Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

⁹ God, I shall sing to thee a new song; I shall say psalm to thee in psaltery of ten strings (yea, I shall sing a song to thee to the strains of a ten-stringed lute).

¹⁰ Which givest health to kings, which again-boughtest David, thy servant; from the wicked sword ravish thou out me. (Who givest salvation, or deliverance, to kings, and redeemest thy servant David; rescue thou me from the wicked sword.)

¹¹ And deliver thou me from the hand of alien sons; the mouth of which spake vanity, and the right hand of them is the right hand of wickedness. (And save thou me from the power of foreigners, or of strangers; whose mouths spoke lies, and whose right hands be the right hands of wickedness, that is, they always break their oaths, or their pledges.)

¹² Whose sons be as new plantings in their youth. The daughters of them be arrayed; adorned about as the likeness of a temple. (May our sons be like plants fully grown in their youth; may our daughters be arrayed, or adorned, like a palace.)

¹³ The cellars of them be full; bringing out from this vessel into that/from one vessel into another. The sheep of them be with lambs, plenteous in their goings out; (May our cellars be full; and we be able to bring forth from this vessel into that one/and we be able to bring forth from one vessel into another. May our sheep be with lambs; yea, plentiful and innumerable.)

¹⁴ their kine be fat. There is no falling of their wall, neither passing over (of it); neither cry is in the streets of them. (May all our kine be fat; and be there no parting in the walls of their wombs, nor any passing over of them. And may there be no cries of distress in all our streets.)

¹⁵ They said, The people is blessed, that hath these things; blessed is the people, whose Lord is the God of it. (And so we say, Happy be the people, who have things like we do; happy be the people, whose God is the Lord.)

² I sleep, and mine heart waketh. The voice of my darling knocking; my sister, my love, my culver, my spousess unwemmed, open thou to me; for mine head is full of dew, and mine hairs be full of [the] drops of nights. (I sleep, and then my heart awakeneth. My darling is knocking, and saying, My dear, my love, my dove, my unblemished spousess, open thou the door to me; for my head is drenched with dew, yea, my hair is full of the drops, or the mist, of the night.)

³ I have unclothed me of my coat; how shall I be clothed therein? I have washed my feet; how shall I defoul them? (I have taken off my coat; shall I now put it on again? I have washed my feet; shall I now defile them again?)

⁴ My darling put his hand by an hole (of the door); and my womb trembled at the touching thereof.

⁵ I rose, for to open to my darling; mine hands dropped myrrh, and my fingers were full of myrrh most proved. (I rose, to open the door for my darling; my hands dripped with myrrh, yea, my fingers were covered with the best myrrh.)

⁶ I opened the wicket of my door to my darling; and he had bowed away, and had passed forth. My soul was melted, as the darling spake; I sought, and I found not him; I called, and he answered not to me. (And I opened my door for my darling; but he had turned away, yea, he had gone forth. My soul had melted, as my darling had spoken; and now I sought him, but I could not find him; I called to him, but he did not answer me.)

⁷ The keepers that compassed the city found me; they smote me, and wounded me; the keepers of [the] walls took away my mantle. (But the guards, who went around the city, found me; and they struck me, and wounded me; yea, the guards on the walls took away my cloak.)

⁸ Ye daughters of Jerusalem, I beseech you by an holy thing, (that) if ye have found my darling, that ye tell to him, that I am sick for love. (Ye daughters of Jerusalem, I plead with you by a thing most holy, that if ye find my darling, that ye tell him, that I am weak, or that I faint, because of love.)

⁹ A! thou fairest of women, of what manner condition is thy darling of the beloved? of what manner condition is thy darling of a darling? for thou hast so besought us by an holy thing. (O! thou most beautiful of women, of what manner condition is thy darling more than any other beloved? of what manner condition is thy darling more than any other darling? for thou hast so besought us by such a holy thing.)

¹⁰ My darling is white and ruddy; chosen of thousands.

¹¹ His head is best gold; his hairs be as the boughs of palm trees, and be black as a crow. (His face is smooth and bronzed; his hair is like the boughs of the palm trees, and it is as black as a crow.)

¹² His eyes be as culvers on the strands of waters, that be washed in milk, and sit beside [the] fullest rivers. (His eyes be like the doves by the streams of water, that be washed with milk, and sit beside the fullest rivers.)

¹³ His cheeks be as gardens of sweet smelling spices, set of ointment makers; his lips be (as) lilies, dropping down the best myrrh. (His cheeks be like the gardens of sweet smelling spices, ready to be mixed by perfume makers; his lips be like lilies, dripping down the best myrrh.)

¹⁴ His hands be able to turn about, golden, and full of jacinths; his womb is of ivory (his belly is like ivory), adorned with sapphires.

¹⁵ His hips be pillars of marble, that be founded on foundaments of gold; his shapeliness is as the Lebanon, he is chosen as cedars. (His hips be like pillars of marble, that be founded on gold foundations; he is shapely like Lebanon/he is majestic, like the mountains of Lebanon, he is chosen, or favoured, like the cedars.)

¹⁶ His throat is most sweet, and he is all desirable. Ye daughters of Jerusalem, such is my darling, and this is my friend. (His voice is very sweet, and he is truly desirable. Ye daughters of Jerusalem, such is my darling, yea, this is my friend.)

6 Thou fairest of women, whither went [away] thy darling? whither bowed [down] thy darling? and we shall seek him with thee. (O most beautiful of women, where did thy darling go? where did thy darling lie down? yea, we shall seek him with thee.)

² My darling went down into his orchard, to the garden of sweet smelling spices, that he be fed there in [the] orchards, and gather lilies.

³ I to my darling; and my darling, that is fed among the lilies, be to me. (I am for my darling; and my darling, he who is fed among the lilies, is for me.)

¹⁹ For this is grace, if for conscience of God any man suffereth heavinesses, and suffereth unjustly. [Forsooth this is grace, if for conscience of God any man suffereth sorrows, or heavinesses, suffering unjustly.]

²⁰ For what grace is it, if ye sin, and be buffeted, and suffer? But if ye do well, and suffer patiently, this is grace with God.

²¹ For to this thing ye be called. For also Christ suffered for us, and left ensample to you [leaving to you example], that ye follow the steps of him.

²² Which did not sin, neither guile was found in his mouth.

²³ And when he was cursed, he cursed not [Which, when he was cursed, cursed not]; when he suffered, he menaced not; but he betook himself to him, that deemed him unjustly.

²⁴ And he himself bare our sins in his body on a tree [Which he himself suffered, or bare, our sins in his body on the tree], that we be dead to sins, and live to rightwiseness, by whose wan wound ye be healed.

²⁵ For ye were as sheep erring, but ye be now turned to the shepherd, and bishop of your souls.