Old/New Testament
Solomon and His Bride Extol Each Other
6 “[a](A)Where has your beloved gone,
O (B)most beautiful among women?
Where has your beloved turned,
That we may seek him with you?”
2 “[b]My beloved has gone down to his (C)garden,
To the (D)beds of spices,
To (E)shepherd his flock in the gardens
And gather (F)lilies.
3 (G)I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine,
He who (H)shepherds his flock among the lilies.”
4 “[c](I)You are as beautiful as (J)Tirzah, my darling,
As (K)lovely as (L)Jerusalem,
As (M)majestic as [d]an army with banners.
5 Turn your eyes away from me,
For they have overwhelmed me;
(N)Your hair is like a flock of goats
That have leapt down from Gilead.
6 (O)Your teeth are like a flock of ewes
Which have come up from their washing,
All of which bear twins,
And not one among them has [e]lost her young.
7 (P)Your temples are like a slice of a pomegranate
Behind your veil.
8 There are sixty (Q)queens and eighty concubines,
And [f](R)maidens without number;
9 She is the only one—(S)my dove, my perfect one;
She is the only one of her mother;
She is the pure one of her who bore her.
The (T)daughters saw her and called her blessed,
The (U)queens and the concubines also, and they praised her, saying,
10 ‘Who is this that looks down like the dawn,
As beautiful as the full (V)moon,
As pure (W)as the sun,
As (X)majestic as [g]an army with banners?’
11 [h]I went down to the garden of nut trees
To see the blossoms of the valley,
To see whether (Y)the vine had flourished
Or the (Z)pomegranates had bloomed.
12 I did not know it, but my soul set me
Among the chariots of [i]my noble people.”
13 “[j][k]Come back, come back, O Shulammite;
Come back, come back, that we may behold you!”
“[l]Why should you behold the Shulammite,
As at the (AA)dance of [m](AB)the two companies?
7 “[n]How beautiful are your [o]feet in sandals,
O (AC)noble’s daughter!
The curves of your thighs are like ornaments,
The work of the hands of an artist.
2 Your navel is like a round basin
Which never lacks mixed wine;
Your belly is like a heap of wheat
Encircled with lilies.
3 Your (AD)two breasts are like two fawns,
Twins of a gazelle.
4 Your (AE)neck is like a tower of ivory,
Your eyes like the pools in (AF)Heshbon
By the gate of Bath-rabbim;
Your nose is like the tower of Lebanon,
Which faces toward Damascus.
5 Your head [p]crowns you like (AG)Carmel,
And the flowing locks of your head are like purple threads;
The king is captivated by your tresses.
6 How (AH)beautiful and how pleasant you are,
[q]My love, with all your pleasures!
7 [r]Your stature is like a palm tree,
And your breasts are like its clusters.
8 I said, ‘I will climb the palm tree;
I will seize its fruit stalks.’
Oh, may your breasts be like clusters of the vine,
And the fragrance of your [s]breath like [t](AI)apples,
9 And your [u](AJ)mouth like the best wine!”
“[v]It (AK)goes down smoothly for my beloved,
Flowing gently through the lips of those who fall asleep.
The Union of Love
10 “(AL)I am my beloved’s,
And his (AM)desire is for me.
11 Come, my beloved, let us go out into the [w]fields,
Let us spend the night in the villages.
12 Let us rise early and go to the vineyards;
Let us (AN)see whether the vine has flourished
And its blossoms have opened,
And whether the pomegranates have bloomed.
There I will give you my love.
13 The (AO)mandrakes have given forth fragrance;
And over our doors are all (AP)choice fruits,
Both new and old,
Which I have treasured up for you, my beloved.
The Power and Preciousness of Love
8 “Oh that you were like a brother to me
Who nursed at my mother’s breasts.
If I found you outside, I would kiss you;
No one would despise me, either.
2 I would lead you and (AQ)bring you
Into the house of my mother, who used to teach me;
I would give you spiced wine to drink from the sweet wine of my pomegranates.
3 Let (AR)his left hand be under my head
And his right hand embrace me.”
4 “[x](AS)I call you to solemnly swear, O daughters of Jerusalem,
[y]Why should you arouse or awaken my love
Until [z]she pleases?”
5 “[aa](AT)Who is this coming up from the wilderness
Leaning on her beloved?”
