Old Testament:
Song of Solomon 1–4
Song of Solomon 1–4 (Listen)
1The Song of Songs, which is Solomon’s.
The Bride Confesses Her Love
SheThe translators have added speaker identifications based on the gender and number of the Hebrew words“>1
2Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth!
For your love is better than wine;
3your anointing oils are fragrant;
your name is oil poured out;
therefore virgins love you.
4Draw me after you; let us run.
The king has brought me into his chambers.
Others
We will exult and rejoice in you;
we will extol your love more than wine;
rightly do they love you.
She
5I am very dark, but lovely,
O daughters of Jerusalem,
like the tents of Kedar,
like the curtains of Solomon.
6Do not gaze at me because I am dark,
because the sun has looked upon me.
My mother’s sons were angry with me;
they made me keeper of the vineyards,
but my own vineyard I have not kept!
7Tell 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 veils herself
beside the flocks of your companions?
Solomon and His Bride Delight in Each Other
He
8If you do not know,
O most beautiful among women,
follow in the tracks of the flock,
and pasture your young goats
beside the shepherds’ tents.
9I compare you, my love,
to a mare among Pharaoh’s chariots.
10Your cheeks are lovely with ornaments,
your neck with strings of jewels.
Others
11We will make for youThe Hebrew for you is feminine singular“>2 ornaments of gold,
studded with silver.
She
12While the king was on his couch,
my nard gave forth its fragrance.
13My beloved is to me a sachet of myrrh
that lies between my breasts.
14My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blossoms
in the vineyards of Engedi.
He
15Behold, you are beautiful, my love;
behold, you are beautiful;
your eyes are doves.
She
16Behold, you are beautiful, my beloved, truly delightful.
Our couch is green;
17the beams of our house are cedar;
our rafters are pine.
2I am a roseProbably a bulb, such as a crocus, asphodel, or narcissus“>3 of Sharon,
a lily of the valleys.
He
2As a lily among brambles,
so is my love among the young women.
She
3As an apple tree among the trees of the forest,
so is my beloved among the young men.
With great delight I sat in his shadow,
and his fruit was sweet to my taste.
4He brought me to the banqueting house,Hebrew the house of wine“>4
and his banner over me was love.
5Sustain me with raisins;
refresh me with apples,
for I am sick with love.
6His left hand is under my head,
and his right hand embraces me!
7I adjure you,That is, I put you on oath; so throughout the Song“>5 O daughters of Jerusalem,
by the gazelles or the does of the field,
that you not stir up or awaken love
until it pleases.
The Bride Adores Her Beloved
8The voice of my beloved!
Behold, he comes,
leaping over the mountains,
bounding over the hills.
9My beloved is like a gazelle
or a young stag.
Behold, there he stands
behind our wall,
gazing through the windows,
looking through the lattice.
10My beloved speaks and says to me:
“Arise, my love, my beautiful one,
and come away,
11for behold, the winter is past;
the rain is over and gone.
12The flowers appear on the earth,
the time of singingOr pruning“>6 has come,
and the voice of the turtledove
is heard in our land.
13The fig tree ripens its figs,
and the vines are in blossom;
they give forth fragrance.
Arise, my love, my beautiful one,
and come away.
14O my dove, in the clefts of the rock,
in the crannies of the cliff,
let me see your face,
let me hear your voice,
for your voice is sweet,
and your face is lovely.
15Catch the foxesOr jackals“>7 for us,
the little foxes
that spoil the vineyards,
for our vineyards are in blossom.”
16My beloved is mine, and I am his;
he grazesOr he pastures his flock“>8 among the lilies.
17Until the day breathes
and the shadows flee,
turn, my beloved, be like a gazelle
or a young stag on cleft mountains.Or mountains of Bether“>9
The Bride’s Dream
3On my bed by night
I sought him whom my soul loves;
I sought him, but found him not.
2I 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.
3The watchmen found me
as they went about in the city.
“Have you seen him whom my soul loves?”
4Scarcely 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.
5I 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 Wedding
6What is that coming up from the wilderness
like columns of smoke,
perfumed with myrrh and frankincense,
with all the fragrant powders of a merchant?
7Behold, it is the litterThat is, the couch on which servants carry a king“>10 of Solomon!
Around it are sixty mighty men,
some of the mighty men of Israel,
8all of them wearing swords
and expert in war,
each with his sword at his thigh,
against terror by night.
9King Solomon made himself a carriageOr sedan chair“>11
from the wood of Lebanon.
10He made its posts of silver,
its back of gold, its seat of purple;
its interior was inlaid with love
by the daughters of Jerusalem.
11Go 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.
Solomon Admires His Bride’s Beauty
He
4Behold, 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.
2Your 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.
