Standard Sunday School Lesson Scriptures and
Benediction for Saint Paul’s United Methodist of San Diego, California, Unitd
States for Sunday, 3 January 2016 “The Most Beautiful Bride”
Devotional Reading:
John 10: 7 So again Jesus said to them,
“Very truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All who came before me
are thieves and bandits; but the sheep did not listen to them. 9 I am the gate.
Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find
pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that
they may have life, and have it abundantly.
11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd
lays down his life for the sheep. 12 The hired hand, who is not the shepherd
and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs
away—and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. 13 The hired hand runs away
because a hired hand does not care for the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd. I
know my own and my own know me, 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the
Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. [New Revised Standard Version]
Background Scripture:
John 10:1 “Very truly, I tell you,
anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate but climbs in by another
way is a thief and a bandit. 2 The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd
of the sheep. 3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his
voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought
out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they
know his voice. 5 They will not follow a stranger, but they will run from him
because they do not know the voice of strangers.” 6 Jesus used this figure of
speech with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.
7 So again Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I
tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All who came before me are thieves and
bandits; but the sheep did not listen to them. 9 I am the gate. Whoever enters
by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. 10 The thief
comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and
have it abundantly.
11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd
lays down his life for the sheep.
Song of Songs[Solomon] 1:1
The Song of Songs, which is Solomon’s.
Colloquy of Bride and Friends
2 Let him kiss me with the kisses of his
mouth!
For your love is better than wine,
3
your anointing oils are fragrant,
your name is perfume poured out;
therefore the maidens love you.
4 Draw me after you, let us make haste.
The
king has brought me into his chambers.
We will exult and rejoice in you;
we
will extol your love more than wine;
rightly do they love you.
5 I am black and beautiful,
O
daughters of Jerusalem,
like the tents of Kedar,
like the curtains of Solomon.
6 Do not gaze at me because I am dark,
because the sun has gazed on me.
My mother’s sons were angry with me;
they made me keeper of the vineyards,
but
my own vineyard I have not kept!
7 Tell me, you whom my soul loves,
where you pasture your flock,
where you make it lie down at noon;
for why should I be like one who is veiled
beside the flocks of your companions?
8 If you do not know,
O
fairest among women,
follow the tracks of the flock,
and pasture your kids
beside the shepherds’ tents.
Colloquy of Bridegroom, Friends, and Bride
9 I compare you, my love,
to
a mare among Pharaoh’s chariots.
10 Your cheeks are comely with ornaments,
your neck with strings of jewels.
11 We will make you ornaments of gold,
studded with silver.
12 While the king was on his couch,
my
nard gave forth its fragrance.
13 My beloved is to me a bag of myrrh
that lies between my breasts.
14 My beloved is to me a cluster of henna
blossoms
in
the vineyards of En-gedi.
15 Ah, you are beautiful, my love;
ah,
you are beautiful;
your eyes are doves.
16 Ah, you are beautiful, my beloved,
truly lovely.
Our couch is green;
17
the beams of our house are cedar,
our
rafters[Song
of Solomon 1:17 Meaning of Heb uncertain] are pine. 2:1 I
am a rose[Song of Solomon 2:1 Heb crocus
] of Sharon,
a
lily of the valleys.
2 As a lily among brambles,
so
is my love among maidens.
3 As an apple tree among the trees of the
wood,
so
is my beloved among young men.
With great delight I sat in his shadow,
and
his fruit was sweet to my taste.
4 He brought me to the banqueting house,
and
his intention toward me was love.
5 Sustain me with raisins,
refresh me with apples;
for
I am faint with love.
6 O that his left hand were under my head,
and
that his right hand embraced me!
7 I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
by
the gazelles or the wild does:
do not stir up or awaken love
until it is ready!
Springtime Rhapsody
8 The voice of my beloved!
Look, he comes,
leaping upon the mountains,
bounding over the hills.
9 My beloved is like a gazelle
or
a young stag.
Look, there he stands
behind our wall,
gazing in at the windows,
looking through the lattice.
10 My beloved speaks and says to me:
“Arise, my love, my fair one,
and
come away;
11 for now the winter is past,
the
rain is over and gone.
12 The flowers appear on the earth;
the
time of singing has come,
and the voice of the turtledove
is
heard in our land.
