5 I am come into my garden, my sister, my spouse: I have gathered my myrrh with my spice; I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey; I have drunk my wine with my milk: eat, O friends; drink, yea, drink abundantly, O beloved.

² I sleep, but my heart waketh: it is the voice of my beloved that knocketh, saying, Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my undefiled: for my head is filled with dew, and my locks with the drops of the night.

³ I have put off my coat; how shall I put it on? I have washed my feet; how shall I defile them?

⁴ My beloved put in his hand by the hole of the door, and my bowels were moved for him.

⁵ I rose up to open to my beloved; and my hands dropped with myrrh, and my fingers with sweet smelling myrrh, upon the handles of the lock.

⁶ I opened to my beloved; but my beloved had withdrawn himself, and was gone: my soul failed when he spake: I sought him, but I could not find him; I called him, but he gave me no answer.

⁷ The watchmen that went about the city found me, they smote me, they wounded me; the keepers of the walls took away my veil from me.

⁸ I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, if ye find my beloved, that ye tell him, that I am sick of love.

⁹ What is thy beloved more than another beloved, O thou fairest among women? what is thy beloved more than another beloved, that thou dost so charge us?

¹⁰ My beloved is white and ruddy, the chiefest among ten thousand.

¹¹ His head is as the most fine gold, his locks are bushy, and black as a raven.

¹² His eyes are as the eyes of doves by the rivers of waters, washed with milk, and fitly set.

¹³ His cheeks are as a bed of spices, as sweet flowers: his lips like lilies, dropping sweet smelling myrrh.

¹⁴ His hands are as gold rings set with the beryl: his belly is as bright ivory overlaid with sapphires.

¹⁵ His legs are as pillars of marble, set upon sockets of fine gold: his countenance is as Lebanon, excellent as the cedars.

¹⁶ His mouth is most sweet: yea, he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved, and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem.

6 Whither is thy beloved gone, O thou fairest among women? whither is thy beloved turned aside? that we may seek him with thee.

² My beloved is gone down into his garden, to the beds of spices, to feed in the gardens, and to gather lilies.

³ I am my beloved's, and my beloved is mine: he feedeth among the lilies.

⁴ Thou art beautiful, O my love, as Tirzah, comely as Jerusalem, terrible as an army with banners.

⁵ Turn away thine eyes from me, for they have overcome me: thy hair is as a flock of goats that appear from Gilead.

⁶ Thy teeth are as a flock of sheep which go up from the washing, whereof every one beareth twins, and there is not one barren among them.

⁷ As a piece of a pomegranate are thy temples within thy locks.

⁸ There are threescore queens, and fourscore concubines, and virgins without number.

⁹ My dove, my undefiled is but one; she is the only one of her mother, she is the choice one of her that bare her. The daughters saw her, and blessed her; yea, the queens and the concubines, and they praised her.

¹⁰ Who is she that looketh forth as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners?

¹¹ I went down into the garden of nuts to see the fruits of the valley, and to see whether the vine flourished and the pomegranates budded.

¹² Or ever I was aware, my soul made me like the chariots of Amminadib.

¹³ Return, return, O Shulamite; return, return, that we may look upon thee. What will ye see in the Shulamite? As it were the company of two armies.

7 How beautiful are thy feet with shoes, O prince's daughter! the joints of thy thighs are like jewels, the work of the hands of a cunning workman.

² Thy navel is like a round goblet, which wanteth not liquor: thy belly is like an heap of wheat set about with lilies.

³ Thy two breasts are like two young roes that are twins.

⁴ Thy neck is as a tower of ivory; thine eyes like the fishpools in Heshbon, by the gate of Bathrabbim: thy nose is as the tower of Lebanon which looketh toward Damascus.

⁵ Thine head upon thee is like Carmel, and the hair of thine head like purple; the king is held in the galleries.

⁶ How fair and how pleasant art thou, O love, for delights!

⁷ This thy stature is like to a palm tree, and thy breasts to clusters of grapes.

