Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
9 O God, a new song I will sing to you;
on a ten-stringed lyre I will play for you.(A)
10 You give victory to kings;
you delivered David your servant.(B)
From the menacing sword 11 deliver me;
rescue me from the hands of foreign foes.
Their mouths speak untruth;
their right hands are raised in lying oaths.
III
12 May our sons be like plants(C)
well nurtured from their youth,
Our daughters, like carved columns,
shapely as those of the temple.
13 May our barns be full
with every kind of store.
May our sheep increase by thousands,
by tens of thousands in our fields;
may our oxen be well fattened.
14 May there be no breach in the walls,
no exile, no outcry in our streets.(D)
15 Blessed the people so fortunate;
blessed the people whose God is the Lord.(E)
A Fruitless Search
2 W(A) I was sleeping, but my heart was awake.[a]
The sound of my lover knocking!
“Open to me, my sister, my friend,
my dove, my perfect one!
For my head is wet with dew,
my hair, with the moisture of the night.”
3 I have taken off my robe,[b]
am I then to put it on?
I have bathed my feet,
am I then to soil them?
4 My lover put his hand in through the opening:
my innermost being[c] trembled because of him.
5 I rose to open for my lover,
my hands dripping myrrh:
My fingers, flowing myrrh
upon the handles of the lock.
6 I opened for my lover—
but my lover had turned and gone!
At his leaving, my soul sank.
I sought him, but I did not find him;
I called out after him, but he did not answer me.[d]
7 The watchmen[e] found me,
as they made their rounds in the city;
They beat me, they wounded me,
they tore off my mantle,
the watchmen of the walls.
8 (B)I adjure you, Daughters of Jerusalem,
if you find my lover
What shall you tell him?
that I am sick with love.
The Lost Lover Described
9 D How does your lover differ from any other lover,
most beautiful among women?
How does your lover differ from any other,
that you adjure us so?
10 W My lover is radiant and ruddy;[f]
outstanding among thousands.
11 His head is gold, pure gold,
his hair like palm fronds,
as black as a raven.
12 His eyes are like doves
beside streams of water,
Bathing in milk,
sitting[g] by brimming pools.
13 His cheeks are like beds of spices
yielding aromatic scents;
his lips are lilies
that drip flowing myrrh.
14 His arms are rods of gold
adorned with gems;
His loins, a work of ivory
covered with sapphires.
15 His legs, pillars of alabaster,
resting on golden pedestals.
His appearance, like the Lebanon,
imposing as the cedars.
16 His mouth is sweetness itself;
he is delightful in every way.
Such is my lover, and such my friend,
Daughters of Jerusalem!
Chapter 6
The Lost Lover Found
1 D Where has your lover gone,
most beautiful among women?
Where has your lover withdrawn
that we may seek him with you?[h]
2 W(C) My lover has come down to his garden,[i]
to the beds of spices,
To feed in the gardens
and to gather lilies.
3 (D)I belong to my lover, and my lover belongs to me;
he feeds among the lilies.
19 For whenever anyone bears the pain of unjust suffering because of consciousness of God, that is a grace. 20 But what credit is there if you are patient when beaten for doing wrong? But if you are patient when you suffer for doing what is good, this is a grace before God. 21 For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered[a] for you, leaving you an example that you should follow in his footsteps.(A)
23 When he was insulted, he returned no insult; when he suffered, he did not threaten; instead, he handed himself over to the one who judges justly.(C) 24 He himself bore our sins in his body upon the cross, so that, free from sin, we might live for righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.(D) 25 For you had gone astray like sheep,(E) but you have now returned to the shepherd and guardian of your souls.[c]
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.