Old/New Testament
Chapter 6
I Belong to My Beloved[a]
Companions:
1 Where has your beloved gone,
O loveliest of women?
In what direction has your beloved turned
so that we may join you in searching for him?
Bride:
2 My beloved has gone down to his garden,
to the beds of spices,
to browse in his garden
and to gather lilies.
3 I belong to my beloved, and my beloved is mine;[b]
he browses among the lilies.
Fifth Poem
One Alone Is My Dove, My Perfect One
You Are Beautiful, My Beloved[c]
Bridegroom:
4 You are as beautiful as Tirzah,[d] my beloved,
as lovely as Jerusalem,
as majestic as an army with banners.
5 Turn away your eyes from me,
for they leave me defenseless.
Your hair is like a flock of goats
streaming down the slopes of Gilead.
6 Your teeth are like a flock of sheep
as they come up from the washing;
each of them has a twin,
and not one is alone.
7 Your cheeks are like halves of a pomegranate
behind your veil.
8 There are sixty queens and eighty concubines,
and maidens[e] beyond numbering.
9 One alone is my dove, my perfect one,
the darling of her mother,
the favorite of the one who bore her.
The maidens saw her and proclaimed her blessed;
the queens and concubines sang her praises.
Companions:
10 Who is this that comes forth like the dawn,
beautiful as the moon, bright as the sun,
formidable as an army with banners?
Bride:
11 I went down to the orchard of nut trees
to look at the green shoots in the valley,[f]
to see whether the vines had budded
and whether the pomegranates were in bloom.
12 Before I realized it, my desire had placed me
in a chariot beside my prince.[g]
Chapter 7
How Beautiful You Are and How Charming[h]
Companions:
Bridegroom:
Why are you looking at the Shulammite
as at a dance of Mahanaim?
Companions:
2 How beautiful are your feet in sandals,
O prince’s daughter.
Your rounded thighs are like jewels,
the handiwork of a master hand.
3 Your navel is a well-rounded bowl
that never lacks mixed wine.
Your belly is a mound of wheat[k]
surrounded by lilies.
4 Your two breasts are like two fawns,
twins of a gazelle.
5 Your neck is like an ivory tower;
your eyes are like the pools in Heshbon[l]
by the gate of Bath-rabbim.
Your nose is like the Tower of Lebanon
that faces toward Damascus.
6 Your head is held high like Carmel;[m]
your flowing locks are as dark as purple,
and a king is held captive in your tresses.
Bridegroom:
7 How beautiful you are and how charming,
my beloved, my delight.
8 You are as stately as a palm tree,[n]
and your breasts are like clusters of fruit.
9 [o]I have decided to climb the palm tree
and take hold of its fruit.
May your breasts be like clusters of the vine,
the scent of your breath as sweet as apples,
10 and your mouth like fragrant wine.
Come, My Beloved, I Will Give You My Love[p]
Bride:
[q]May the wine go straight to my beloved,
gliding over the lips and teeth.
11 I belong to my beloved,
and his desire is for me.[r]
12 Come, my beloved,
let us go forth into the fields
and spend the night in the villages.
13 Let us go to the vineyards early
and see if the vines are budding,
if their blossoms have opened
and the pomegranates are in bloom;
there I will give you my love.
14 The mandrakes[s] emit their fragrance,
and at our doors are the rarest of fruits,
fresh as well as ripened,
which I have kept in store for you, my beloved.
Chapter 8
1 Oh, if only you were to me like a brother,
nursed at my mother’s breast.
Then if I met you out of doors,
I could kiss you
without people regarding me with scorn.[t]
2 I would lead you
and bring you into the home of my mother.
There you would teach me to give you spiced wine to drink
and the juice of my pomegranates.
3 His left hand is under my head
and his right arm embraces me.
Bridegroom:
4 I charge you, daughters of Jerusalem:
Do not stir up or awaken love
before its time has come.[u]
Epilogue
Love Is as Strong as Death[v]
Companions:
5 Who is this coming up from the wilderness
leaning on her beloved?
Bridegroom:
Under the apple tree[w] I awakened you;
it was there that your mother conceived you,
and there where she who conceived you bore you.
Bride:
6 [x]Set me as a seal on your heart,
as a seal upon your arm.
