Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
To the director: To the tune “Shoshanim.”[a] A maskil from the Korah family. A love song.
45 Beautiful thoughts fill my mind
as I speak these lines for the king.
These words come from my tongue
as from the pen of a skilled writer.
2 You are more handsome than anyone,
and you say such pleasant things.
So God will always bless you.
6 God,[a] your kingdom will last forever.
You use your authority for justice.
7 You love what is right and hate what is wrong.
So God, your God, chose you to be king,
giving you more joy and honor than anyone like you.[b]
8 From your clothes comes the wonderful smell of myrrh, aloes, and cassia.
In palaces decorated with ivory, you enjoy the music of stringed instruments.
9 Here are ladies of honor, daughters of kings.
Your bride[c] stands at your right side, wearing a gown decorated with the finest gold.
1 Solomon’s Most Wonderful Song.
The Woman to the Man She Loves
2 Cover me with kisses,
for your love is better than wine.
3 Your perfume smells wonderful,
but your name[a] is sweeter than the best perfume.
That is why the young women love you.
4 Take me with you.
Let’s run away.
The king took me into his room.
The Women of Jerusalem to the Man
We will rejoice and be happy for you.
Remember, your love is better than wine.
With good reason, the young women love you.
She Speaks to the Women
5 Daughters of Jerusalem,
I am dark and beautiful,
as black as the tents of Kedar and Salma.[b]
6 Don’t look at how dark I am,
at how dark the sun has made me.
My brothers were angry with me.
They forced me to take care of their vineyards,
so I could not take care of myself.[c]
She Speaks to Him
7 I love you with all my soul!
Tell me, where do you feed your sheep?
Where do you lay them down at noon?
I should come to be with you
or I will be like a hired woman[d] caring for the sheep of your friends.
He Speaks to Her
8 You are such a beautiful woman.
Surely you know what to do.
Go, follow the sheep.
Feed your young goats near the shepherds’ tents.
9 My darling, you are more exciting to me
than any mare among the stallions[e] pulling Pharaoh’s chariots.[f]
10 Your cheeks are so beautiful
with those ornaments hanging beside them.
Your neck is so lovely
under that beautiful string of jewels.
11 Let’s make you some more gold jewelry
and decorate it with silver.
She Speaks
12 The smell of my perfume reaches out
to the king lying on his couch.
13 My lover is like the small bag of myrrh around my neck,
lying all night between my breasts.
14 My lover is like a bunch of henna flowers
near the vineyards of En Gedi.
He Speaks
15 My darling, you are so beautiful!
Oh, you are beautiful!
Your eyes are like doves.
She Speaks
16 You are so handsome, my lover!
Yes, and so charming!
Our bed is so fresh and pleasant.[g]
17 The beams of our house are cedar.
The rafters are fir.
1 Greetings from James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.
To God’s people[a] who are scattered all over the world.
Faith and Wisdom
2 My brothers and sisters, you will have many kinds of trouble. But this gives you a reason to be very happy. 3 You know that when your faith is tested, you learn to be patient in suffering. 4 If you let that patience work in you, the end result will be good. You will be mature and complete. You will be all that God wants you to be.
5 Do any of you need wisdom? Ask God for it. He is generous and enjoys giving to everyone. So he will give you wisdom. 6 But when you ask God, you must believe. Don’t doubt him. Whoever doubts is like a wave in the sea that is blown up and down by the wind. 7-8 People like that are thinking two different things at the same time. They can never decide what to do. So they should not think they will receive anything from the Lord.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International