Old/New Testament
Solomon Praises the Beauty of His Bride
4 “[a]Behold, you are beautiful, (A)my darling,
Behold, you are beautiful!
Your (B)eyes are like doves (C)behind your veil;
Your (D)hair is like a flock of goats
That have leapt down from Mount (E)Gilead.
2 Your (F)teeth are like a flock of newly shorn ewes
Which have come up from their washing,
All of which bear twins,
And not one among them has [b]lost her young.
3 Your lips are like a (G)scarlet thread,
And your (H)mouth is lovely.
Your (I)temples are like a slice of a pomegranate
Behind your veil.
4 Your (J)neck is like the tower of David,
Built [c]with rows of stones
On which are (K)hung one thousand shields,
All the small (L)shields of the mighty men.
5 Your (M)two breasts are like two fawns,
Twins of a gazelle
Which [d](N)feed among the lilies.
6 (O)Until the day breathes
And the shadows flee,
I will go my way to the mountain of (P)myrrh
And to the hill of (Q)frankincense.
7 “(R)You are altogether beautiful, my darling,
And there is no blemish in you.
8 Come with me from (S)Lebanon, my (T)bride,
May you come with me from Lebanon.
[e]Journey down from the top of (U)Amana,
From the top of (V)Senir and Hermon,
From the dens of lions,
From the mountains of leopards.
9 You have made my heart beat faster, (W)my sister, my bride;
You have made my heart beat faster with a single glance of your eyes,
With a single strand of your (X)necklace.
10 (Y)How beautiful is your love, my sister, my bride!
How much (Z)better is your love than wine,
And the (AA)fragrance of your oils
Than all kinds of [f]spices!
11 Your lips, my bride, (AB)drip (AC)honey from the comb;
Honey and milk are under your tongue,
And the fragrance of your garments is like the (AD)fragrance of Lebanon.
12 A garden locked is my sister, my bride,
A [g]rock garden locked, a (AE)spring (AF)sealed up.
13 Your shoots are [h]an (AG)orchard of (AH)pomegranates
With (AI)choice fruits, (AJ)henna with nard plants,
14 (AK)Nard and saffron, calamus and (AL)cinnamon,
With all the trees of (AM)frankincense,
(AN)Myrrh and aloes, along with all the finest [i]spices.
15 You are a garden spring,
A well of [j](AO)fresh water,
And streams flowing from Lebanon.”
16 “[k]Awake, O north wind,
And come, wind of the south;
Make my (AP)garden breathe out fragrance,
Let its [l]spices flow forth.
May (AQ)my beloved come into his garden
And eat its (AR)choice fruits!”
The Bride Searches for Her Beloved
5 “[m]I have (AS)come into my garden, (AT)my sister, my bride;
I have picked my (AU)myrrh along with my balsam.
I have eaten my honeycomb with my (AV)honey;
I have (AW)drunk my wine with my milk.
Eat, (AX)friends;
Drink and [n]imbibe deeply, O lovers.”
2 “[o]I was asleep, but my heart was awake.
A voice! My beloved was knocking:
‘Open to me, (AY)my sister, my darling,
(AZ)My dove, my perfect one!
For my head is full of dew,
My (BA)locks with the [p]damp of the night.’
3 I have (BB)taken off my long-sleeved garment,
How can I put it on again?
I have (BC)washed my feet,
How can I dirty them again?
4 My beloved sent forth his hand through the opening,
And my [q](BD)feelings moaned for him.
5 I arose to open to my beloved;
And my hands (BE)dripped with myrrh,
And my fingers with [r]liquid myrrh,
On the handles of the lock.
6 I opened to my beloved,
But my beloved had (BF)turned away and passed by!
My soul went out to him as he (BG)spoke.
I (BH)searched for him, but I did not find him;
I (BI)called him, but he did not answer me.
7 The (BJ)watchmen who go about in the city found me,
They struck me and wounded me;
The guardsmen of the walls took away my shawl from me.
8 I (BK)call you to solemnly swear, O daughters of Jerusalem,
If you find my beloved,
What will you tell him?
Tell him that (BL)I am sick with love.”
9 “[s]What is your beloved that he is more than any other beloved,
O (BM)most beautiful among women?
