Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
45 My heart is overflowing with a beautiful thought! I will write a lovely poem to the King, for I am as full of words as the speediest writer pouring out his story.
2 You are the fairest of all;
Your words are filled with grace;
God himself is blessing you forever.
6 Your throne, O God, endures forever.
Justice is your royal scepter.
7 You love what is good
And hate what is wrong.
Therefore God, your God,
Has given you more gladness
Than anyone else.
8 Your robes are perfumed with myrrh, aloes, and cassia. In your palaces of inlaid ivory, lovely music is being played for your enjoyment. 9 Kings’ daughters are among your concubines.[a] Standing beside you is the queen, wearing jewelry of finest gold from Ophir.
1 This song of songs, more wonderful than any other, was composed by King Solomon:
The Girl:[a] 2 “Kiss me again and again, for your love is sweeter than wine. 3 How fragrant your cologne, and how great your name! No wonder all the young girls love you! 4 Take me with you; come, let’s run!”
The Girl: “The king has brought me into his palace. How happy we will be! Your love is better than wine. No wonder all the young girls love you!”
The Girl: 5 “I am dark but beautiful, O girls of Jerusalem, tanned as the dark tents of Kedar.”
King Solomon: “But lovely as the silken tents of Solomon!”
The Girl: 6 “Don’t look down on me, you city girls,[b] just because my complexion is so dark—the sun has tanned me. My brothers were angry with me and sent me out into the sun to tend the vineyards, but see what it has done to me!”
The Girl: 7 “Tell me, O one I love, where are you leading your flock today? Where will you be at noon? For I will come and join you there instead of wandering like a vagabond among the flocks of your companions.”
King Solomon: 8 “If you don’t know, O most beautiful woman in all the world, follow the trail of my flock to the shepherds’ tents, and there feed your sheep and their lambs. 9 What a lovely filly you are,[c] my love! 10 How lovely your cheeks are, with your hair[d] falling down upon them! How stately your neck with that long string of jewels. 11 We shall make you gold earrings and silver beads.”
The Girl: 12 “The king lies on his bed, enchanted by the fragrance of my perfume. 13 My beloved one is a sachet of myrrh lying between my breasts.”
King Solomon: 14 “My beloved is a bouquet of flowers in the gardens of Engedi. 15 How beautiful you are, my love, how beautiful! Your eyes are soft as doves’. 16 What a lovely, pleasant thing you are, lying here upon the grass, 17 shaded by the cedar trees and firs.”
1 From: James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.
To: Jewish Christians scattered everywhere. Greetings!
2 Dear brothers, is your life full of difficulties and temptations? Then be happy, 3 for when the way is rough, your patience has a chance to grow. 4 So let it grow, and don’t try to squirm out of your problems. For when your patience is finally in full bloom, then you will be ready for anything, strong in character, full and complete.
5 If you want to know what God wants you to do, ask him, and he will gladly tell you, for he is always ready to give a bountiful supply of wisdom to all who ask him; he will not resent it. 6 But when you ask him, be sure that you really expect him to tell you, for a doubtful mind will be as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind; 7-8 and every decision you then make will be uncertain, as you turn first this way and then that. If you don’t ask with faith, don’t expect the Lord to give you any solid answer.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.