Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

⁹ The Lord is sweet to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works.

¹⁰ Let all thy works, O lord, praise thee: and let thy saints bless thee.

¹¹ They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom: and shall tell of thy power:

¹² To make thy might known to the sons of men: and the glory of the magnificence of thy kingdom.

¹³ Thy kingdom is a kingdom of all ages: and thy dominion endureth throughout all generations. The Lord is faithful in all his words: and holy in all his works.

¹⁴ The Lord lifteth up all that fall: and setteth up all that are cast down.

¹⁵ The eyes of all hope in thee, O Lord: and thou givest them meat in due season.

² I sleep, and my heart watcheth; the voice of my beloved knocking: Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my undefiled: for my head is full of dew, and my locks of the drops of the nights.

³ I have put off my garment, how shall I put it on? I have washed my feet, how shall I defile them?

⁴ My beloved put his hand through the key hole, and my bowels were moved at his touch.

⁵ I arose up to open to my beloved: my hands dropped with myrrh, and my fingers were full of the choicest myrrh.

⁶ I opened the bolt of my door to my beloved: but he had turned aside, and was gone. My soul melted when he spoke: I sought him, and found him not: I called, and he did not answer me.

⁷ The keepers that go about the city found me: they struck me: and wounded me: the keepers of the walls took away my veil from me.

⁸ I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, if you find my beloved, that you tell him that I languish with love.

⁹ What manner of one is thy beloved of the beloved, O thou most beautiful among women? what manner of one is thy beloved of the beloved, that thou hast so adjured us?

¹⁰ My beloved is white and ruddy, chosen out of thousands.

¹¹ His head is as the finest gold: his locks as branches of palm trees, black as a raven.

¹² His eyes as doves upon brooks of waters, which are washed with milk, and sit beside the plentiful streams.

¹³ His cheeks are as beds of aromatical spices set by the perfumers. His lips are as lilies dropping choice myrrh.

¹⁴ His hands are turned and as of gold, full of hyacinths. His belly as of ivory, set with sapphires.

¹⁵ His legs as pillars of marble, that are set upon bases of gold. His form as of Libanus, excellent as the cedars.

¹⁶ His throat most sweet, and he is all lovely: such is my beloved, and he is my friend, O ye daughters of Jerusalem.

¹⁷ Whither is thy beloved gone, O thou most beautiful among women? whither is thy beloved turned aside, and we will seek him with thee?

6 My beloved is gone down into his garden, to the bed of aromatical spices, to feed in the gardens, and to gather lilies.

² I to my beloved, and my beloved to me, who feedeth among the lilies.

³ Thou art beautiful, O my love, sweet and comely as Jerusalem: terrible as an army set in array.

¹⁹ For this is thankworthy, if for conscience towards God, a man endure sorrows, suffering wrongfully.

²⁰ For what glory is it, if committing sin, and being buffeted for it, you endure? But if doing well you suffer patiently; this is thankworthy before God.

²¹ For unto this are you called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving you an example that you should follow his steps.

²² Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth.

²³ Who, when he was reviled, did not revile: when he suffered, he threatened not: but delivered himself to him that judged him unjustly.

²⁴ Who his own self bore our sins in his body upon the tree: that we, being dead to sins, should live to justice: by whose stripes you were healed.

²⁵ For you were as sheep going astray; but you are now converted to the shepherd and bishop of your souls.