The Daily Audio Bible
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2 W[b] Oh, that he would kiss me with the kisses of his mouth!
For your[c] love is[d] more delightful than wine.(B)
3 The fragrance of your perfume is intoxicating;(C)
your name is perfume poured out.(D)
No wonder young women[e] adore you.
4 Take me with you(E)—let us hurry.
Oh, that the king would bring[f] me to his chambers.
Y We will rejoice and be glad for you;
we will praise your love more than wine.
W It is only right that they adore you.
5 Daughters of Jerusalem,(F)
I am dark like the tents of Kedar,(G)
yet lovely(H) like the curtains of Solomon.
6 Do not stare at me because I am dark,
for the sun has gazed on me.
My mother’s sons were angry with me;(I)
they made me a keeper of the vineyards.(J)
I have not kept my own vineyard.[g]
7 Tell me, you, the one I love:(K)
Where do you pasture your sheep?(L)
Where do you let them rest at noon?(M)
Why should I be like one who veils herself[h][i]
beside the flocks of your companions?(N)
8 M[j] If you do not know,
most beautiful of women,(O)
follow[k] the tracks of the flock,
and pasture your young goats
near the shepherds’ tents.
9 I compare you, my darling,(P)
to a[l] mare among Pharaoh’s chariots.[m](Q)
10 Your cheeks are beautiful with jewelry,(R)
your neck with its necklace.
11 We will make gold jewelry for you,
accented with silver.
12 W While the king is on his couch,[n]
my perfume[o] releases its fragrance.(S)
13 My love is a sachet of myrrh to me,(T)
spending the night between my breasts.
14 My love is a cluster of henna blossoms to me,(U)
in the vineyards of En-gedi.[p](V)
15 M How beautiful you are, my darling.
How very beautiful!
Your eyes are doves.(W)
16 W How handsome you are, my love.(X)
How delightful!
Our bed is lush with foliage;
17 the beams of our house are cedars,
and our rafters are cypresses.[q]
2 I am a rose[r][s] of Sharon,
a lily[t] of the valleys.(Y)
2 M Like a lily among thorns,
so is my darling among the young women.
3 W Like an apricot[u] tree among the trees of the forest,
so is my love among the young men.
I delight to sit in his shade,
and his fruit is sweet to my taste.
4 He brought me to the banquet hall,[v](Z)
and he looked on me with love.[w](AA)
5 Sustain me with raisins;
refresh me with apricots,[x]
for I am lovesick.(AB)
6 His left hand is under my head,
and his right arm embraces me.[y](AC)
7 Young women of Jerusalem, I charge you
by the gazelles and the wild does of the field:
do not stir up or awaken love
until the appropriate time.[z](AD)
8 Listen! My love is approaching.
Look! Here he comes,
leaping over the mountains,(AE)
bounding over the hills.
9 My love is like a gazelle
or a young stag.(AF)
Look, he is standing behind our wall,
gazing through the windows,
peering through the lattice.
10 My love calls to me:
M Arise,(AG) my darling.
Come away, my beautiful one.
11 For now the winter is past;
the rain has ended and gone away.
12 The blossoms appear in the countryside.
The time of singing[aa] has come,
and the turtledove’s cooing is heard in our land.(AH)
13 The fig tree ripens its figs;(AI)
the blossoming vines give off their fragrance.(AJ)
Arise, my darling.
Come away, my beautiful one.
14 My dove,(AK) in the clefts of the rock,(AL)
in the crevices of the cliff,
let me see your face,[ab]
let me hear your voice;(AM)
for your voice is sweet,
and your face is lovely.(AN)
15 (W) Catch the foxes for us(AO)—
the little foxes that ruin the vineyards—
for our vineyards are in bloom.(AP)
16 W My love is mine and I am his;(AQ)
he feeds among the lilies.
17 Before the day breaks[ac]
and the shadows flee,
turn to me, my love, and be like a gazelle
or a young stag(AR) on the divided mountains.[ad](AS)
3 In my bed at night[ae]
I sought the one I love;(AT)
I sought him, but did not find him.[af](AU)
2 I will arise now and go about the city,
through the streets and the plazas.(AV)
I will seek the one I love.
I sought him, but did not find him.
3 The guards who go about the city found me.(AW)
I asked them, “Have you seen the one I love?”
4 I had just passed them
when I found the one I love.
I held on to him and would not let him go
until I brought him to my mother’s house(AX)—
to the chamber of the one who conceived me.
5 Young women of Jerusalem, I charge you
by the gazelles and the wild does of the field:
do not stir up or awaken love
until the appropriate time.[ag](AY)
6 N What is this(AZ) coming up from the wilderness
like columns of smoke,
scented with myrrh and frankincense(BA)
from every fragrant powder of the merchant?
7 It is Solomon’s royal litter[ah]
surrounded by 60 warriors
from the mighty of Israel.
8 All of them are skilled with swords
and trained in warfare.
Each has his sword at his side(BB)
to guard against the terror of the night.(BC)
9 King Solomon made a sedan chair[ai] for himself
with wood from Lebanon.
10 He made its posts of silver,
its back[aj] of gold,
and its seat of purple.