13 The fig tree puts forth its figs,
and
the vines are in blossom;
they give forth fragrance.
Arise, my love, my fair one,
and
come away.
14 O my dove, in the clefts of the rock,
in
the covert of the cliff,
let me see your face,
let
me hear your voice;
for your voice is sweet,
and
your face is lovely.
15 Catch us the foxes,
the
little foxes,
that ruin the vineyards—
for
our vineyards are in blossom.”
16 My beloved is mine and I am his;
he
pastures his flock among the lilies.
17 Until the day breathes
and
the shadows flee,
turn, my beloved, be like a gazelle
or
a young stag on the cleft mountains.[Song
of Solomon 2:17 Or on the mountains of Bether; meaning of Heb uncertain] Love’s
Dream
3:1 Upon my bed at night
I
sought him whom my soul loves;
I sought him, but found him not;
I
called him, but he gave no answer.[Song
of Solomon 3:1 Gk: Heb lacks this line]
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 sentinels 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 brought him into my mother’s house,
and
into the chamber of her that conceived me.
5 I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
by
the gazelles or the wild does:
do not stir up or awaken love
until it is ready!
The Groom and His Party Approach
6 What is that coming up from the wilderness,
like a column of smoke,
perfumed with myrrh and frankincense,
with all the fragrant powders of the merchant?
7 Look, it is the litter of Solomon!
Around it are sixty mighty men
of
the mighty men of Israel,
8 all equipped with swords
and
expert in war,
each with his sword at his thigh
because of alarms by night.
9 King Solomon made himself a palanquin
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.[ Song of Solomon 3:10 Meaning of Heb
uncertain]
Daughters of Jerusalem,
11
come out.
Look, O daughters of Zion,
at
King Solomon,
at the crown with which his mother crowned
him
on
the day of his wedding,
on
the day of the gladness of his heart. The Bride’s Beauty Extolled
4:1 How beautiful you are, my
love,
how
very beautiful!
Your eyes are doves
behind your veil.
Your hair is like a flock of goats,
moving 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 is bereaved.
3 Your lips are like a crimson 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 courses;
on it hang a thousand bucklers,
all
of them shields of warriors.
5 Your two breasts are like two fawns,
twins of a gazelle,
that feed among the lilies.
6 Until the day breathes
and
the shadows flee,
I will hasten 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[Song
of Solomon 4:8 Or Look
] 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 ravished my heart, my sister, my
bride,
you
have ravished my heart with a glance of your eyes,
with one jewel of your necklace.
10 How sweet 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 distill nectar, my bride;
honey and milk are under your tongue;
the
scent of your garments is like the scent of Lebanon.
12 A garden locked is my sister, my bride,
a
garden locked, a fountain sealed.
13 Your channel[Song of Solomon 4:13 Meaning of Heb uncertain] is 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 chief 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
that its fragrance may be wafted abroad.
Let my beloved come to his garden,
and
eat its choicest fruits. 5:1 I come to my garden, my
sister, my bride;
I
gather my myrrh with my spice,
I
eat my honeycomb with my honey,
I
drink my wine with my milk.
Eat, friends, drink,
and
be drunk with love.
Another Dream
2 I slept, but my heart was awake.
Listen! 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 again?
I had bathed my feet;
how
could I soil them?
4 My beloved thrust his hand into the
opening,
and
my inmost being yearned for him.
5 I arose to open to my beloved,
and
my hands dripped with myrrh,
my fingers with liquid myrrh,
upon the handles of the bolt.
6 I opened to my beloved,
but
my beloved had turned and was gone.
My soul failed me when he spoke.
I sought him, but did not find him;
I
called him, but he gave no answer.
7 Making their rounds in the city
the
sentinels found me;
they beat me, they wounded me,
they took away my mantle,
those sentinels of the walls.
8 I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
if
you find my beloved,
tell him this:
I
am faint with love.
Colloquy of Friends and Bride
9 What is your beloved more than another
beloved,
O
fairest among women?
What is your beloved more than another
beloved,
that you thus adjure us?
10 My beloved is all 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 springs of water,
bathed in milk,
fitly set.[Song of Solomon 5:12
Meaning of Heb uncertain]
13 His cheeks are like beds of spices,
yielding fragrance.
His lips are lilies,
distilling liquid myrrh.
