Old/New Testament
Chapter 4
The Beauty of the Woman
1 M(A), (B) How beautiful you are, my friend,
how beautiful you are!
Your eyes are doves
behind your veil.
Your hair is like a flock of goats
streaming down Mount Gilead.[a]
2 Your teeth[b] are like a flock of ewes to be shorn,
that come up from the washing,
All of them big with twins,
none of them barren.
3 Like a scarlet strand, your lips,
and your mouth—lovely!
Like pomegranate[c] halves, your cheeks
behind your veil.
4 (C)Like a tower of David, your neck,
built in courses,
A thousand shields hanging upon it,
all the armor of warriors.[d]
5 (D)Your breasts are like two fawns,
twins of a gazelle
feeding among the lilies.
6 (E)Until the day grows cool
and the shadows flee,
I shall go to the mountain of myrrh,
to the hill of frankincense.[e]
7 You are beautiful in every way, my friend,
there is no flaw in you![f]
8 With me from Lebanon, my bride!
With me from Lebanon, come!
Descend from the peak of Amana,
from the peak of Senir and Hermon,[g]
From the lairs of lions,
from the leopards’ heights.
9 (F)You have ravished my heart, my sister,[h] my bride;
you have ravished my heart with one glance of your eyes,
with one bead of your necklace.
10 (G)How beautiful is your love,
my sister, my bride,
How much better is your love than wine,
and the fragrance of your perfumes than any spice!
11 Your lips drip honey,[i] my bride,
honey and milk are under your tongue;
And the fragrance of your garments
is like the fragrance of Lebanon.
The Lover’s Garden
12 M(H) A garden enclosed, my sister, my bride,
a garden enclosed, a fountain sealed![j]
13 Your branches are a grove of pomegranates,
with fruits of choicest yield:
Henna with spikenard,
14 spikenard and saffron,
Sweet cane and cinnamon,
with all kinds of frankincense;
Myrrh and aloes,
with all the finest spices;[k]
15 A garden fountain, a well of living water,
streams flowing from Lebanon.
16 Awake,[l] north wind!
Come, south wind!
Blow upon my garden
that its perfumes may spread abroad.
W Let my lover come to his garden
and eat its fruits of choicest yield.
Chapter 5
1 M(I) I have come to my garden, my sister, my bride;
I gather my myrrh with my spices,
I eat my honeycomb with my honey,
I drink my wine with my milk.
D? Eat, friends; drink!
Drink deeply, lovers![m]
A Fruitless Search
2 W(J) I was sleeping, but my heart was awake.[n]
The sound of my lover knocking!
“Open to me, my sister, my friend,
my dove, my perfect one!
For my head is wet with dew,
my hair, with the moisture of the night.”
3 I have taken off my robe,[o]
am I then to put it on?
I have bathed my feet,
am I then to soil them?
4 My lover put his hand in through the opening:
my innermost being[p] trembled because of him.
5 I rose to open for my lover,
my hands dripping myrrh:
My fingers, flowing myrrh
upon the handles of the lock.
6 I opened for my lover—
but my lover had turned and gone!
At his leaving, my soul sank.
I sought him, but I did not find him;
I called out after him, but he did not answer me.[q]
7 The watchmen[r] found me,
as they made their rounds in the city;
They beat me, they wounded me,
they tore off my mantle,
the watchmen of the walls.
8 (K)I adjure you, Daughters of Jerusalem,
if you find my lover
What shall you tell him?
that I am sick with love.
The Lost Lover Described
9 D How does your lover differ from any other lover,
most beautiful among women?
How does your lover differ from any other,
that you adjure us so?
10 W My lover is radiant and ruddy;[s]
outstanding among thousands.
11 His head is gold, pure gold,
his hair like palm fronds,
as black as a raven.
12 His eyes are like doves
beside streams of water,
Bathing in milk,
sitting[t] by brimming pools.
13 His cheeks are like beds of spices
yielding aromatic scents;
his lips are lilies
that drip flowing myrrh.
14 His arms are rods of gold
adorned with gems;
His loins, a work of ivory
covered with sapphires.
15 His legs, pillars of alabaster,
resting on golden pedestals.
His appearance, like the Lebanon,
imposing as the cedars.
16 His mouth is sweetness itself;
he is delightful in every way.
Such is my lover, and such my friend,
Daughters of Jerusalem!
IV. Faith and Liberty
Chapter 3
Justification by Faith.[a] 1 O stupid[b] Galatians! Who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified?(A) 2 I want to learn only this from you:(B) did you receive the Spirit from works of the law, or from faith in what you heard?[c] 3 Are you so stupid?(C) After beginning with the Spirit, are you now ending with the flesh?[d] 4 Did you experience so many things[e] in vain?—if indeed it was in vain. 5 Does, then, the one who supplies the Spirit to you and works mighty deeds among you do so from works of the law or from faith in what you heard?(D) 6 Thus Abraham “believed God,(E) and it was credited to him as righteousness.”[f]
7 [g]Realize then that it is those who have faith who are children of Abraham.(F) 8 Scripture, which saw in advance that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, foretold the good news to Abraham, saying, “Through you shall all the nations be blessed.”(G) 9 Consequently, those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham who had faith.(H) 10 [h]For all who depend on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not persevere in doing all the things written in the book of the law.”(I) 11 And that no one is justified before God by the law is clear, for “the one who is righteous by faith will live.”(J) 12 But the law does not depend on faith; rather, “the one who does these things will live by them.”(K) 13 Christ ransomed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who hangs on a tree,”(L) 14 that the blessing of Abraham might be extended to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.(M)
The Law Did Not Nullify the Promise. 15 [i]Brothers, in human terms I say that no one can annul or amend even a human will once ratified.(N) 16 Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his descendant.[j] It does not say, “And to descendants,” as referring to many, but as referring to one, “And to your descendant,” who is Christ.(O) 17 This is what I mean: the law, which came four hundred and thirty years afterward,[k] does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to cancel the promise.(P) 18 For if the inheritance comes from the law,(Q) it is no longer from a promise; but God bestowed it on Abraham through a promise.[l]
19 [m]Why, then, the law? It was added for transgressions, until the descendant[n] came to whom the promise had been made; it was promulgated by angels at the hand of a mediator.(R) 20 Now there is no mediator when only one party is involved, and God is one.(S) 21 Is the law then opposed to the promises [of God]? Of course not! For if a law had been given that could bring life, then righteousness would in reality come from the law.(T) 22 But scripture confined all things under the power of sin, that through faith in Jesus Christ the promise might be given to those who believe.(U)
What Faith Has Brought Us.[o] 23 Before faith came, we were held in custody under law, confined for the faith that was to be revealed.(V) 24 Consequently, the law was our disciplinarian[p] for Christ, that we might be justified by faith.(W) 25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a disciplinarian.(X) 26 For through faith you are all children of God[q] in Christ Jesus.(Y) 27 [r]For all of you who were baptized into Christ(Z) have clothed yourselves with Christ.[s] 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free person, there is not male and female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.(AA) 29 And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendant, heirs according to the promise.(AB)
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.