Old/New Testament
The Shulammite Bride’s Desire
1 The [a]Song of (A)Songs, which is Solomon’s.
2 “[b]May he kiss me with the kisses of his mouth!
For your (B)love is better than wine.
3 Your (C)oils have a pleasing fragrance,
Your (D)name is like [c]purified oil;
Therefore the [d](E)maidens love you.
4 Draw me after you and let us run together!
The (F)king has brought me into his chambers.”
“[e]We will rejoice in you and be glad;
We will [f]extol your (G)love more than wine.
Rightly do they love you.”
5 “[g]I am black but (H)lovely,
O (I)daughters of Jerusalem,
Like the (J)tents of (K)Kedar,
Like the curtains of Solomon.
6 Do not look at me because I am [h]swarthy,
For the sun has burned me.
My (L)mother’s sons were angry with me;
They made me (M)caretaker of the vineyards,
But I have not taken care of my own vineyard.
7 Tell me, O you (N)whom my soul loves,
Where do you (O)shepherd your flock,
Where do you make it (P)lie down at noon?
For why should I be like one who [i]veils herself
Beside the flocks of your (Q)companions?”
Solomon and His Bride Extol Each Other
8 “[j]If you yourself do not know,
(R)Most beautiful among women,
Go forth on the trail of the flock
And pasture your young goats
By the dwellings of the shepherds.
9 “To a (S)mare of mine among the chariots of Pharaoh
I compare you, O (T)my darling.
10 Your (U)cheeks are lovely with ornaments,
Your neck with strings of [k](V)beads.”
11 “[l]We will make for you ornaments of gold
With beads of silver.”
12 “[m]While the king was at his [n]banqueting table,
My [o](W)perfume gave forth its fragrance.
13 My beloved is to me a pouch of (X)myrrh
Which lies all night between my breasts.
14 My beloved is to me a cluster of (Y)henna blossoms
In the vineyards of (Z)Engedi.”
15 “[p](AA)Behold, you are beautiful, my darling,
Behold, you are beautiful!
Your (AB)eyes are like doves.”
16 “[q]Behold, you are handsome, (AC)my beloved,
Indeed, so pleasant!
Indeed, our couch is luxuriant!
17 The beams of our houses are (AD)cedars,
Our rafters, [r](AE)cypresses.
3 “[v]Like an [w](AJ)apple tree among the trees of the forest,
So is my beloved among the sons.
In his shade I had great desire and sat down,
And his (AK)fruit was sweet to my [x]taste.
4 He has (AL)brought me to his [y]house of banqueting,
And his (AM)banner over me is love.
5 Sustain me with (AN)raisin cakes,
Refresh me with [z](AO)apples,
Because (AP)I am lovesick.
6 Let (AQ)his left hand be under my head
And (AR)his right hand (AS)embrace me.”
7 “[aa]I (AT)call you to solemnly swear, O (AU)daughters of Jerusalem,
By the (AV)gazelles or by the (AW)hinds of the field,
(AX)That you do not arouse or awaken my love
Until [ab]she pleases.”
The Bride Delights in Her Beloved
8 “[ac]The voice of my beloved!
Behold, he is coming,
Leaping (AY)on the mountains,
Jumping on the hills!
9 My beloved is like a (AZ)gazelle or a (BA)young [ad]stag.
Behold, he is standing behind our wall;
He gazes through the windows;
He is peering (BB)through the lattice.
10 “My beloved answered and said to me,
‘(BC)Arise, my darling, my beautiful one,
And come along.
11 For behold, the winter is past,
The rain is over; it is gone.
12 The flowers have appeared in the land;
The time for [ae]pruning has arrived;
And the voice of the (BD)turtledove has been heard in our land.
13 The (BE)fig tree has ripened its figs,
And the (BF)vines in blossom have given forth their fragrance.
Arise, my darling, my beautiful one,
And come along!’”
14 “[af]O (BG)my dove, (BH)in the clefts of the [ag]rock,
In the secret place of the steep [ah]pathway,
Let me see your appearance,
(BI)Let me hear your voice;
For your voice is sweet,
And your appearance is (BJ)lovely.”
15 “[ai](BK)Seize the foxes for us,
The [aj]little foxes that are wreaking destruction on the vineyards,
While our (BL)vineyards are in blossom.”
16 “[ak](BM)My beloved is mine, and I am his,
He who (BN)shepherds his flock among the lilies.
17 (BO)Until the day breathes and the shadows flee,
Turn, my beloved, and be like a (BP)gazelle
Or a young stag (BQ)on the mountains of [al]Bether.”
The Bride’s Troubled Dream
3 “[am]On my bed night after night I sought him
(BR)Whom my soul loves;
I (BS)sought him but did not find him.
