (This he said to show (AF)by what kind of death he was to glorify God.) And after saying this he said to him, (AG)“Follow me.”
Jesus and the Beloved Apostle
20 Peter turned and saw (AH)the disciple whom Jesus loved following them, (AI)the one who also had leaned back against him during the supper and had said, “Lord, who is it that is going to betray you?” 21 When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, “Lord, what about this man?” 22 Jesus said to him, “If it is my will that he remain (AJ)until (AK)I come, what is that to you? (AL)You follow me!” 23 So the saying spread abroad among (AM)the brothers[b] that this disciple was not to die; yet Jesus did not say to him that he was not to die, but, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you?”
24 This is the disciple (AN)who is bearing witness about these things, and who has written these things, and (AO)we know (AP)that his testimony is true.
25 Now (AQ)there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that (AR)the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.
Footnotes
- John 21:8 Greek two hundred cubits; a cubit was about 18 inches or 45 centimeters
- John 21:23 Or brothers and sisters
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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