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Song of Songs 1-4 1 The Song of Songs, which is Solomon's. Woman2 Oh, that he would kiss me with the kisses of his mouth! For your caresses are more delightful than wine. 3 The fragrance of your perfume is intoxicating; your name is perfume poured out. No wonder young women adore you. 4 Take me with you—let's hurry. Oh, that the king would bring me to his chambers. Young WomenWe will rejoice and be glad in you; we will celebrate your caresses more than wine. WomanIt is only right that they adore you. 5 Daughters of Jerusalem, I am dark like the tents of Kedar, yet lovely like the curtains of Solomon. 6 Do not stare at me because I am dark, for the sun has gazed on me. My mother's sons were angry with me; they made me take care of the vineyards. I have not taken care of my own vineyard. 7 Tell me, you whom I love: Where do you pasture your sheep? Where do you let them rest at noon? Why should I be like one who veils herself beside the flocks of your companions? Man8 If you do not know, most beautiful of women, follow the tracks of the flock, and pasture your young goats near the shepherds' tents. 9 I compare you, my darling, to a mare among Pharaoh's chariots. 10 Your cheeks are beautiful with jewelry, your neck with its necklace. 11 We will make gold jewelry for you, accented with silver. Woman12 While the king is on his couch, my perfume releases its fragrance. 13 The one I love is a sachet of myrrh to me, spending the night between my breasts. 14 The one I love is a cluster of henna blossoms to me, in the vineyards of En-gedi. Man15 How beautiful you are, my darling. How very beautiful! Your eyes are doves. Woman16 How handsome you are, my love. How delightful! Our bed is verdant; 17 the beams of our house are cedars, and our rafters are cypresses. 2 I am a wildflower of Sharon, a lily of the valleys. Man2 Like a lily among thorns, so is my darling among the young women. Woman3 Like an apricot tree among the trees of the forest, so is my love among the young men. I delight to sit in his shade, and his fruit is sweet to my taste. 4 He brought me to the banquet hall, and he looked on me with love. 5 Sustain me with raisins; refresh me with apricots, for I am lovesick. 6 May his left hand be under my head, and his right arm embrace me. 7 Young women of Jerusalem, I charge you by the gazelles and the wild does of the field, do not stir up or awaken love until the appropriate time. 8 Listen! My love is approaching. Look! Here he comes, leaping over the mountains, bounding over the hills. 9 My love is like a gazelle or a young stag. See, he is standing behind our wall, gazing through the windows, peering through the lattice. 10 My love calls to me: ManArise, my darling. Come away, my beautiful one. 11 For now the winter is past; the rain has ended and gone away. 12 The blossoms appear in the countryside. The time of singing has come, and the turtledove's cooing is heard in our land. 13 The fig tree ripens its figs; the blossoming vines give off their fragrance. Arise, my darling. Come away, my beautiful one. 14 My dove, in the clefts of the rock, in the crevices of the cliff, let me see your face, let me hear your voice; for your voice is sweet, and your face is lovely. Woman15 Catch the foxes for us— the little foxes that ruin the vineyards— for our vineyards are in bloom. Woman16 My love is mine and I am his; he feeds among the lilies. 17 Until the day breaks and the shadows flee, turn around, my love, and be like a gazelle or a young stag on the divided mountains. 3 In my bed at night I sought the one I love; I sought him, but did not find him. 2 I will arise now and go about the city, through the streets and the plazas. I will seek the one I love. I sought him, but did not find him. 3 The guards who go about the city found me. I asked them, "Have you seen the one I love?" 4 I had just passed them when I found the one I love. I held on to him and would not let him go until I brought him to my mother's house— to the chamber of the one who conceived me. 5 Young women of Jerusalem, I charge you by the gazelles and the wild does of the field, do not stir up or awaken love until the appropriate time. Narrator6 Who is this coming up from the wilderness like columns of smoke, scented with myrrh and frankincense from every fragrant powder of the merchant? 7 Look! Solomon's bed surrounded by sixty warriors from the mighty men of Israel. 8 All of them are skilled with swords and trained in warfare. Each has his sword at his side to guard against the terror of the night. 9 King Solomon made a carriage for himself with wood from Lebanon. 10 He made its posts of silver, its back of gold, and its seat of purple. Its interior is inlaid with love by the young women of Jerusalem. 11 Go out, young women of Zion, and gaze at King Solomon, wearing the crown his mother placed on him on the day of his wedding— the day of his heart's rejoicing. Man4 How beautiful you are, my darling. How very beautiful! Behind your veil, your eyes are doves. Your hair is like a flock of goats streaming down Mount Gilead. 2 Your teeth are like a flock of newly shorn sheep coming up from washing, each one bearing twins, and none has lost its young. 3 Your lips are like a scarlet cord, and your mouth is lovely. Behind your veil, your brow is like a slice of pomegranate. 