14 His arms are rounded gold,
set with jewels.
His body is ivory work,[ Song of Solomon 5:14 Meaning of Heb uncertain]
encrusted with sapphires.[Song of
Solomon 5:14 Heb lapis lazuli]
15 His legs are alabaster columns,
set
upon bases of gold.
His appearance is like Lebanon,
choice as the cedars.
16 His speech is most sweet,
and
he is altogether desirable.
This is my beloved and this is my friend,
O
daughters of Jerusalem. 6:1 Where has your beloved gone,
O
fairest among women?
Which way has your beloved turned,
that we may seek him with you?
2 My beloved has gone down to his garden,
to
the beds of spices,
to pasture his flock in the gardens,
and
to gather lilies.
3 I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine;
he
pastures his flock among the lilies.
The Bride’s Matchless Beauty
4 You are beautiful as Tirzah, my love,
comely as Jerusalem,
terrible as an army with banners.
5 Turn away your eyes from me,
for
they overwhelm me!
Your hair is like a flock of goats,
moving 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,
and
not one among them is bereaved.
7 Your cheeks are like halves of a
pomegranate
behind your veil.
8 There are sixty queens and eighty
concubines,
and
maidens without number.
9 My dove, my perfect one, is the only one,
the
darling of her mother,
flawless to her that bore her.
The maidens saw her and called her happy;
the
queens and concubines also, and they praised her.
10 “Who is this that looks forth like the
dawn,
fair as the moon, bright as the sun,
terrible as an army with banners?”
11 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 fancy set me
in
a chariot beside my prince.[Song of
Solomon 6:12 Cn: Meaning of Heb uncertain]
13 [Song
of Solomon 6:13 Ch 7.1 in Heb] Return, return, O Shulammite!
Return, return, that we may look upon you.
Why should you look upon the Shulammite,
as
upon a dance before two armies?[Song of
Solomon 6:13 Or dance of Mahanaim] Expressions of Praise
7:1 How graceful are your feet in
sandals,
O
queenly maiden!
Your rounded thighs are like jewels,
the
work of a master hand.
2 Your navel is a rounded bowl
that never lacks mixed wine.
Your belly is a heap of wheat,
encircled with lilies.
3 Your two breasts are like two fawns,
twins of a gazelle.
4 Your neck is like an ivory tower.
Your eyes are pools in Heshbon,
by
the gate of Bath-rabbim.
Your nose is like a tower of Lebanon,
overlooking Damascus.
5 Your head crowns you like Carmel,
and
your flowing locks are like purple;
a
king is held captive in the tresses.[Song
of Solomon 7:5 Meaning of Heb uncertain]
6 How fair and pleasant you are,
O
loved one, delectable maiden![Song of
Solomon 7:6 Syr: Heb in delights]
7 You are stately[Song of Solomon 7:7 Heb This your stature is] as a palm tree,
and
your breasts are like its clusters.
8 I say I will climb the palm tree
and
lay hold of its branches.
O may your breasts be like clusters of the
vine,
and
the scent of your breath like apples,
9 and your kisses[Song of Solomon 7:9 Heb palate] like the best wine
that goes down[Song of Solomon
7:9 Heb down for my lover] smoothly,
gliding over lips and teeth.[
Song of Solomon 7:9 Gk Syr Vg: Heb lips of sleepers]
10 I am my beloved’s,
and
his desire is for me.
11 Come, my beloved,
let
us go forth into the fields,
and
lodge in the villages;
12 let us go out early to the vineyards,
and
see whether the vines have budded,
whether the grape blossoms have opened
and
the pomegranates are in bloom.
There I will give you my love.
13 The mandrakes give forth fragrance,
and
over our doors are all choice fruits,
new as well as old,
which I have laid up for you, O my beloved. 8:1 O
that you were like a brother to me,
who
nursed at my mother’s breast!
If I met you outside, I would kiss you,
and no one would despise me.
2 I would lead you and bring you
into the house of my mother,
and
into the chamber of the one who bore me.[Song
of Solomon 8:2 Gk Syr: Heb my mother; she (or you) will teach me]
I would give you spiced wine to drink,
the
juice of my pomegranates.
3 O that his left hand were under my head,
and
that his right hand embraced me!
