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This reading plan is provided by Brian Hardin from Daily Audio Bible.
Duration: 731 days

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Contemporary English Version (CEV)
Version
Song of Solomon 1-4

Love Is Better than Wine

(A) This is Solomon's
    most beautiful song.

She Speaks:

Kiss me tenderly!
Your love is better than wine,
    and you smell so sweet.
All the young women adore you;
the very mention of your name
    is like spreading perfume.
* Hurry, my king! Let's hurry.
    Take me to your home.

The Young Women Speak:

We are happy for you!
And we praise your love
    even more than wine.

She Speaks:

Young women of Jerusalem,
it is only right
    that you should adore him.
My skin is dark and beautiful,
like a tent in the desert
    or like Solomon's curtains.
Don't stare at me
just because the sun
    has darkened my skin.
My brothers were angry with me;
they made me work in the vineyard,
    and so I neglected
    my complexion.

My darling, I love you!
Where do you feed your sheep
    and let them rest at noon?
Don't let the other shepherds
    think badly of me.
I'm not one of those women
who shamelessly follow
    after shepherds.[a]

He Speaks:

My dearest, if you don't know,
just follow the path
    of the sheep.
Then feed your young goats
    near the shepherds' tents.
You move as gracefully
as the pony that leads
    the chariot of the king.
10 Earrings add to your beauty,
and you wear a necklace
    of precious stones.
11 Let's make you some jewelry
    of gold, woven with silver.

She Speaks:

12 My king, while you
were on your couch,
    my aroma was a magic charm.[b]
13 My darling, you are perfume
    between my breasts;
14 you are flower blossoms
    from the gardens of En-Gedi.[c]

He Speaks:

15 My darling, you are lovely,
so very lovely—
    your eyes are those of a dove.

She Speaks:

16 My love, you are handsome,
    truly handsome—
the fresh green grass
    will be our wedding bed
17 in the shade of cedar
    and cypress trees.

Love Makes Everything Beautiful

She Speaks:

I am merely a rose[d]
from the land of Sharon,
    a lily from the valley.

He Speaks:

My darling, when compared
with other young women,
    you are a lily among thorns.

She Speaks:

And you, my love,
are an apple tree
    among trees of the forest.
Your shade brought me pleasure;
    your fruit was sweet.
You led me to your banquet room
    and showered me with love.
Refresh and strengthen me
with raisins and apples.
    I am hungry for love!
Put your left hand under my head
and embrace me
    with your right arm.

Young women of Jerusalem,
promise me by the power
    of deer and gazelles[e]
never to awaken love
    before it is ready.

Winter Is Past

She Speaks:

I hear the voice
    of the one I love,
as he comes leaping
over mountains and hills
    like a deer or a gazelle.
Now he stands outside our wall,
looking through the window
10     and speaking to me.

He Speaks:

My darling, I love you!
    Let's go away together.
11 Winter is past,
    the rain has stopped;
12 flowers cover the earth,
    it's time to sing.[f]
The cooing of doves
    is heard in our land.
13 Fig trees are bearing fruit,
while blossoms on grapevines
    fill the air with perfume.
My darling, I love you!
    Let's go away together.
14 You are my dove
hiding among the rocks
    on the side of a cliff.
Let me see how lovely you are!
Let me hear the sound
    of your melodious voice.
15 Our vineyards are in blossom;
we must catch the little foxes
    that destroy the vineyards.[g]

She Speaks:

16 My darling, I am yours,
    and you are mine,
as you feed your sheep
    among the lilies.
17 Pretend to be a young deer
dancing on mountain slopes[h]
    until daylight comes
    and shadows fade away.

Beautiful Dreams

She Speaks:

While in bed at night,
I reached for the one I love
    with heart and soul.
I looked for him,
    but he wasn't there.
So I searched through the town
    for the one I love.
I looked on every street,
    but he wasn't there.
I even asked the guards
    patrolling the town,
“Have you seen the one
    I love so much?”
Right after that, I found him.
I held him and would not let go
    until I had taken him
    to the home of my mother.
Young women of Jerusalem,
promise me by the power
    of deer and gazelles,[i]
never to awaken love
    before it is ready.

The Groom and the Wedding Party

Their Friends Speak:

What do we see approaching
from the desert
    like a cloud of smoke?
With it comes the sweet smell
of spices, including myrrh
    and frankincense.
It is King Solomon
    carried on a throne,
surrounded by sixty
    of Israel's best soldiers.
Each of them wears a sword.
They are experts at fighting,
    even in the dark.
The throne is made of trees
    from Lebanon.
10 Its posts are silver,
    the back is gold,
and the seat is covered
    with purple cloth.
You women of Jerusalem
have taken great care
    to furnish the inside.[j]
11 Now come and see the crown
given to Solomon by his mother
    on his happy wedding day.