4 Your neck is like the tower of David, constructed in layers. A thousand shields are hung on it— all of them shields of warriors. 5 Your breasts are like two fawns, twins of a gazelle, that feed among the lilies. 6 Until the day breaks and the shadows flee, I will make my way to the mountain of myrrh and the hill of frankincense. 7 You are absolutely beautiful, my darling; there is no imperfection in you. 8 Come with me from Lebanon, my bride; come with me from Lebanon! Descend from the peak of Amana, from the summit of Senir and Hermon, from the dens of the lions, from the mountains of the leopards. 9 You have captured my heart, my sister, my bride. You have captured my heart with one glance of your eyes, with one jewel of your necklace. 10 How delightful your caresses are, my sister, my bride. Your caresses are much better than wine, and the fragrance of your perfume than any balsam. 11 Your lips drip sweetness like the honeycomb, my bride. Honey and milk are under your tongue. The fragrance of your garments is like the fragrance of Lebanon. 12 My sister, my bride, you are a locked garden— a locked garden and a sealed spring. 13 Your branches are a paradise of pomegranates with choicest fruits; henna with nard, 14 nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon, with all the trees of frankincense, myrrh and aloes, with all the best spices. 15 You are a garden spring, a well of flowing water streaming from Lebanon. Woman16 Awaken, north wind; come, south wind. Blow on my garden, and spread the fragrance of its spices. Let my love come to his garden and eat its choicest fruits. Christian Standard Bible (CSB) The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved. 2 Corinthians 8:16-24 Administration of the Collection16 Thanks be to God, who put the same concern for you into the heart of Titus. 17 For he welcomed our appeal and, being very diligent, went out to you by his own choice. 18 We have sent with him the brother who is praised among all the churches for his gospel ministry. 19 And not only that, but he was also appointed by the churches to accompany us with this gracious gift that we are administering for the glory of the Lord himself and to show our eagerness to help. 20 We are taking this precaution so that no one will criticize us about this large sum that we are administering. 21 Indeed, we are giving careful thought to do what is right, not only before the Lord but also before people. 22 We have also sent with them our brother. We have often tested him in many circumstances and found him to be diligent—and now even more diligent because of his great confidence in you. 23 As for Titus, he is my partner and coworker for you; as for our brothers, they are the messengers of the churches, the glory of Christ. 24 Therefore, show them proof before the churches of your love and of our boasting about you. Christian Standard Bible (CSB) The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved. Psalm 50 Psalm 50God as JudgeA psalm of Asaph.1 The Mighty One, God, the Lord, speaks; he summons the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting. 2 From Zion, the perfection of beauty, God appears in radiance. 3 Our God is coming; he will not be silent! Devouring fire precedes him, and a storm rages around him. 4 On high, he summons heaven and earth in order to judge his people: 5 "Gather my faithful ones to me, those who made a covenant with me by sacrifice." 6 The heavens proclaim his righteousness, for God is the Judge.Selah 7 "Listen, my people, and I will speak; I will testify against you, Israel. I am God, your God. 8 I do not rebuke you for your sacrifices or for your burnt offerings, which are continually before me. 9 I will not take a bull from your household or male goats from your pens, 10 for every animal of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills. 11 I know every bird of the mountains, and the creatures of the field are mine. 12 If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world and everything in it is mine. 13 Do I eat the flesh of bulls or drink the blood of goats? 14 Offer a thanksgiving sacrifice to God, and pay your vows to the Most High. 15 Call on me in a day of trouble; I will rescue you, and you will honor me." 16 But God says to the wicked: "What right do you have to recite my statutes and to take my covenant on your lips? 17 You hate instruction and fling my words behind you. 18 When you see a thief, you make friends with him, and you associate with adulterers. 19 You unleash your mouth for evil and harness your tongue for deceit. 20 You sit, maligning your brother, slandering your mother's son. 21 You have done these things, and I kept silent; you thought I was just like you. But I will rebuke you and lay out the case before you. 22 "Understand this, you who forget God, or I will tear you apart, and there will be no one to rescue you. 23 Whoever offers a thanksgiving sacrifice honors me, and whoever orders his conduct, I will show him the salvation of God." Christian Standard Bible (CSB) The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved. Proverbs 22:22-23 22 Don't rob a poor person because he is poor, and don't crush the oppressed at the city gate, 23 for the Lord will champion their cause and will plunder those who plunder them. Christian Standard Bible (CSB) The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved. | |
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