4 I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
do
not stir up or awaken love
until it is ready!
Homecoming
5 Who is that coming up from the wilderness,
leaning upon her beloved?
Under the apple tree I awakened you.
There your mother was in labor with you;
there she who bore you was in labor.
6 Set me as a seal upon your heart,
as
a seal upon your arm;
for love is strong as death,
passion fierce as the grave.
Its flashes are flashes of fire,
a
raging flame.
7 Many waters cannot quench love,
neither can floods drown it.
If one offered for love
all
the wealth of one’s house,
it
would be utterly scorned.
8 We have a little sister,
and
she has no breasts.
What shall we do for our sister,
on
the day when she is spoken for?
9 If she is a wall,
we
will build upon her a battlement of silver;
but if she is a door,
we
will enclose her with boards of cedar.
10 I was a wall,
and
my breasts were like towers;
then I was in his eyes
as
one who brings[Song of Solomon 8:10 Or
finds] peace.
11 Solomon had a vineyard at Baal-hamon;
he
entrusted the vineyard to keepers;
each one was to bring for its fruit a thousand pieces of silver.
12 My vineyard, my very own, is for myself;
you, O Solomon, may have the thousand,
and
the keepers of the fruit two hundred!
13 O you who dwell in the gardens,
my
companions are listening for your voice;
let
me hear it.
14 Make haste, my beloved,
and
be like a gazelle
or a young stag
upon the mountains of spices! [New Revised Standard Version]
Key Verse:
Song of Songs[Solomon] 6: 9
My dove, my perfect one, is the only one,
the
darling of her mother,
flawless to her that bore her.
The maidens saw her and called her happy;
the
queens and concubines also, and they praised her.{New
Revised Standard Version]
India Benediction:
May the Lord
disturb you and trouble you,
May the Lord set
an impossible task before you,
And dare you to
meet it.
May the Lord give
you strength to do your best,
And then, but
only then,
May you be
granted the Lord’s peace.
Benediction Heart of Christianity:
Go out into the
world in peace;
Be of good
courage;
Hold fast to that
which is good;
Render to no one
evil for evil;
Strengthen the
faint hearted;
Support the weak;
help the afflicted;
Honor all God’s
children;
Love and serve
the Lord, rejoicing in the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen
Devotional Reading:
John 10: 7 So again Jesus said to them,
“Very truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All who came before me
are thieves and bandits; but the sheep did not listen to them. 9 I am the gate.
Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find
pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that
they may have life, and have it abundantly.
11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd
lays down his life for the sheep. 12 The hired hand, who is not the shepherd
and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs
away—and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. 13 The hired hand runs away
because a hired hand does not care for the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd. I
know my own and my own know me, 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the
Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. [New Revised Standard Version]
Background Scripture:
John 10:1 “Very truly, I tell you,
anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate but climbs in by another
way is a thief and a bandit. 2 The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd
of the sheep. 3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his
voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought
out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they
know his voice. 5 They will not follow a stranger, but they will run from him
because they do not know the voice of strangers.” 6 Jesus used this figure of
speech with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.
7 So again Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I
tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All who came before me are thieves and
bandits; but the sheep did not listen to them. 9 I am the gate. Whoever enters
by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. 10 The thief
comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and
have it abundantly.
11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd
lays down his life for the sheep.
Song of Songs[Solomon] 1:1
The Song of Songs, which is Solomon’s.
Colloquy of Bride and Friends
2 Let him kiss me with the kisses of his
mouth!
For your love is better than wine,
3
your anointing oils are fragrant,
your name is perfume poured out;
therefore the maidens love you.
4 Draw me after you, let us make haste.
The
king has brought me into his chambers.
We will exult and rejoice in you;
we
will extol your love more than wine;
rightly do they love you.
5 I am black and beautiful,
O
daughters of Jerusalem,
like the tents of Kedar,
like the curtains of Solomon.
6 Do not gaze at me because I am dark,
because the sun has gazed on me.
My mother’s sons were angry with me;
they made me keeper of the vineyards,
but
my own vineyard I have not kept!
7 Tell me, you whom my soul loves,
where you pasture your flock,
where you make it lie down at noon;
for why should I be like one who is veiled
beside the flocks of your companions?
8 If you do not know,
O
fairest among women,
follow the tracks of the flock,
and pasture your kids
beside the shepherds’ tents.