3Your lips are like a scarlet thread,
and your mouth is lovely.
Your cheeks are like halves of a pomegranate
behind your veil.
4Your neck is like the tower of David,
built in rows of stone;The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain“>12
on it hang a thousand shields,
all of them shields of warriors.
5Your two breasts are like two fawns,
twins of a gazelle,
that graze among the lilies.
6Until the day breathes
and the shadows flee,
I will go away to the mountain of myrrh
and the hill of frankincense.
7You are altogether beautiful, my love;
there is no flaw in you.
8Come with me from Lebanon, my bride;
come with me from Lebanon.
DepartOr Look“>13 from the peak of Amana,
from the peak of Senir and Hermon,
from the dens of lions,
from the mountains of leopards.
9You 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.
10How 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!
11Your lips drip nectar, my bride;
honey and milk are under your tongue;
the fragrance of your garments is like the fragrance of Lebanon.
12A garden locked is my sister, my bride,
a spring locked, a fountain sealed.
13Your shoots are an orchard of pomegranates
with all choicest fruits,
henna with nard,
14nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon,
with all trees of frankincense,
myrrh and aloes,
with all choice spices—
15a garden fountain, a well of living water,
and flowing streams from Lebanon.
16Awake, O north wind,
and come, O south wind!
Blow upon my garden,
let its spices flow.
Together in the Garden of Love
She
Let my beloved come to his garden,
and eat its choicest fruits.
Footnotes
[1] 1:2
[2] 1:11
[3] 2:1
[4] 2:4
[5] 2:7
[6] 2:12
[7] 2:15
[8] 2:16
[9] 2:17
[10] 3:7
[11] 3:9
[12] 4:4
[13] 4:8
(ESV)
Psalm:
Psalm 79
Psalm 79 (Listen)
How Long, O Lord?
A Psalm of Asaph.
79O God, the nations have come into your inheritance;
they have defiled your holy temple;
they have laid Jerusalem in ruins.
2They have given the bodies of your servants
to the birds of the heavens for food,
the flesh of your faithful to the beasts of the earth.
3They have poured out their blood like water
all around Jerusalem,
and there was no one to bury them.
4We have become a taunt to our neighbors,
mocked and derided by those around us.
5How long, O LORD? Will you be angry forever?
Will your jealousy burn like fire?
6Pour out your anger on the nations
that do not know you,
and on the kingdoms
that do not call upon your name!
7For they have devoured Jacob
and laid waste his habitation.
8Do not remember against us our former iniquities;Or the iniquities of former generations“>1
let your compassion come speedily to meet us,
for we are brought very low.
9Help us, O God of our salvation,
for the glory of your name;
deliver us, and atone for our sins,
for your name’s sake!
10Why should the nations say,
“Where is their God?”
Let the avenging of the outpoured blood of your servants
be known among the nations before our eyes!
11Let the groans of the prisoners come before you;
according to your great power, preserve those doomed to die!
12Return sevenfold into the lap of our neighbors
the taunts with which they have taunted you, O Lord!
13But we your people, the sheep of your pasture,
will give thanks to you forever;
from generation to generation we will recount your praise.
Footnotes
[1] 79:8
(ESV)
New Testament:
Acts 2
Acts 2 (Listen)
The Coming of the Holy Spirit
2When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. 2And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and restedOr And tongues as of fire appeared to them, distributed among them, and rested“>1 on each one of them. 4And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.
5Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. 6And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. 7And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? 9Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, 11both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians—we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.” 12And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” 13But others mocking said, “They are filled with new wine.”
Peter’s Sermon at Pentecost
14But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them: “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words. 15For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day.That is, 9 a.m.“>2 16But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel:
17“‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares,
that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh,
and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
and your young men shall see visions,
and your old men shall dream dreams;
18even on my male servants and female servants
in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy.
19And I will show wonders in the heavens above
and signs on the earth below,
blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke;
20the sun shall be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood,
before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day.
21And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.’
22“Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know—23this Jesus,Greek this one“>3 delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. 24God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it. 25For David says concerning him,
“‘I saw the Lord always before me,
for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken;
26therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced;
my flesh also will dwell in hope.
27For you will not abandon my soul to Hades,
or let your Holy One see corruption.
28You have made known to me the paths of life;
you will make me full of gladness with your presence.’
29“Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. 30Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, 31he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. 32This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. 33Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. 34For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says,
“‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at my right hand,
35until I make your enemies your footstool.”’
36Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.”
37Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” 38And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” 40And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” 41So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.
The Fellowship of the Believers
42And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. 43And aweOr fear“>4 came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. 44And all who believed were together and had all things in common. 45And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, 47praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.
Footnotes
[1] 2:3
[2] 2:15
[3] 2:23
[4] 2:43
(ESV)
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