Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
You Will Not Abandon My Soul
A (A)Miktam[a] of David.
16 Preserve me, O God, for in you I (B)take refuge.
2 I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord;
(C)I have no good apart from you.”
4 The sorrows of those who run after[c] another god shall multiply;
their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out
or (E)take their names on my lips.
5 The Lord is (F)my chosen portion and my (G)cup;
you hold my (H)lot.
6 (I)The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.
7 I bless the Lord who (J)gives me counsel;
in (K)the night also my (L)heart instructs me.[d]
8 (M)I have (N)set the Lord always before me;
because he is at my (O)right hand, I shall not be (P)shaken.
Others
9 What is your beloved more than another beloved,
O (A)most beautiful among women?
What is your beloved more than another beloved,
that you thus (B)adjure us?
The Bride Praises Her Beloved
She
10 My beloved is radiant and (C)ruddy,
(D)distinguished among ten thousand.
11 His head is the finest gold;
(E)his locks are wavy,
black as a raven.
12 His (F)eyes are like doves
beside streams of water,
bathed in milk,
sitting beside a full pool.[a]
13 His (G)cheeks are like (H)beds of spices,
mounds of sweet-smelling herbs.
His lips are (I)lilies,
dripping (J)liquid myrrh.
14 His arms are rods of gold,
set with (K)jewels.
His body is polished ivory,[b]
bedecked with (L)sapphires.[c]
15 His legs are alabaster columns,
set on bases of gold.
His appearance is like (M)Lebanon,
choice as the cedars.
16 His (N)mouth[d] is most sweet,
and he is altogether desirable.
This is my beloved and this is my friend,
O (O)daughters of Jerusalem.
Others
6 Where has your beloved gone,
O (P)most beautiful among women?
Where has your beloved turned,
that we may seek him with you?
Together in the Garden of Love
She
The Resurrection of Christ
15 Now I would remind you, brothers,[a] of the gospel (A)I preached to you, which you received, (B)in which you stand, 2 and by which (C)you are being saved, if you (D)hold fast to the word I preached to you—(E)unless you believed in vain.
3 For (F)I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died (G)for our sins (H)in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised (I)on the third day (J)in accordance with the Scriptures, 5 and that (K)he appeared to Cephas, then (L)to the twelve. 6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to (M)James, then (N)to all the apostles. 8 Last of all, as to one untimely born, (O)he appeared also to me. 9 For (P)I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because (Q)I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, (R)I worked harder than any of them, (S)though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. 11 Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.