What is your beloved that he is more than any other beloved,
That thus you call us to solemnly swear?”
The Bride Extols Her Beloved
10 “[t]My beloved is dazzling and (BN)ruddy,
(BO)Lifted up as a banner among ten thousand.
11 His head is like gold, fine gold;
His (BP)locks are like clusters of dates
And black as a raven.
12 His (BQ)eyes are like doves
Beside streams of water,
Washed in milk,
And sitting in their (BR)setting.
13 His cheeks are like a (BS)bed of spices,
Towers of sweet-scented herbs;
His lips are (BT)lilies
(BU)Dripping with liquid myrrh.
14 His hands are rods of gold
Set with (BV)beryl;
His abdomen is a plate of ivory
Inlaid with [u](BW)sapphires.
15 His legs are pillars of marble
Set on bases of fine gold;
His appearance is like (BX)Lebanon
Choice as the (BY)cedars.
16 His [v](BZ)mouth is full of sweetness.
And he is wholly (CA)desirable.
This is my beloved and this is my friend,
O daughters of Jerusalem.”
The Righteous Shall Live by Faith
3 O foolish (A)Galatians, who bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ (B)was publicly portrayed as crucified? 2 This is the only thing I want to learn from you: did you receive the Spirit by the works of [a]the Law, or by [b](C)hearing with faith? 3 Are you so foolish? Having begun [c]by the Spirit, are you now [d]being perfected by the flesh? 4 Did you [e]suffer so many things for nothing—(D)if indeed it was for nothing? 5 So then, does He who (E)provides you with the Spirit and (F)works [f]miracles among you, do it by the works of [g]the Law, or by [h](G)hearing with faith?
6 Just as (H)Abraham (I)believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness, 7 so know that (J)those who are of faith, those are (K)sons of Abraham. 8 And the Scripture, foreseeing that God [i]would justify the [j]Gentiles by faith, proclaimed the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “(L)All the nations will be blessed in you.” 9 So then (M)those who are of faith are blessed with [k]Abraham, the believer.
10 For as many as are of the works of [l]the Law are under a curse, for it is written, “(N)Cursed is everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law, to do them.” 11 Now that (O)no one is justified [m]by [n]the Law before God is evident, [o]for “(P)The righteous shall live by faith.” 12 [p]However, the Law is not [q]of faith; rather, “(Q)He who does them shall live [r]by them.” 13 Christ (R)redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us—for it is written, “(S)Cursed is everyone who hangs on (T)a [s]tree”— 14 in order that (U)in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might [t]come to the Gentiles, so that we (V)would receive (W)the promise of the Spirit through faith.
The Promise by Faith
15 (X)Brothers, (Y)I speak [u]in human terms: (Z)even though it is only a man’s [v]covenant, yet when it has been ratified, no one sets it aside or adds [w]conditions to it. 16 Now the promises were spoken (AA)to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say, “And to seeds,” as referring to many, but rather to one, “And (AB)to your seed,” that is, Christ. 17 And what I am saying is this: the Law, which came (AC)430 years later, does not invalidate a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to abolish the promise. 18 For (AD)if the inheritance is by law, it is no longer by promise, but (AE)God has granted it to Abraham through promise.
19 (AF)Why the Law then? It was added [x]because of trespasses, having been (AG)ordained through angels (AH)by the hand of a mediator, until (AI)the seed would come to whom the promise had been made. 20 Now (AJ)a mediator is not [y]for one person only, whereas God is one. 21 Is the Law then contrary to the promises of God? (AK)May it never be! For (AL)if a law had been given which was able to impart life, then righteousness would indeed be by law. 22 But the Scripture has (AM)shut up [z]everyone under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.
23 But before faith came, we were held in custody under the Law, (AN)being shut up for the coming faith to be revealed. 24 Therefore the Law has become our (AO)tutor unto Christ, so that (AP)we may be justified by faith. 25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a [aa](AQ)tutor. 26 For you are all (AR)sons of God through faith in (AS)Christ Jesus. 27 For all of you who were (AT)baptized into Christ have (AU)clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 (AV)There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is no (AW)male and female, for (AX)you are all one in (AY)Christ Jesus. 29 And if (AZ)you [ab]belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s [ac]seed, heirs according to (BA)promise.
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