What a Beautiful Bride

He Speaks:

My darling, you are lovely,
    so very lovely—
as you look through your veil,
    your eyes are those of a dove.
Your hair tosses about
as gracefully as goats
    coming down from Gilead.
Your teeth are whiter
    than sheep freshly washed;
they match perfectly,
    not one is missing.
Your lips are crimson cords,
    your mouth is shapely;
behind your veil are hidden
    beautiful rosy cheeks.[k]
Your neck is more graceful
    than the tower of David,
decorated with thousands
    of warriors' shields.

Your breasts are perfect;
they are twin deer
    feeding among lilies.
I will hasten to those hills
sprinkled with sweet perfume
    and stay there till sunrise.
My darling, you are lovely
    in every way.
My bride, together
    we will leave Lebanon!
We will say goodbye
to the peaks of Mount Amana,
    Senir, and Hermon,
where lions and leopards
    live in the caves.

My bride, my very own,
    you have stolen my heart!
With one glance from your eyes
and the glow of your necklace,
    you have stolen my heart.
10 Your love is sweeter than wine;
the smell of your perfume
    is more fragrant than spices.
11 Your lips are a honeycomb;
milk and honey
    flow from your tongue.
Your dress has the aroma
    of cedar trees from Lebanon.

12 My bride, my very own,
you are a garden, a fountain
    closed off to all others.
13 Your arms[l] are vines,
covered with delicious fruits
    and all sorts of spices—
henna, nard, 14 saffron,
    calamus, cinnamon,
frankincense, myrrh, and aloes
    —all the finest spices.
15 You are a spring in the garden,
    a fountain of pure water,
and a refreshing stream
    from Mount Lebanon.

She Speaks:

16 Let the north wind blow,
    the south wind too!
Let them spread the aroma
    of my garden,
so the one I love
may enter and taste
    its delicious fruits.

2 Corinthians 8:16-24

Titus and His Friends

16 I am grateful that God made Titus care as much about you as we do. 17 When we begged Titus to visit you, he said he would. He wanted to because he cared so much for you. 18 With Titus we are also sending one of the Lord's followers who is well known in every church for spreading the good news. 19 The churches chose this follower to travel with us while we carry this gift that will bring praise to the Lord and show how much we hope to help. 20 We don't want anyone to find fault with the way we handle your generous gift. 21 (A) But we want to do what pleases the Lord and what people think is right.

22 We are also sending someone else with Titus and the other follower. We approve of this man. In fact, he has already shown us many times that he wants to help. And now he wants to help even more than ever, because he trusts you so much. 23 Titus is my partner, who works with me to serve you. The other two followers are sent by the churches, and they bring honor to Christ. 24 Treat them in such a way that the churches will see your love and will know why we bragged about you.

Psalm 50

(A psalm by Asaph.)

What Pleases God

From east to west,
    the powerful Lord God
has been calling together
    everyone on earth.
God shines brightly from Zion,
    the most beautiful city.

Our God approaches,
    but not silently;
a flaming fire comes first,
    and a storm surrounds him.
God comes to judge his people.
He shouts to the heavens
    and to the earth,
“Call my followers together!
They offered me a sacrifice,
    and we made an agreement.”

The heavens announce,
“God is the judge,
    and he is always honest.”

My people, I am God!
    Israel, I am your God.
Listen to my charges
    against you.
Although you offer sacrifices
    and always bring gifts,
I won't accept your offerings
    of bulls and goats.

10 Every animal in the forest
    belongs to me,
and so do the cattle
    on a thousand hills.
11 I know all the birds
    in the mountains,
and every wild creature
    is in my care.

12 If I were hungry,
    I wouldn't tell you,
because I own the world
    and everything in it.
13 I don't eat the meat of bulls
    or drink the blood of goats.
14 I am God Most High!
    The only sacrifice I want
is for you to be thankful
    and to keep your word.
15 Pray to me in time of trouble.
I will rescue you,
    and you will honor me.

16 But to the wicked I say:
    “You don't have the right
to mention my laws or claim
    to keep our agreement!
17 You refused correction
    and rejected my commands.
18 You made friends
    with every crook you met,
and you liked people who break
    their wedding vows.
19 You talked only about violence
    and told nothing but lies;
20 you sat around gossiping,
ruining the reputation
    of your own relatives.”

21 When you did all this,
I didn't say a word,
    and you thought,
“God is just like us!”
    But now I will accuse you.
22 You have ignored me!
    So pay close attention
or I will tear you apart,
    and no one can help you.

23 The sacrifice that honors me
    is a thankful heart.
Obey me,[a] and I, your God,
    will show my power to save.

Proverbs 22:22-23

–1–

22 Don't take advantage
of the poor
    or cheat them in court.
23 The Lord is their defender,
and what you do to them,
    he will do to you.

Contemporary English Version (CEV)

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