⁸ I said, I will go up to the palm tree, I will take hold of the boughs thereof: now also thy breasts shall be as clusters of the vine, and the smell of thy nose like apples;

⁹ And the roof of thy mouth like the best wine for my beloved, that goeth down sweetly, causing the lips of those that are asleep to speak.

¹⁰ I am my beloved's, and his desire is toward me.

¹¹ Come, my beloved, let us go forth into the field; let us lodge in the villages.

¹² Let us get up early to the vineyards; let us see if the vine flourish, whether the tender grape appear, and the pomegranates bud forth: there will I give thee my loves.

¹³ The mandrakes give a smell, and at our gates are all manner of pleasant fruits, new and old, which I have laid up for thee, O my beloved.

8 O that thou wert as my brother, that sucked the breasts of my mother! when I should find thee without, I would kiss thee; yea, I should not be despised.

² I would lead thee, and bring thee into my mother's house, who would instruct me: I would cause thee to drink of spiced wine of the juice of my pomegranate.

³ His left hand should be under my head, and his right hand should embrace me.

⁴ I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, until he please.

⁵ Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness, leaning upon her beloved? I raised thee up under the apple tree: there thy mother brought thee forth: there she brought thee forth that bare thee.

⁶ Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm: for love is strong as death; jealousy is cruel as the grave: the coals thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame.

⁷ Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it: if a man would give all the substance of his house for love, it would utterly be contemned.

⁸ We have a little sister, and she hath no breasts: what shall we do for our sister in the day when she shall be spoken for?

⁹ If she be a wall, we will build upon her a palace of silver: and if she be a door, we will inclose her with boards of cedar.

¹⁰ I am a wall, and my breasts like towers: then was I in his eyes as one that found favour.

¹¹ Solomon had a vineyard at Baalhamon; he let out the vineyard unto keepers; every one for the fruit thereof was to bring a thousand pieces of silver.

¹² My vineyard, which is mine, is before me: thou, O Solomon, must have a thousand, and those that keep the fruit thereof two hundred.

¹³ Thou that dwellest in the gardens, the companions hearken to thy voice: cause me to hear it.

¹⁴ Make haste, my beloved, and be thou like to a roe or to a young hart upon the mountains of spices.

9 For as touching the ministering to the saints, it is superfluous for me to write to you:

² For I know the forwardness of your mind, for which I boast of you to them of Macedonia, that Achaia was ready a year ago; and your zeal hath provoked very many.

³ Yet have I sent the brethren, lest our boasting of you should be in vain in this behalf; that, as I said, ye may be ready:

⁴ Lest haply if they of Macedonia come with me, and find you unprepared, we (that we say not, ye) should be ashamed in this same confident boasting.

⁵ Therefore I thought it necessary to exhort the brethren, that they would go before unto you, and make up beforehand your bounty, whereof ye had notice before, that the same might be ready, as a matter of bounty, and not as of covetousness.

⁶ But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.

⁷ Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.

⁸ And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:

⁹ (As it is written, He hath dispersed abroad; he hath given to the poor: his righteousness remaineth for ever.

¹⁰ Now he that ministereth seed to the sower both minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness;)

¹¹ Being enriched in every thing to all bountifulness, which causeth through us thanksgiving to God.

¹² For the administration of this service not only supplieth the want of the saints, but is abundant also by many thanksgivings unto God;

¹³ Whiles by the experiment of this ministration they glorify God for your professed subjection unto the gospel of Christ, and for your liberal distribution unto them, and unto all men;

¹⁴ And by their prayer for you, which long after you for the exceeding grace of God in you.

¹⁵ Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.

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51 Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.

² Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.

³ For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.

⁴ Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.

⁵ Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.

⁶ Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.

⁷ Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

⁸ Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.

⁹ Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities.

¹⁰ Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.

¹¹ Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.

¹² Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.

¹³ Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.

¹⁴ Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness.

¹⁵ O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise.

¹⁶ For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering.

¹⁷ The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.

¹⁸ Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion: build thou the walls of Jerusalem.

¹⁹ Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offering and whole burnt offering: then shall they offer bullocks upon thine altar.

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²⁴ Make no friendship with an angry man; and with a furious man thou shalt not go:

²⁵ Lest thou learn his ways, and get a snare to thy soul.

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