2 ‘[an]I must arise now and [ao]go about the city;
In the (BT)streets and in the squares
[ap]I must seek him whom my soul loves.’
I sought him but did not find him.
3 (BU)The watchmen who go about the city found me,
And I said, ‘Have you seen him whom my soul loves?’
4 (BV)Scarcely had I passed them by
When I found him whom my soul loves;
I (BW)seized him and would not let him go
Until I had (BX)brought him to my mother’s house,
And into the chamber of her who conceived me.”
5 “[aq]I (BY)call you to solemnly swear, O daughters of Jerusalem,
By the (BZ)gazelles or by the hinds of the field,
That you do not arouse or awaken my love
Until [ar]she pleases.”
Solomon Arrives on His Wedding Day
6 “[as](CA)Who is this coming up from the wilderness
Like (CB)columns of smoke,
As rising incense of (CC)myrrh and (CD)frankincense,
With all scented powders of the merchant?
7 Behold, it is the traveling couch of Solomon;
Sixty mighty men around it,
Of the mighty men of Israel.
8 All of them are those who seize the sword,
(CE)Learned in war;
Each man has his (CF)sword at his side,
Guarding against the [at](CG)dreadful things of the night.
9 King Solomon has made for himself a sedan chair
From the timber of Lebanon.
10 He made its posts of silver,
Its [au]back of gold
And its seat of purple fabric,
With its interior inlaid with love
By the (CH)daughters of Jerusalem.
11 Go forth and see, O (CI)daughters of Zion,
King Solomon with the [av]crown
With which his mother has crowned him
On the (CJ)day of his wedding,
And on the day of his gladness of heart.”
Paul Accepted by the Apostles
2 Then after fourteen years I (A)went up again to Jerusalem with (B)Barnabas, taking (C)Titus along also. 2 And I went up [a]because of a (D)revelation, and I laid out to them the (E)gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but I did so in private to those who were of reputation, lest somehow I might be (F)running, or had run, in vain. 3 But not even (G)Titus, who was with me, though he was a Greek, was (H)compelled to be circumcised. 4 But this was because of the (I)false brothers secretly brought in, who (J)had sneaked in to spy out our (K)freedom which we have in Christ Jesus, in order to (L)enslave us. 5 But we did not yield in subjection to them for even [b]a moment, so that (M)the truth of the gospel would remain with you. 6 But from those who [c]were of high (N)reputation (what they were makes no difference to me; (O)God [d]shows no partiality)—well, those who were of reputation contributed nothing to me. 7 But on the contrary, seeing that I had been (P)entrusted with the (Q)gospel [e]to the uncircumcised, just as (R)Peter had been [f]to the circumcised 8 (for He who worked in Peter unto his (S)apostleship [g]to the circumcised worked in me also unto the Gentiles), 9 and recognizing (T)the grace that had been given to me, (U)James and (V)Cephas and [h]John, who were (W)reputed to be (X)pillars, gave to me and (Y)Barnabas the (Z)right [i]hand of fellowship, so that we might (AA)go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. 10 Only they asked us to remember the poor—(AB)the very thing I also was eager to do.
Paul Opposes Peter (Cephas)
11 But when (AC)Cephas came to (AD)Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he [j]stood condemned. 12 For prior to the coming of certain men from (AE)James, he used to (AF)eat with the Gentiles, but when they came, he began to shrink back and separate himself, (AG)fearing [k]the party of the circumcision. 13 And the rest of the Jews joined him in hypocrisy, with the result that even (AH)Barnabas was carried away by their hypocrisy. 14 But when I saw that they (AI)were not [l]straightforward about (AJ)the truth of the gospel, I said to (AK)Cephas before everyone, “If you, being a Jew, (AL)live like the Gentiles and not like the Jews, how is it that you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?[m]
15 “We are (AM)Jews by nature and not (AN)sinners from among the Gentiles; 16 nevertheless [n]knowing that (AO)a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by (AP)faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since (AQ)by the works of [o]the Law no [p]flesh will be justified. 17 But if, while seeking to be justified in Christ, we ourselves have also been found (AR)sinners, is Christ then a minister of sin? (AS)May it never be! 18 For if I rebuild what I have once destroyed, I (AT)prove myself to be a transgressor. 19 For through [q]the Law I (AU)died to [r]the Law, so that I might live to God. 20 I have been (AV)crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but (AW)Christ lives in me. And the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in (AX)the Son of God, who (AY)loved me and (AZ)gave Himself up for me. 21 I do not set aside the grace of God, for (BA)if righteousness comes through [s]the Law, then Christ died needlessly.”
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