Colloquy of Bridegroom, Friends, and Bride
9 I compare you, my love,
to
a mare among Pharaoh’s chariots.
10 Your cheeks are comely with ornaments,
your neck with strings of jewels.
11 We will make you ornaments of gold,
studded with silver.
12 While the king was on his couch,
my
nard gave forth its fragrance.
13 My beloved is to me a bag of myrrh
that lies between my breasts.
14 My beloved is to me a cluster of henna
blossoms
in
the vineyards of En-gedi.
15 Ah, you are beautiful, my love;
ah,
you are beautiful;
your eyes are doves.
16 Ah, you are beautiful, my beloved,
truly lovely.
Our couch is green;
17
the beams of our house are cedar,
our
rafters[Song
of Solomon 1:17 Meaning of Heb uncertain] are pine. 2:1 I
am a rose[Song of Solomon 2:1 Heb crocus
] of Sharon,
a
lily of the valleys.
2 As a lily among brambles,
so
is my love among maidens.
3 As an apple tree among the trees of the
wood,
so
is my beloved among young men.
With great delight I sat in his shadow,
and
his fruit was sweet to my taste.
4 He brought me to the banqueting house,
and
his intention toward me was love.
5 Sustain me with raisins,
refresh me with apples;
for
I am faint with love.
6 O that his left hand were under my head,
and
that his right hand embraced me!
7 I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
by
the gazelles or the wild does:
do not stir up or awaken love
until it is ready!
Springtime Rhapsody
8 The voice of my beloved!
Look, he comes,
leaping upon the mountains,
bounding over the hills.
9 My beloved is like a gazelle
or
a young stag.
Look, there he stands
behind our wall,
gazing in at the windows,
looking through the lattice.
10 My beloved speaks and says to me:
“Arise, my love, my fair one,
and
come away;
11 for now the winter is past,
the
rain is over and gone.
12 The flowers appear on the earth;
the
time of singing has come,
and the voice of the turtledove
is
heard in our land.
13 The fig tree puts forth its figs,
and
the vines are in blossom;
they give forth fragrance.
Arise, my love, my fair one,
and
come away.
14 O my dove, in the clefts of the rock,
in
the covert of the cliff,
let me see your face,
let
me hear your voice;
for your voice is sweet,
and
your face is lovely.
15 Catch us the foxes,
the
little foxes,
that ruin the vineyards—
for
our vineyards are in blossom.”
16 My beloved is mine and I am his;
he
pastures his flock among the lilies.
17 Until the day breathes
and
the shadows flee,
turn, my beloved, be like a gazelle
or
a young stag on the cleft mountains.[Song
of Solomon 2:17 Or on the mountains of Bether; meaning of Heb uncertain] Love’s
Dream
3:1 Upon my bed at night
I
sought him whom my soul loves;
I sought him, but found him not;
I
called him, but he gave no answer.[Song
of Solomon 3:1 Gk: Heb lacks this line]
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 sentinels 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 brought him into my mother’s house,
and
into the chamber of her that conceived me.
5 I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
by
the gazelles or the wild does:
do not stir up or awaken love
until it is ready!
The Groom and His Party Approach
6 What is that coming up from the wilderness,
like a column of smoke,
perfumed with myrrh and frankincense,
with all the fragrant powders of the merchant?
7 Look, it is the litter of Solomon!
Around it are sixty mighty men
of
the mighty men of Israel,
8 all equipped with swords
and
expert in war,
each with his sword at his thigh
because of alarms by night.
9 King Solomon made himself a palanquin
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.[ Song of Solomon 3:10 Meaning of Heb
uncertain]
Daughters of Jerusalem,
11
come out.
Look, O daughters of Zion,
at
King Solomon,
at the crown with which his mother crowned
him
on
the day of his wedding,
on
the day of the gladness of his heart. The Bride’s Beauty Extolled
4:1 How beautiful you are, my
love,
how
very beautiful!
Your eyes are doves
behind your veil.
Your hair is like a flock of goats,
moving 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 is bereaved.
3 Your lips are like a crimson 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 courses;
on it hang a thousand bucklers,
all
of them shields of warriors.
5 Your two breasts are like two fawns,
twins of a gazelle,
that feed among the lilies.
