Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
9 I will sing (A)a new song to you, O God;
upon (B)a ten-stringed harp I will play to you,
10 who gives victory to kings,
who (C)rescues David his servant from the cruel sword.
11 Rescue me and deliver me
from the hand (D)of foreigners,
whose mouths speak (E)lies
and whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood.
12 May our sons in their youth
be like (F)plants full grown,
our daughters like (G)corner pillars
cut for the structure of a palace;
13 (H)may our granaries be full,
(I)providing all kinds of produce;
may our sheep bring forth thousands
and ten thousands in our fields;
14 may our cattle be heavy with young,
suffering no mishap or failure in bearing;[a]
may there be no (J)cry of distress in our streets!
15 (K)Blessed are the people to whom such blessings fall!
(L)Blessed are the people whose God is the Lord!
The Bride Searches for Her Beloved
She
2 I slept, but my heart was awake.
A sound! My beloved is (A)knocking.
“Open to me, my (B)sister, my (C)love,
my (D)dove, my (E)perfect one,
for my head is wet with dew,
my (F)locks with the drops of the night.”
3 (G)I had put off my garment;
how could I put it on?
I had (H)bathed my feet;
how could I soil them?
4 My beloved put his hand to the latch,
and my heart was thrilled within me.
5 I arose to open to my beloved,
and my hands dripped with myrrh,
my fingers with (I)liquid myrrh,
on the handles of the bolt.
6 I opened to my beloved,
but my beloved had turned and gone.
My soul failed me when he (J)spoke.
(K)I sought him, but found him not;
(L)I called him, but he gave no answer.
7 (M)The watchmen found me
as they went about in the city;
they beat me, they bruised me,
they took away my veil,
those watchmen of the walls.
8 I (N)adjure you, O (O)daughters of Jerusalem,
if you find my beloved,
that you tell him
(P)I am sick with love.
Others
9 What is your beloved more than another beloved,
O (Q)most beautiful among women?
What is your beloved more than another beloved,
that you thus (R)adjure us?
The Bride Praises Her Beloved
She
10 My beloved is radiant and (S)ruddy,
(T)distinguished among ten thousand.
11 His head is the finest gold;
(U)his locks are wavy,
black as a raven.
12 His (V)eyes are like doves
beside streams of water,
bathed in milk,
sitting beside a full pool.[a]
13 His (W)cheeks are like (X)beds of spices,
mounds of sweet-smelling herbs.
His lips are (Y)lilies,
dripping (Z)liquid myrrh.
14 His arms are rods of gold,
set with (AA)jewels.
His body is polished ivory,[b]
bedecked with (AB)sapphires.[c]
15 His legs are alabaster columns,
set on bases of gold.
His appearance is like (AC)Lebanon,
choice as the cedars.
16 His (AD)mouth[d] is most sweet,
and he is altogether desirable.
This is my beloved and this is my friend,
O (AE)daughters of Jerusalem.
Others
6 Where has your beloved gone,
O (AF)most beautiful among women?
Where has your beloved turned,
that we may seek him with you?
Together in the Garden of Love
She
19 For this is a gracious thing, when, (A)mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly. 20 For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But (B)if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. 21 For (C)to this you have been called, (D)because Christ also suffered for you, (E)leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. 22 (F)He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. 23 (G)When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, (H)but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. 24 (I)He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we (J)might die to sin and (K)live to righteousness. (L)By his wounds you have been healed. 25 For (M)you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to (N)the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.