“[ab]Beneath the [ac](AU)apple tree I awakened you;
There your mother was in labor with you;
There she was in labor and gave you birth.
6 Put me like a [ad]seal over your heart,
Like a (AV)seal on your arm.
For love is as strong as death,
[ae](AW)Jealousy is as severe as Sheol;
Its flashes are flashes of fire,
[af]The very flame of [ag]Yah.
7 Many waters cannot quench love,
Nor will rivers overflow it;
(AX)If a man were to give all the riches of his house for love,
It would be utterly despised.”
8 “[ah]We have a little sister,
And she (AY)has no breasts;
What shall we do for our sister
On the day when she is spoken for?
9 If she is a wall,
We will build on her a battlement of silver;
But if she is a door,
We will barricade her with (AZ)planks of cedar.”
10 “[ai]I was a wall, and (BA)my breasts were like towers;
Then I became in his eyes as one who finds peace.
11 Solomon had a (BB)vineyard at Baal-hamon;
He (BC)gave the vineyard to (BD)caretakers.
Each one was to bring [aj]one (BE)thousand shekels of silver for its (BF)fruit.
12 My very own vineyard is before me;
The thousand shekels are for you, Solomon,
And two hundred are for those who take care of its fruit.”
Sonship in Christ
4 Now I say, as long as the heir is a [a]child, he does not differ at all from a slave although he is [b]owner of everything, 2 but he is under guardians and stewards until the date set by the father. 3 So also we, while we were children, were (A)enslaved under the [c](B)elemental things of the world. 4 But when (C)the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, (D)born of a woman, born (E)under [d]the Law, 5 so that He might redeem those who were under [e]the Law, that we might receive the adoption as (F)sons. 6 And because you are sons, (G)God sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, “(H)Abba! Father!” 7 Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and (I)if a son, then an heir [f]through God.
8 However at that time, (J)when you did not know God, you were (K)slaves to (L)those which by nature are no gods. 9 But now, having known God, or rather having been (M)known by God, (N)how is it that you turn back again to the weak and worthless [g](O)elemental things, to which you want to be enslaved all over again? 10 You (P)observe days and months and seasons and years. 11 I fear for you, that perhaps I have labored [h]over you for nothing.
12 I beg of you, (Q)brothers, (R)become as I am, for I also have become as you are. You have done me no wrong. 13 But you know that it was because of a [i]bodily illness that I proclaimed the gospel to you the [j]first time; 14 and that which was a [k]trial to you in my [l]bodily condition you did not despise or [m]loathe, but (S)you received me as an angel of God, as (T)Christ Jesus Himself. 15 Where then is [n]that sense of blessing you had? For I testify to you that, if possible, you would have plucked out your eyes and given them to me. 16 So have I become your enemy (U)by [o]telling you the truth? 17 They zealously seek you, not commendably, but they wish to shut you out so that you will zealously seek them. 18 But it is good always to be zealously sought in a commendable [p]manner, and (V)not only when I am present with you. 19 (W)My children, with whom (X)I am again in labor until (Y)Christ is formed in you— 20 but I could wish to be present with you now and to change my tone, because (Z)I am perplexed about you.
An Allegory of Two Covenants
21 Tell me, you who want to be under law, do you not (AA)listen to the Law? 22 For it is written that Abraham had two sons, (AB)one by the servant-woman and (AC)one by the free woman. 23 But (AD)the son by the servant-woman had been born according to the flesh, while (AE)the son by the free woman through the promise. 24 [q](AF)This is [r]spoken with allegory, for these women are two covenants: one from (AG)Mount Sinai bearing children into (AH)slavery; [s]she is Hagar. 25 Now this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. 26 But (AI)the Jerusalem above is free; [t]she is our mother. 27 For it is written,
“(AJ)Rejoice, barren woman who does not give birth;
Break forth and shout, you who are not in labor;
For more numerous are the children of the desolate one
Than of the one who has a husband.”
28 And you brothers, (AK)in accordance with Isaac, are (AL)children of promise. 29 But as at that time (AM)he who was born according to the flesh (AN)was persecuting him who was born according to the Spirit, (AO)so it is now also. 30 But what does the Scripture say?
“(AP)Cast out the servant-woman and her son,
For (AQ)the son of the servant-woman shall not be an heir with the son of the free woman.”
31 So then, brothers, we are not children of a servant-woman, [u]but of the free woman.
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