For love is as strong as death,[y]
and ardor is as relentless as the netherworld.
Its flames are flashes of fire,
an unending blaze.[z]
7 Flood waters cannot quench love,
nor can torrents drown it.
If one were to offer all his wealth for love,
he would be regarded with contempt.
One Who Brings Peace[aa]
Companions:
8 “Our sister is little,
and her breasts are not yet formed.
What shall we do for our sister
on the day she is spoken for?
9 If she is a wall,
we will build a silver battlement upon it;
if she is a door,
we will board her up with planks of cedar.”
Bride:
10 I am a wall,
and my breasts are like towers.
So now in his eyes
I have become one who brings peace.
My Vineyard Is under My Control[ab]
11 [ac]Solomon had a vineyard at Baal-hamon,[ad]
and he entrusted that vineyard to tenants.
For its fruit each one would have to pay him
a thousand pieces of silver.
12 My vineyard[ae] is under my control.
You, O Solomon, may have the thousand silver pieces,
and those who tend the fruit may have two hundred.
Bridegroom:
13 O you who dwell in the gardens,
my companions are listening for your voice;
let me hear it.
Bride:
14 Make haste, my beloved,
and be like a gazelle or a young stag
upon the spice-filled mountains.
Chapter 4
Set Free by Christ. 1 What I am saying is that as long as an heir is a minor, he is no different from a slave, even though he is the owner of it all. 2 He remains under the supervision of guardians and trustees until the date designated by the father. 3 This is also true of us. As long as we were children, we were enslaved to the forces of this world.
4 However, when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, 5 in order to redeem those who were under the Law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.
6 And because you are sons, God has sent into our hearts the Spirit of his Son, crying out “Abba! Father!” 7 Therefore, you are no longer a slave but a son; and if you are a son, then through God you are also an heir.
No Return to Slavery.[a] 8 Previously, when you did not know God, you were slaves to forces who were not really gods at all. 9 But now that you have come to know God—or rather to be known by God—how can you turn back once again to those powerless and destitute forces? How can you consider becoming enslaved once again? 10 You even observe special days and months and seasons and years. 11 Now I am afraid for you, that I have labored among you in vain.
12 Appeal To Enter into Freedom from the Law. I beg you, brethren, to be like me, just as I have become like you. You never did me any wrong. 13 As you remember, it was because of illness[b] that I originally preached the gospel to you. 14 And though my illness was a trial to you, it did not lead to any scorn or revulsion; rather, you welcomed me as an angel of God, as if I were Christ Jesus himself.
15 What has become of your blessedness? For I can testify that, if it had been possible, you would have plucked out your eyes and given them to me. 16 Have I now become your enemy because I have told you the truth?
17 Others are seeking to curry your favor, but they are not sincere. They are attempting to alienate you from us so that you may make them the sole object of your attention. 18 It is good to be made much of for a good purpose at all times, and not just when I am in your presence. 19 You are my children, and I am experiencing the pain of giving birth to you all over again, until Christ is formed in you. 20 I truly wish that I could be with you now and be able to alter my approach to you, because I do not know what to think about you.
21 Sarah and Hagar Foreshadow the Two Covenants.[c] And so tell me, you who are so eager to be subject to the Law: why do you not listen to the Law? 22 For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman and one by a free woman. 23 The son by the slave woman was born through the flesh. The son by the free woman was born through a promise.
24 Now this is an allegory. These women represent two covenants. One covenant is given on Mount Sinai and bears children who are born into slavery; this is Hagar. 25 Hagar stands for Sinai, a mountain in Arabia, and corresponds to the present city of Jerusalem, for she is in slavery together with her children. 26 However, the Jerusalem that is above is the free woman, and she is our mother. 27 For it is written,
“Rejoice, you barren woman
who never bore a child;
break forth in song and shout with joy,
you who never were in labor.
For more numerous are the children of the deserted wife
than the children of the one who has a husband.”
28 Now you, brethren, are, like Isaac, the children of the promise. 29 But just as in those days the child who was born through the flesh persecuted the child who was born through the Spirit, so is it now also. 30 However, what does 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 of the free woman.”
31 Therefore, brethren, we are the children not of the slave woman but of the free woman.
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