SONG OF SOLOMON 5

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He5:1

I came to my garden, my sister, my bride,

I gathered my myrrh with my spice,

I ate my honeycomb with my honey,

I drank my wine with my milk.Others

Eat, friends, drink,

and be drunk with love! The Bride Searches for Her BelovedShe2

I slept, but my heart was awake.

A sound! My beloved is knocking.

“Open to me, my sister, my love,

my dove, my perfect one,

for my head is wet with dew,

my locks with the drops of the night.” 3

I had put off my garment;

how could I put it on?

I had bathed my feet;

how could I soil them? 4

My beloved put his hand to the latch,

and my heart was thrilled within me. 5

I arose to open to my beloved,

and my hands dripped with myrrh,

my fingers with liquid myrrh,

on the handles of the bolt. 6

I opened to my beloved,

but my beloved had turned and gone.

My soul failed me when he spoke.

I sought him, but found him not;

I called him, but he gave no answer. 7

The watchmen found me

as they went about in the city;

they beat me, they bruised me,

they took away my veil,

those watchmen of the walls. 8

I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,

if you find my beloved,

that you tell him

I am sick with love. Others9

What is your beloved more than another beloved,

O most beautiful among women?

What is your beloved more than another beloved,

that you thus adjure us? The Bride Praises Her BelovedShe10

My beloved is radiant and ruddy,

distinguished among ten thousand. 11

His head is the finest gold;

his locks are wavy,

black as a raven. 12

His eyes are like doves

beside streams of water,

bathed in milk,

sitting beside a full pool. 13

His cheeks are like beds of spices,

mounds of sweet-smelling herbs.

His lips are lilies,

dripping liquid myrrh. 14

His arms are rods of gold,

set with jewels.

His body is polished ivory,

bedecked with sapphires. 15

His legs are alabaster columns,

set on bases of gold.

His appearance is like Lebanon,

choice as the cedars. 16

His mouth is most sweet,

and he is altogether desirable.

This is my beloved and this is my friend,

O daughters of Jerusalem.

SONG OF SOLOMON 6

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Others6:1

Where has your beloved gone,

O most beautiful among women?

Where has your beloved turned,

that we may seek him with you? Together in the Garden of LoveShe2

My beloved has gone down to his garden

to the beds of spices,

to graze in the gardens

and to gather lilies. 3

I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine;

he grazes among the lilies. Solomon and His Bride Delight in Each OtherHe4

You are beautiful as Tirzah, my love,

lovely as Jerusalem,

awesome as an army with banners. 5

Turn away your eyes from me,

for they overwhelm me—

Your hair is like a flock of goats

leaping down the slopes of Gilead. 6

Your teeth are like a flock of ewes

that have come up from the washing;

all of them bear twins;

not one among them has lost its young. 7

Your cheeks are like halves of a pomegranate

behind your veil. 8

There are sixty queens and eighty concubines,

and virgins without number. 9

My dove, my perfect one, is the only one,

the only one of her mother,

pure to her who bore her.

The young women saw her and called her blessed;

the queens and concubines also, and they praised her.
10

“Who is this who looks down like the dawn,

beautiful as the moon, bright as the sun,

awesome as an army with banners?” She11

I went down to the nut orchard

to look at the blossoms of the valley,

to see whether the vines had budded,

whether the pomegranates were in bloom. 12

Before I was aware, my desire set me

among the chariots of my kinsman, a prince. Others13

Return, return, O Shulammite,

return, return, that we may look upon you.He

Why should you look upon the Shulammite,

as upon a dance before two armies?

PROVERBS 31

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The Words of King Lemuel  31:1 The words of King Lemuel. An oracle that his mother taught him:
2

What are you doing, my son? What are you doing, son of my womb?

What are you doing, son of my vows? 3

Do not give your strength to women,

your ways to those who destroy kings. 4

It is not for kings, O Lemuel,

it is not for kings to drink wine,

or for rulers to take strong drink, 5

lest they drink and forget what has been decreed

and pervert the rights of all the afflicted. 6

Give strong drink to the one who is perishing,

and wine to those in bitter distress; 7

let them drink and forget their poverty

and remember their misery no more. 8

Open your mouth for the mute,

for the rights of all who are destitute. 9

Open your mouth, judge righteously,

defend the rights of the poor and needy. The Woman Who Fears the Lord10

An excellent wife who can find?

She is far more precious than jewels. 11

The heart of her husband trusts in her,

and he will have no lack of gain. 12

She does him good, and not harm,

all the days of her life. 13

She seeks wool and flax,

and works with willing hands. 14

She is like the ships of the merchant;

she brings her food from afar. 15

She rises while it is yet night

and provides food for her household

and portions for her maidens. 16

She considers a field and buys it;

with the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard. 17

She dresses herself with strength

and makes her arms strong. 18

She perceives that her merchandise is profitable.

Her lamp does not go out at night. 19

She puts her hands to the distaff,

and her hands hold the spindle. 20

She opens her hand to the poor

and reaches out her hands to the needy. 21

She is not afraid of snow for her household,

for all her household are clothed in scarlet. 22

She makes bed coverings for herself;

her clothing is fine linen and purple. 23

Her husband is known in the gates

when he sits among the elders of the land. 24

She makes linen garments and sells them;

she delivers sashes to the merchant. 25

Strength and dignity are her clothing,

and she laughs at the time to come. 26

She opens her mouth with wisdom,

and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue. 27

She looks well to the ways of her household

and does not eat the bread of idleness. 28

Her children rise up and call her blessed;

her husband also, and he praises her: 29

“Many women have done excellently,

but you surpass them all.” 30

Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain,

but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. 31

Give her of the fruit of her hands,

and let her works praise her in the gates.

2 TIMOTHY 2

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A Good Soldier of Christ Jesus  2:1 You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, 2 and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also. 3 Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 4 No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him. 5 An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. 6 It is the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops. 7 Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.
    8 Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel, 9 for which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal. But the word of God is not bound! 10 Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. 11 The saying is trustworthy, for:

If we have died with him, we will also live with him; 12

if we endure, we will also reign with him;

if we deny him, he also will deny us; 13

if we are faithless, he remains faithful—for he cannot deny himself. A Worker Approved by God14 Remind them of these things, and charge them before God not to quarrel about words, which does no good, but only ruins the hearers. 15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth. 16 But avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness, 17 and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, 18 who have swerved from the truth, saying that the resurrection has already happened. They are upsetting the faith of some. 19 But God’s firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.”
    20 Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for honorable use, some for dishonorable. 21 Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work.
    22 So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. 23 Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels. 24 And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, 25 correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, 26 and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.