Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

⁸ The voice of my beloved! lo, this -- he is coming, Leaping on the mountains, skipping on the hills.

⁹ My beloved [is] like to a roe, Or to a young one of the harts. Lo, this -- he is standing behind our wall, Looking from the windows, Blooming from the lattice.

¹⁰ My beloved hath answered and said to me, `Rise up, my friend, my fair one, and come away,

¹¹ For lo, the winter hath passed by, The rain hath passed away -- it hath gone.

¹² The flowers have appeared in the earth, The time of the singing hath come, And the voice of the turtle was heard in our land,

¹³ The fig-tree hath ripened her green figs, And the sweet-smelling vines have given forth fragrance, Rise, come, my friend, my fair one, yea, come away.

45 To the Overseer. -- `On the Lilies.' -- By sons of Korah. -- An Instruction. -- A song of loves. My heart hath indited a good thing, I am telling my works to a king, My tongue [is] the pen of a speedy writer.

² Thou hast been beautified above the sons of men, Grace hath been poured into thy lips, Therefore hath God blessed thee to the age.

⁶ Thy throne, O God, [is] age-during, and for ever, A sceptre of uprightness [Is] the sceptre of Thy kingdom.

⁷ Thou hast loved righteousness and hatest wickedness, Therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee, Oil of joy above thy companions.

⁸ Myrrh and aloes, cassia! all thy garments, Out of palaces of ivory Stringed instruments have made thee glad.

⁹ Daughters of kings [are] among thy precious ones, A queen hath stood at thy right hand, In pure gold of Ophir.

¹⁷ every good giving, and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the lights, with whom is no variation, or shadow of turning;

¹⁸ having counselled, He did beget us with a word of truth, for our being a certain first-fruit of His creatures.

¹⁹ So then, my brethren beloved, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger,

²⁰ for the wrath of a man the righteousness of God doth not work;

²¹ wherefore having put aside all filthiness and superabundance of evil, in meekness be receiving the engrafted word, that is able to save your souls;

²² and become ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves,

²³ because, if any one is a hearer of the word and not a doer, this one hath been like to a man viewing his natural face in a mirror,

²⁴ for he did view himself, and hath gone away, and immediately he did forget of what kind he was;

²⁵ and he who did look into the perfect law -- that of liberty, and did continue there, this one -- not a forgetful hearer becoming, but a doer of work -- this one shall be happy in his doing.

²⁶ If any one doth think to be religious among you, not bridling his tongue, but deceiving his heart, of this one vain [is] the religion;

²⁷ religion pure and undefiled with the God and Father is this, to look after orphans and widows in their tribulation -- unspotted to keep himself from the world.

7 And gathered together unto him are the Pharisees, and certain of the scribes, having come from Jerusalem,

² and having seen certain of his disciples with defiled hands -- that is, unwashed -- eating bread, they found fault;

³ for the Pharisees, and all the Jews, if they do not wash the hands to the wrist, do not eat, holding the tradition of the elders,

⁴ and, [coming] from the market-place, if they do not baptize themselves, they do not eat; and many other things there are that they received to hold, baptisms of cups, and pots, and brazen vessels, and couches.

⁵ Then question him do the Pharisees and the scribes, `Wherefore do thy disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but with unwashed hands do eat the bread?'

⁶ and he answering said to them -- `Well did Isaiah prophesy concerning you, hypocrites, as it hath been written, This people with the lips doth honor Me, and their heart is far from Me;

⁷ and in vain do they worship Me, teaching teachings, commands of men;

⁸ for, having put away the command of God, ye hold the tradition of men, baptisms of pots and cups; and many other such like things ye do.'

¹⁴ And having called near all the multitude, he said to them, `Hearken to me, ye all, and understand;

¹⁵ there is nothing from without the man entering into him that is able to defile him, but the things coming out from him, those are the things defiling the man.

²¹ for from within, out of the heart of men, the evil reasonings do come forth, adulteries, whoredoms, murders,

²² thefts, covetous desires, wickedness, deceit, arrogance, an evil eye, evil speaking, pride, foolishness;

²³ all these evils do come forth from within, and they defile the man.'