Old/New Testament
Chapter 6
The Lost Lover Found
1 D Where has your lover gone,
most beautiful among women?
Where has your lover withdrawn
that we may seek him with you?[a]
2 W(A) My lover has come down to his garden,[b]
to the beds of spices,
To feed in the gardens
and to gather lilies.
3 (B)I belong to my lover, and my lover belongs to me;
he feeds among the lilies.
The Beauty of the Woman
4 M Beautiful as Tirzah are you, my friend;[c]
fair as Jerusalem,
fearsome as celestial visions!
5 (C)Turn your eyes away from me,
for they stir me up.
Your hair is like a flock of goats
streaming down from Gilead.
6 (D)Your teeth are like a flock of ewes
that come up from the washing,
All of them big with twins,
none of them barren.
7 Like pomegranate halves,
your cheeks behind your veil.
8 Sixty are the queens, eighty the concubines,
and young women without number—
9 One alone[d] is my dove, my perfect one,
her mother’s special one,
favorite of the one who bore her.
Daughters see her and call her happy,
queens and concubines, and they praise her:
10 (E)“Who[e] is this that comes forth like the dawn,
beautiful as the white moon, pure as the blazing sun,
fearsome as celestial visions?”
Love’s Meeting
11 W(F) To the walnut grove[f] I went down,
to see the young growth of the valley;
To see if the vines were in bloom,
if the pomegranates had blossomed.
12 Before I knew it, my desire had made me
the blessed one of the prince’s people.[g]
Chapter 7
The Beauty of the Beloved
1 D? Turn, turn, O Shulammite![h]
turn, turn that we may gaze upon you!
W How can you gaze upon the Shulammite
as at the dance of the two camps?
2 M How beautiful are your feet in sandals,[i]
O noble daughter!
Your curving thighs like jewels,
the product of skilled hands.
3 Your valley,[j] a round bowl
that should never lack mixed wine.
Your belly, a mound of wheat,
encircled with lilies.
4 (G)Your breasts are like two fawns,
twins of a gazelle.
5 (H)Your neck like a tower of ivory;
your eyes, pools in Heshbon
by the gate of Bath-rabbim.
Your nose like the tower of Lebanon
that looks toward Damascus.[k]
6 Your head rises upon you like Carmel;[l]
your hair is like purple;
a king is caught in its locks.
Love’s Desires
7 How beautiful you are, how fair,
my love, daughter of delights!
8 Your very form resembles a date-palm,[m]
and your breasts, clusters.
9 I thought, “Let me climb the date-palm!
Let me take hold of its branches!
Let your breasts be like clusters of the vine
and the fragrance of your breath like apples,
10 And your mouth like the best wine—
Wthat flows down smoothly for my lover,
gliding[n] over my lips and teeth.
11 (I)I belong to my lover,[o]
his yearning is for me.
12 Come, my lover! Let us go out to the fields,
let us pass the night among the henna.
13 (J)Let us go early to the vineyards, and see
if the vines are in bloom,
If the buds have opened,
if the pomegranates have blossomed;
There will I give you my love.
14 The mandrakes[p] give forth fragrance,
and over our doors are all choice fruits;
Fruits both fresh and dried, my lover,
have I kept in store for you.
Chapter 8
1 Would that you were a brother to me,
nursed at my mother’s breasts!
If I met you out of doors, I would kiss you
and none would despise me.
2 (K)I would lead you, bring you to my mother’s house,
where you would teach me,
Where I would give you to drink
spiced wine, my pomegranate[q] juice.
3 (L)His left hand is under my head,
and his right arm embraces me.
4 (M)I adjure you, Daughters of Jerusalem,
do not awaken or stir up love
until it is ready!
The Return from the Desert
5 D?(N) Who is this coming up from the desert,
leaning upon her lover?
W Beneath the apple tree I awakened you;[r]
there your mother conceived you;
there she who bore you conceived.
True Love
6 Set me as a seal[s] upon your heart,
as a seal upon your arm;
For Love is strong as Death,
longing is fierce as Sheol.
Its arrows are arrows of fire,
flames of the divine.
7 (O)Deep waters[t] cannot quench love,
nor rivers sweep it away.
Were one to offer all the wealth of his house for love,
he would be utterly despised.
An Answer to the Brothers
8 W “We have a little sister;[u]
she has no breasts as yet.
What shall we do for our sister
on the day she is spoken for?
9 If she is a wall,
we will build upon her a silver turret;
But if she is a door,
we will board her up with cedar planks.”
10 I am a wall,[v]
and my breasts are like towers.
I became in his eyes
as one who brings peace.
A Boast
11 M? Solomon had a vineyard at Baal-hamon;[w]
he gave over the vineyard to caretakers.
For its fruit one would have to pay
a thousand silver pieces.
12 My vineyard is at my own disposal;
the thousand pieces are for you, Solomon,
and two hundred for the caretakers of its fruit.
The Lovers’ Yearnings
Chapter 4
God’s Free Children in Christ.[a] 1 I mean that as long as the heir is not of age,[b] he is no different from a slave, although he is the owner of everything, 2 but he is under the supervision of guardians and administrators until the date set by his father. 3 (A)In the same way we also, when we were not of age, were enslaved to the elemental powers of the world.[c] 4 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law,(B) 5 to ransom those under the law, so that we might receive adoption.(C) 6 As proof that you are children,[d] God sent the spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!”(D) 7 So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God.(E)
Do Not Throw This Freedom Away.[e] 8 (F)At a time when you did not know God, you became slaves to things that by nature are not gods;[f] 9 but now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and destitute elemental powers? Do you want to be slaves to them all over again?(G) 10 You are observing days,(H) months, seasons, and years.[g] 11 I am afraid on your account that perhaps I have labored for you in vain.[h]
Appeal to Former Loyalty.[i] 12 I implore you, brothers, be as I am, because I have also become as you are.[j] You did me no wrong;(I) 13 you know that it was because of a physical illness[k] that I originally preached the gospel to you, 14 and you did not show disdain or contempt because of the trial caused you by my physical condition, but rather you received me as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus. 15 Where now is that blessedness of yours?[l] Indeed, I can testify to you that, if it had been possible, you would have torn out your eyes and given them to me. 16 So now have I become your enemy by telling you the truth? 17 They show interest in you, but not in a good way; they want to isolate you,[m] so that you may show interest in them.(J) 18 Now it is good to be shown interest for good reason at all times, and not only when I am with you. 19 My children, for whom I am again in labor until Christ be formed in you!(K) 20 I would like to be with you now and to change my tone, for I am perplexed because of you.
An Allegory on Christian Freedom.[n] 21 Tell me, you who want to be under the law, do you not listen to the law? 22 For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman and the other by the freeborn woman.(L) 23 The son of the slave woman was born naturally, the son of the freeborn through a promise.(M) 24 Now this is an allegory. These women represent two covenants. One was from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery; this is Hagar.(N) 25 Hagar represents Sinai,[o] a mountain in Arabia; it corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery along with her children. 26 But the Jerusalem above is freeborn, and she is our mother.(O) 27 For it is written:
“Rejoice, you barren one who bore no children;(P)
break forth and shout, you who were not in labor;
for more numerous are the children of the deserted one
than of her who has a husband.”[p]
28 Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of the promise.(Q) 29 But just as then the child of the flesh persecuted the child of the spirit, it is the same now. 30 But what does the scripture say?
“Drive out the slave woman and her son!
For the son of the slave woman shall not share the inheritance with the son”(R)
of the freeborn. 31 Therefore, brothers, we are children not of the slave woman but of the freeborn woman.(S)
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.