6 Until the day breathes
and
the shadows flee,
I will hasten 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[Song
of Solomon 4:8 Or Look
] 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 ravished my heart, my sister, my
bride,
you
have ravished my heart with a glance of your eyes,
with one jewel of your necklace.
10 How sweet 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 distill nectar, my bride;
honey and milk are under your tongue;
the
scent of your garments is like the scent of Lebanon.
12 A garden locked is my sister, my bride,
a
garden locked, a fountain sealed.
13 Your channel[Song of Solomon 4:13 Meaning of Heb uncertain] is 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 chief 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
that its fragrance may be wafted abroad.
Let my beloved come to his garden,
and
eat its choicest fruits. 5:1 I come to my garden, my
sister, my bride;
I
gather my myrrh with my spice,
I
eat my honeycomb with my honey,
I
drink my wine with my milk.
Eat, friends, drink,
and
be drunk with love.
Another Dream
2 I slept, but my heart was awake.
Listen! 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 again?
I had bathed my feet;
how
could I soil them?
4 My beloved thrust his hand into the
opening,
and
my inmost being yearned for him.
5 I arose to open to my beloved,
and
my hands dripped with myrrh,
my fingers with liquid myrrh,
upon the handles of the bolt.
6 I opened to my beloved,
but
my beloved had turned and was gone.
My soul failed me when he spoke.
I sought him, but did not find him;
I
called him, but he gave no answer.
7 Making their rounds in the city
the
sentinels found me;
they beat me, they wounded me,
they took away my mantle,
those sentinels of the walls.
8 I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
if
you find my beloved,
tell him this:
I
am faint with love.
Colloquy of Friends and Bride
9 What is your beloved more than another
beloved,
O
fairest among women?
What is your beloved more than another
beloved,
that you thus adjure us?
10 My beloved is all 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 springs of water,
bathed in milk,
fitly set.[Song of Solomon 5:12
Meaning of Heb uncertain]
13 His cheeks are like beds of spices,
yielding fragrance.
His lips are lilies,
distilling liquid myrrh.
14 His arms are rounded gold,
set with jewels.
His body is ivory work,[ Song of Solomon 5:14 Meaning of Heb uncertain]
encrusted with sapphires.[Song of
Solomon 5:14 Heb lapis lazuli]
15 His legs are alabaster columns,
set
upon bases of gold.
His appearance is like Lebanon,
choice as the cedars.
16 His speech is most sweet,
and
he is altogether desirable.
This is my beloved and this is my friend,
O
daughters of Jerusalem. 6:1 Where has your beloved gone,
O
fairest among women?
Which way has your beloved turned,
that we may seek him with you?
2 My beloved has gone down to his garden,
to
the beds of spices,
to pasture his flock in the gardens,
and
to gather lilies.
3 I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine;
he
pastures his flock among the lilies.
The Bride’s Matchless Beauty
4 You are beautiful as Tirzah, my love,
comely as Jerusalem,
terrible as an army with banners.
5 Turn away your eyes from me,
for
they overwhelm me!
Your hair is like a flock of goats,
moving 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,
and
not one among them is bereaved.
7 Your cheeks are like halves of a
pomegranate
behind your veil.
8 There are sixty queens and eighty
concubines,
and
maidens without number.
9 My dove, my perfect one, is the only one,
the
darling of her mother,
flawless to her that bore her.
The maidens saw her and called her happy;
the
queens and concubines also, and they praised her.
10 “Who is this that looks forth like the
dawn,
fair as the moon, bright as the sun,
terrible as an army with banners?”
11 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 fancy set me
in
a chariot beside my prince.[Song of
Solomon 6:12 Cn: Meaning of Heb uncertain]
13 [Song
of Solomon 6:13 Ch 7.1 in Heb] Return, return, O Shulammite!
Return, return, that we may look upon you.
Why should you look upon the Shulammite,
as
upon a dance before two armies?[Song of
Solomon 6:13 Or dance of Mahanaim] Expressions of Praise
7:1 How graceful are your feet in
sandals,
O
queenly maiden!
Your rounded thighs are like jewels,
the
work of a master hand.
2 Your navel is a rounded bowl
that never lacks mixed wine.
Your belly is a heap of wheat,
encircled with lilies.
