Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
The Glories of the Messiah and His Bride
To the Chief Musician. (A)Set to [a]“The Lilies.” A [b]Contemplation of the sons of Korah. A Song of Love.
45 My heart is overflowing with a good theme;
I recite my composition concerning the King;
My tongue is the pen of a [c]ready writer.
2 You are fairer than the sons of men;
(B)Grace is poured upon Your lips;
Therefore God has blessed You forever.
6 (A)Your throne, O God, is forever and ever;
A (B)scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom.
7 You love righteousness and hate wickedness;
Therefore God, Your God, has (C)anointed You
With the oil of (D)gladness more than Your companions.
8 All Your garments are (E)scented with myrrh and aloes and cassia,
Out of the ivory palaces, by which they have made You glad.
9 (F)Kings’ daughters are among Your honorable women;
(G)At Your right hand stands the queen in gold from Ophir.
Solomon’s Love for a Shulamite Girl
1 The (A)song of songs, which is Solomon’s.
The Banquet
The [a]Shulamite
2 Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth—
(B)For [b]your love is better than wine.
3 Because of the fragrance of your good ointments,
Your name is ointment poured forth;
Therefore the virgins love you.
4 (C)Draw me away!
The Daughters of Jerusalem
The Shulamite
The king (E)has brought me into his chambers.
The Daughters of Jerusalem
We will be glad and rejoice in [d]you.
We will remember your love more than wine.
The Shulamite
Rightly do they love you.
5 I am dark, but lovely,
O daughters of Jerusalem,
Like the tents of Kedar,
Like the curtains of Solomon.
6 Do not look upon me, because I am dark,
Because the sun has [e]tanned me.
My mother’s sons were angry with me;
They made me the keeper of the vineyards,
But my own (F)vineyard I have not kept.
(To Her Beloved)
7 Tell me, O you whom I love,
Where you feed your flock,
Where you make it rest at noon.
For why should I be as one who [f]veils herself
By the flocks of your companions?
The Beloved
8 If you do not know, (G)O fairest among women,
[g]Follow in the footsteps of the flock,
And feed your little goats
Beside the shepherds’ tents.
9 I have compared you, (H)my love,
(I)To my filly among Pharaoh’s chariots.
10 (J)Your cheeks are lovely with ornaments,
Your neck with chains of gold.
The Daughters of Jerusalem
11 We will make [h]you ornaments of gold
With studs of silver.
The Shulamite
12 While the king is at his table,
My [i]spikenard sends forth its fragrance.
13 A bundle of myrrh is my beloved to me,
That lies all night between my breasts.
14 My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blooms
In the vineyards of En Gedi.
The Beloved
The Shulamite
Greeting to the Twelve Tribes
1 James, (A)a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,
To the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad:
Greetings.
Profiting from Trials
2 My brethren, (B)count it all joy (C)when you fall into various trials, 3 (D)knowing that the testing of your faith produces [a]patience. 4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be [b]perfect and complete, lacking nothing. 5 (E)If any of you lacks wisdom, (F)let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and (G)it will be given to him. 6 (H)But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is (I)a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.