Its interior is inlaid with love[ak]
by the young women of Jerusalem.(BD)
11 Come out, young women of Zion,(BE)
and gaze at King Solomon,
wearing the crown his mother placed on him
the day of his wedding(BF)—
the day of his heart’s rejoicing.
4 M How beautiful you are, my darling.
How very beautiful!
Behind your veil,
your eyes are doves.(BG)
Your hair is like a flock of goats
streaming down Mount Gilead.(BH)
2 Your teeth are like a flock of newly shorn sheep
coming up from washing,
each one having a twin,
and not one missing.[al](BI)
3 Your lips are like a scarlet cord,(BJ)
and your mouth[am] is lovely.
Behind your veil,
your brow[an] is like a slice of pomegranate.(BK)
4 Your neck is like the tower of David,(BL)
constructed in layers.
A thousand bucklers are hung on it—
all of them shields of warriors.[ao]
5 Your breasts are like two fawns,
twins of a gazelle,(BM) that feed among the lilies.
6 Before the day breaks[ap]
and the shadows flee,(BN)
I will make my way to the mountain of myrrh
and the hill of frankincense.(BO)
7 You are absolutely beautiful,(BP) my darling,
with no imperfection in you.
8 Come with me from Lebanon,[aq](BQ) my bride(BR)—
with me from Lebanon!
Descend from the peak of Amana,
from the summit of Senir and Hermon,(BS)
from the dens of the lions,
from the mountains of the leopards.
9 You have captured my heart,(BT) my sister,[ar](BU) my bride.
You have captured my heart with one glance of your eyes,
with one jewel of your necklace.
10 How delightful your love is, my sister, my bride.
Your love is much better than wine,(BV)
and the fragrance of your perfume than any balsam.
11 Your lips drip sweetness like the honeycomb, my bride.(BW)
Honey and milk(BX) are under your tongue.
The fragrance of your garments is like the fragrance of Lebanon.
12 My sister, my bride, you are a locked garden—
a locked garden[as] and a sealed spring.(BY)
13 Your branches are a paradise[at] of pomegranates
with choicest fruits,(BZ)
henna with nard—
14 nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon,(CA)
with all the trees of frankincense,(CB)
myrrh and aloes,(CC)
with all the best spices.
15 You are a garden spring,
a well of flowing water(CD)
streaming from Lebanon.
Administration of the Collection
16 Thanks be to God who put the same concern for you into the heart of Titus. 17 For he accepted our urging and, being very diligent, went out to you by his own choice. 18 We have sent with him the brother(A) who is praised throughout the churches for his gospel ministry.[a] 19 And not only that, but he was also appointed by the churches to accompany us with this gift[b] that is being administered by us for the glory of the Lord Himself and to show our eagerness to help. 20 We are taking this precaution so no one can criticize us about this large sum administered by us. 21 For we are making provision(B) for what is right,(C) not only before the Lord but also before men. 22 We have also sent with them our brother. We have often tested him in many circumstances and found him to be diligent—and now even more diligent because of his great confidence in you. 23 As for Titus, he is my partner(D) and coworker(E) serving you; as for our brothers, they are the messengers(F) of the churches, the glory of Christ.(G) 24 Therefore, show them proof before the churches of your love and of our boasting(H) about you.
Psalm 50
God as Judge
A psalm of Asaph.(A)
1 Yahweh, the God of gods[a] speaks;
He summons the earth from east to west.[b](B)
2 From Zion, the perfection of beauty,
God appears in radiance.[c](C)
3 Our God is coming; He will not be silent!
Devouring fire precedes Him,
and a storm rages around Him.(D)
4 On high, He summons heaven and earth
in order to judge His people.(E)
5 “Gather My faithful ones to Me,
those who made a covenant with Me by sacrifice.”(F)
6 The heavens proclaim His righteousness,(G)
for God is the Judge.(H)
7 “Listen, My people, and I will speak;
I will testify against you, Israel.
I am God, your God.(I)
8 I do not rebuke you for your sacrifices
or for your burnt offerings,
which are continually before Me.(J)
9 I will not accept a bull from your household
or male goats from your pens,(K)
10 for every animal of the forest is Mine,
the cattle on a thousand hills.
11 I know every bird of the mountains,[d]
and the creatures of the field are Mine.(L)
12 If I were hungry, I would not tell you,
for the world and everything in it is Mine.(M)
13 Do I eat the flesh of bulls
or drink the blood of goats?(N)
14 Sacrifice a thank offering to God,(O)
and pay your vows to the Most High.(P)
15 Call on Me in a day of trouble;
I will rescue you, and you will honor Me.”(Q)
16 But God says to the wicked:
“What right do you have to recite My statutes
and to take My covenant on your lips?(R)
17 You hate instruction
and turn your back on My words.[e](S)
18 When you see a thief,
you make friends with him,
and you associate with adulterers.(T)
19 You unleash your mouth for evil
and harness your tongue for deceit.(U)
20 You sit, maligning your brother,
slandering your mother’s son.(V)
21 You have done these things, and I kept silent;
you thought I was just like you.(W)
But I will rebuke you
and lay out the case before you.[f](X)
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