3 Your two breasts are like two fawns,
twins of a gazelle.
4 Your neck is like an ivory tower.
Your eyes are pools in Heshbon,
by
the gate of Bath-rabbim.
Your nose is like a tower of Lebanon,
overlooking Damascus.
5 Your head crowns you like Carmel,
and
your flowing locks are like purple;
a
king is held captive in the tresses.[Song
of Solomon 7:5 Meaning of Heb uncertain]
6 How fair and pleasant you are,
O
loved one, delectable maiden![Song of
Solomon 7:6 Syr: Heb in delights]
7 You are stately[Song of Solomon 7:7 Heb This your stature is] as a palm tree,
and
your breasts are like its clusters.
8 I say I will climb the palm tree
and
lay hold of its branches.
O may your breasts be like clusters of the
vine,
and
the scent of your breath like apples,
9 and your kisses[Song of Solomon 7:9 Heb palate] like the best wine
that goes down[Song of Solomon
7:9 Heb down for my lover] smoothly,
gliding over lips and teeth.[
Song of Solomon 7:9 Gk Syr Vg: Heb lips of sleepers]
10 I am my beloved’s,
and
his desire is for me.
11 Come, my beloved,
let
us go forth into the fields,
and
lodge in the villages;
12 let us go out early to the vineyards,
and
see whether the vines have budded,
whether the grape blossoms have opened
and
the pomegranates are in bloom.
There I will give you my love.
13 The mandrakes give forth fragrance,
and
over our doors are all choice fruits,
new as well as old,
which I have laid up for you, O my beloved. 8:1 O
that you were like a brother to me,
who
nursed at my mother’s breast!
If I met you outside, I would kiss you,
and no one would despise me.
2 I would lead you and bring you
into the house of my mother,
and
into the chamber of the one who bore me.[Song
of Solomon 8:2 Gk Syr: Heb my mother; she (or you) will teach me]
I would give you spiced wine to drink,
the
juice of my pomegranates.
3 O that his left hand were under my head,
and
that his right hand embraced me!
4 I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
do
not stir up or awaken love
until it is ready!
Homecoming
5 Who is that coming up from the wilderness,
leaning upon her beloved?
Under the apple tree I awakened you.
There your mother was in labor with you;
there she who bore you was in labor.
6 Set me as a seal upon your heart,
as
a seal upon your arm;
for love is strong as death,
passion fierce as the grave.
Its flashes are flashes of fire,
a
raging flame.
7 Many waters cannot quench love,
neither can floods drown it.
If one offered for love
all
the wealth of one’s house,
it
would be utterly scorned.
8 We have a little sister,
and
she has no breasts.
What shall we do for our sister,
on
the day when she is spoken for?
9 If she is a wall,
we
will build upon her a battlement of silver;
but if she is a door,
we
will enclose her with boards of cedar.
10 I was a wall,
and
my breasts were like towers;
then I was in his eyes
as
one who brings[Song of Solomon 8:10 Or
finds] peace.
11 Solomon had a vineyard at Baal-hamon;
he
entrusted the vineyard to keepers;
each one was to bring for its fruit a thousand pieces of silver.
12 My vineyard, my very own, is for myself;
you, O Solomon, may have the thousand,
and
the keepers of the fruit two hundred!
13 O you who dwell in the gardens,
my
companions are listening for your voice;
let
me hear it.
14 Make haste, my beloved,
and
be like a gazelle
or a young stag
upon the mountains of spices! [New Revised Standard Version]
Key Verse:
Song of Songs[Solomon] 6: 9
My dove, my perfect one, is the only one,
the
darling of her mother,
flawless to her that bore her.
The maidens saw her and called her happy;
the
queens and concubines also, and they praised her.{New
Revised Standard Version]
India Benediction:
May the Lord
disturb you and trouble you,
May the Lord set
an impossible task before you,
And dare you to
meet it.
May the Lord give
you strength to do your best,
And then, but
only then,
May you be
granted the Lord’s peace.
Benediction Heart of Christianity:
Go out into the
world in peace;
Be of good
courage;
Hold fast to that
which is good;
Render to no one
evil for evil;
Strengthen the
faint hearted;
Support the weak;
help the afflicted;
Honor all God’s
children;
Love and serve
the Lord, rejoicing in the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen
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