Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

16 Protect me, God, because I depend on you.
² Some of you^[a] have said to the Lord,
    “You are my Lord.
    Every good thing I have comes from you.”
³ But you have also said about the gods^[b] of this land,
    “They are my powerful gods.
    They are the ones who make me happy.”

⁸ I hear my lover’s voice.
    Here it comes, jumping over the mountains,
    skipping over the hills.
⁹ My lover is like a gazelle
    or a young deer.
Look at him standing behind our wall,
    staring out the window,
    looking through the lattice.^[a]
10 My lover speaks to me,
“Get up, my darling, my beautiful one.
    Let’s go away!
¹¹ Look, winter is past,
    the rains have come and gone.
¹² The flowers are blooming in the fields.
    It’s time to sing!^[b]
    Listen, the doves have returned.
¹³ Young figs are growing on the fig trees.
    Smell the vines in bloom.
Get up, my darling, my beautiful one.
    Let’s go away!”

¹⁴ My dove, hiding in the caves high on the cliff,
    hidden here on the mountain,
let me see you,
    let me hear your voice.
Your voice is so pleasant,
    and you are so beautiful!

¹⁵ Catch the foxes for us—
    the little foxes
that spoil the vineyard.
    Our vineyard is now in bloom.