SONG OF SOLOMON 3

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The Bride’s Dream3:1

On my bed by night

I sought him whom my soul loves;

I sought him, but found him not. 2

I will rise now and go about the city,

in the streets and in the squares;

I will seek him whom my soul loves.

I sought him, but found him not. 3

The watchmen found me

as they went about in the city.

“Have you seen him whom my soul loves?” 4

Scarcely had I passed them

when I found him whom my soul loves.

I held him, and would not let him go

until I had brought him into my mother’s house,

and into the chamber of her who conceived me. 5

I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,

by the gazelles or the does of the field,

that you not stir up or awaken love

until it pleases. Solomon Arrives for the Wedding6

What is that coming up from the wilderness

like columns of smoke,

perfumed with myrrh and frankincense,

with all the fragrant powders of a merchant? 7

Behold, it is the litter of Solomon!

Around it are sixty mighty men,

some of the mighty men of Israel, 8

all of them wearing swords

and expert in war,

each with his sword at his thigh,

against terror by night. 9

King Solomon made himself a carriage

from the wood of Lebanon. 10

He made its posts of silver,

its back of gold, its seat of purple;

its interior was inlaid with love

by the daughters of Jerusalem. 11

Go out, O daughters of Zion,

and look upon King Solomon,

with the crown with which his mother crowned him

on the day of his wedding,

on the day of the gladness of his heart.

SONG OF SOLOMON 4

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Solomon Admires His Bride’s BeautyHe4:1

Behold, you are beautiful, my love,

behold, you are beautiful!

Your eyes are doves

behind your veil.

Your hair is like a flock of goats

leaping down the slopes of Gilead. 2

Your teeth are like a flock of shorn ewes

that have come up from the washing,

all of which bear twins,

and not one among them has lost its young. 3

Your lips are like a scarlet thread,

and your mouth is lovely.

Your cheeks are like halves of a pomegranate

behind your veil. 4

Your neck is like the tower of David,

built in rows of stone;

on it hang a thousand shields,

all of them shields of warriors. 5

Your two breasts are like two fawns,

twins of a gazelle,

that graze among the lilies. 6

Until the day breathes

and the shadows flee,

I will go away to the mountain of myrrh

and the hill of frankincense. 7

You are altogether beautiful, my love;

there is no flaw in you. 8

Come with me from Lebanon, my bride;

come with me from Lebanon.

Depart from the peak of Amana,

from the peak of Senir and Hermon,

from the dens of lions,

from the mountains of leopards.
9

You have captivated my heart, my sister, my bride;

you have captivated my heart with one glance of your eyes,

with one jewel of your necklace. 10

How beautiful is your love, my sister, my bride!

How much better is your love than wine,

and the fragrance of your oils than any spice! 11

Your lips drip nectar, my bride;

honey and milk are under your tongue;

the fragrance of your garments is like the fragrance of Lebanon. 12

A garden locked is my sister, my bride,

a spring locked, a fountain sealed. 13

Your shoots are an orchard of pomegranates

with all choicest fruits,

henna with nard, 14

nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon,

with all trees of frankincense,

myrrh and aloes,

with all choice spices— 15

a garden fountain, a well of living water,

and flowing streams from Lebanon. 16

Awake, O north wind,

and come, O south wind!

Blow upon my garden,

let its spices flow.Together in the Garden of LoveSheLet my beloved come to his garden,and eat its choicest fruits.

PSALM 52

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The Steadfast Love of God EnduresTo the choirmaster. A Maskil of David, when Doeg, the Edomite, came and told Saul, “David has come to the house of Ahimelech.”
52:1

Why do you boast of evil, O mighty man?

The steadfast love of God endures all the day. 2

Your tongue plots destruction,

like a sharp razor, you worker of deceit. 3

You love evil more than good,

and lying more than speaking what is right. Selah 4

You love all words that devour,

O deceitful tongue.
5

But God will break you down forever;

he will snatch and tear you from your tent;

he will uproot you from the land of the living. Selah 6

The righteous shall see and fear,

and shall laugh at him, saying, 7

“See the man who would not make

God his refuge,

but trusted in the abundance of his riches

and sought refuge in his own destruction!”
8

But I am like a green olive tree

in the house of God.

I trust in the steadfast love of God

forever and ever. 9

I will thank you forever,

because you have done it.

I will wait for your name, for it is good,

in the presence of the godly.

PROVERBS 6

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Practical Warnings6:1

My son, if you have put up security for your neighbor,

have given your pledge for a stranger, 2

if you are snared in the words of your mouth,

caught in the words of your mouth, 3

then do this, my son, and save yourself,

for you have come into the hand of your neighbor:

go, hasten, and plead urgently with your neighbor. 4

Give your eyes no sleep

and your eyelids no slumber; 5

save yourself like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter,

like a bird from the hand of the fowler.
6

Go to the ant, O sluggard;

consider her ways, and be wise. 7

Without having any chief,

officer, or ruler, 8

she prepares her bread in summer

and gathers her food in harvest. 9

How long will you lie there, O sluggard?

When will you arise from your sleep? 10

A little sleep, a little slumber,

a little folding of the hands to rest, 11

and poverty will come upon you like a robber,

and want like an armed man.
12

A worthless person, a wicked man,

goes about with crooked speech, 13

winks with his eyes, signals with his feet,

points with his finger, 14

with perverted heart devises evil,

continually sowing discord; 15

therefore calamity will come upon him suddenly;

in a moment he will be broken beyond healing.
16

There are six things that the Lord hates,

seven that are an abomination to him: 17

haughty eyes, a lying tongue,

and hands that shed innocent blood, 18

a heart that devises wicked plans,

feet that make haste to run to evil, 19

a false witness who breathes out lies,

and one who sows discord among brothers. Warnings Against Adultery20

My son, keep your father’s commandment,

and forsake not your mother’s teaching. 21

Bind them on your heart always;

tie them around your neck. 22

When you walk, they will lead you;

when you lie down, they will watch over you;

and when you awake, they will talk with you. 23

For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching a light,

and the reproofs of discipline are the way of life, 24

to preserve you from the evil woman,

from the smooth tongue of the adulteress. 25

Do not desire her beauty in your heart,

and do not let her capture you with her eyelashes; 26

for the price of a prostitute is only a loaf of bread,

but a married woman hunts down a precious life. 27

Can a man carry fire next to his chest

and his clothes not be burned? 28

Or can one walk on hot coals

and his feet not be scorched? 29

So is he who goes in to his neighbor’s wife;

none who touches her will go unpunished. 30

People do not despise a thief if he steals

to satisfy his appetite when he is hungry, 31

but if he is caught, he will pay sevenfold;

he will give all the goods of his house. 32

He who commits adultery lacks sense;

he who does it destroys himself. 33

He will get wounds and dishonor,

and his disgrace will not be wiped away. 34

For jealousy makes a man furious,

and he will not spare when he takes revenge. 35

He will accept no compensation;

he will refuse though you multiply gifts.