Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Praise
9 God, I will sing a new song to you.
On the ten-stringed harp I will make music to you,
10 to you who gives victory to kings,
to you who delivers David his servant from the evil sword.
Petition
11 Rescue me and snatch me from the hand of foreigners
whose mouths speak lies,
who raise their right hands to a false oath.
The Results of Victory
12 Then our sons in their youth will be like full-grown plants.
Our daughters will be like corner pillars carved to decorate a palace.
13 Our storehouses will be filled with produce of every kind.
Our flocks will increase by thousands,
by tens of thousands in our countryside.
14 Our oxen will pull heavy loads.
There will be no breaking through our walls,
no exile into captivity,
no cry of distress in our city squares.
15 How blessed are the people for whom this is so.
How blessed are the people whose God is the Lord.
At Night. . .the Watchmen
The Woman
2 I was sleeping but my heart was awake.
A sound! My lover is knocking:
“Open to me, my sister,
my darling, my dove, my perfect one,
because my head is soaked with dew,
my locks with the dampness of the night.”
3 “I have taken off my robe.
Why should I get dressed again?
I have washed my feet.
Why should I get them dirty again?”
4 My lover thrust his hand
through the opening in the door.
My feelings were aroused for him.
5 I arose to open for my lover.
My hands dripped with myrrh,
my fingers with flowing myrrh,
on the handles of the lock.
6 I opened for my lover,
but my lover had left.
He was gone.
My spirits sank when he left.[a]
I looked for him but did not find him.
I called him, but he did not answer.
7 The watchmen who patrol the city found me.
They beat me. They bruised me.
They took my shawl away from me,
those watchmen of the walls!
8 Daughters of Jerusalem, you must swear to me—
if you find my lover—
what will you tell him?
—that I am sick with love.
The Friends
9 What makes your lover better than any other lover,
most beautiful of women?
What makes your lover better than any other lover,
that you make us swear in this way?
My Lover Is Radiant
The Woman
10 My lover is radiant and ruddy,
outstanding among ten thousand.
11 His head is the best gold, the purest gold.
His locks are wavy, black as a raven.
12 His eyes are like doves by streams of water.
They are washed in milk.
They are set in sockets.
13 His cheeks are like a bed of spice,
like towers of perfumes.
His lips are lilies, dripping with liquid myrrh.
14 His arms are rods of gold, set with topaz.[b]
His stomach is like polished ivory,
decorated with sapphires.[c]
15 His thighs are pillars of marble,[d]
set on bases of pure gold.
His appearance is like Lebanon,
choice as cedars.
16 His mouth is so sweet.
He is completely desirable.
This is my lover.
This is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem.
The Friends
6 Where has your lover gone,
most beautiful of women?
Where did your lover turn?
We will look for him with you.
I Am His. He Is Mine.
The Woman
2 My lover has gone down to his garden,
to the beds of spices,
to browse in the gardens,
and to gather lilies.
3 I am my lover’s, and my lover is mine.
He browses among the lilies.
19 For this is favorable:[a] if a person endures sorrows while suffering unjustly because he is conscious of God. 20 For what credit is it to you if you receive a beating for sinning and patiently endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and endure it, this is favorable with God.
21 Indeed, you were called to do this, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you[b] an example so that you would follow in his steps. 22 He did not commit a sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth. 23 When he was insulted, he did not insult in return. When he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. 24 He himself carried our sins in his body on the tree so that we would be dead to sins and alive to righteousness. By his wounds you were healed. 25 For you were like sheep going astray, but you are now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.