Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
9 God, I will sing a new song to you.
On a harp of ten strings I will play to you—
10 to you who gives victory to kings,
rescuing his servant David from cruel swords.
11 Rescue me and deliver me
from the control of foreigners,[a]
whose mouths speak lies,
and whose right hand deceives.[b]
12 May our sons in their youth be like full-grown plants,
and our daughters like pillars
destined to decorate a palace.
13 May our granaries be filled,
storing produce in abundance;
may our sheep bring forth thousands,
even tens of thousands in our fields.
14 May our cattle grow heavy with young,
with no damage or loss.
May there be no cry of anguish in our streets!
15 Happy are the people to whom these things come;
happy are the people whose God is the Lord.
The Loved One
2 I was asleep, but my heart was awake.
There’s a sound! My beloved is knocking.
The Lover
“Open up for me, my sister, my darling,
my dove, my perfect one.
For my head is drenched with dew,
my hair with the dampness of the night.”
The Loved One
3 “I’ve taken off my clothes[a]—
am I supposed to put them on again?[b]
I’ve washed my feet—
am I supposed to[c] get them dirty again?”
4 My beloved reached out his hand for the latch.[d]
My feelings for him were aroused.
5 I got up to open the door,[e]
and my hands dripped with myrrh,
my fingers with liquid myrrh,
on the handle of the lock.
6 I opened the door[f] for my beloved,
but my beloved had turned away; he was gone!
My very life went out when he departed.[g]
I searched for him,
but couldn’t find him.
I called out to him,
but he didn’t answer.
7 The watchmen making their[h] rounds
through the city found me.
They beat me, they bruised me.
Those guarding the walls took my cloak[i] from me.
8 I charge you, young women of Jerusalem,
“If you find my beloved, what are you to tell him?
Tell him[j] that I’m weak with love.”
The Young Women
9 What is so special about your beloved,[k]
most beautiful of women?
What is so special about your beloved,
that you charge us like this?
The Loved One
10 My beloved is dazzling,
with a dark and healthy complexion,
outstanding among ten thousand.
11 His head is pure gold,
his hair is wavy, black like a raven.
12 His eyes are like doves
by streams of water,
bathed in milk,
mounted like jewels.
13 His cheeks are like beds of spices,
like towers of perfume.
His lips are lilies,
dripping with liquid myrrh.
14 His hands are rods of gold,
set with beryl.
His stomach is carved ivory,
inlaid with sapphires.[l]
15 His legs are pillars of marble
set on bases of pure gold.
His appearance is like Lebanon,
choice like its cedars.
16 His mouth[m] is sweetness,
and all of him is desirable.
This is my beloved, this is my friend,
young women of Jerusalem!
The Young Women
6 Where did your beloved go,
most beautiful of women?
Where did your beloved turn,
so we may look for him with you?
The Loved One
19 For it is a fine thing if, when moved by your conscience to please God, you suffer patiently when wronged. 20 What good does it do if, when you sin, you patiently receive punishment for it? But if you suffer for doing good and receive it patiently, you have God’s approval. 21 This is, in fact, what you were called to do, because:
The Messiah[a] also suffered for you
and left an example for you
to follow in his steps.
22 “He never sinned,
and he never told a lie.”[b]
23 When he was insulted,
he did not retaliate.
When he suffered,
he did not threaten.
It was his habit
to commit the matter to the one who judges fairly.
24 “He himself bore our sins”[c] in his body on the tree,
so that we might die to those sins
and live righteously.
“By his wounds
you have been healed.”[d]
25 You were “like sheep that kept going astray,”[e]
but now you have returned to the shepherd
and overseer of your souls.
Copyright © 1995-2014 by ISV Foundation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. Used by permission of Davidson Press, LLC.