SONG OF SOLOMON 1

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The Young Shulammite Bride and Jerusalem’s Daughters  1:1 The Song of Songs, which is Solomon’s.
2 “May he kiss me with the kisses of his mouth!

For your love is better than wine.

3 “Your oils have a pleasing fragrance,

Your name is like purified oil;

Therefore the maidens love you.

4 “Draw me after you and let us run together!

The king has brought me into his chambers.”

“We will rejoice in you and be glad;

We will extol your love more than wine.

Rightly do they love you.”

5 “I am black but lovely,

O daughters of Jerusalem,

Like the tents of Kedar,

Like the curtains of Solomon.

6 “Do not stare at me because I am swarthy,

For the sun has burned me.

My mother’s sons were angry with me;

They made me caretaker of the vineyards,

But I have not taken care of my own vineyard.

7 “Tell me, O you whom my soul loves,

Where do you pasture your flock,

Where do you make it lie down at noon?

For why should I be like one who veils herself

Beside the flocks of your companions?”

Solomon, the Lover, Speaks8 “If you yourself do not know,

Most beautiful among women,

Go forth on the trail of the flock

And pasture your young goats

By the tents of the shepherds.

9 “To me, my darling, you are like

My mare among the chariots of Pharaoh.

10 “Your cheeks are lovely with ornaments,

Your neck with strings of beads.”

11 “We will make for you ornaments of gold

With beads of silver.”

12 “While the king was at his table,

My perfume gave forth its fragrance.

13 “My beloved is to me a pouch of myrrh

Which lies all night between my breasts.

14 “My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blossoms

In the vineyards of Engedi.”

15 “How beautiful you are, my darling,

How beautiful you are!

Your eyes are like doves.”

16 “How handsome you are, my beloved,

And so pleasant!

Indeed, our couch is luxuriant!

17 “The beams of our houses are cedars,

Our rafters, cypresses.

SONG OF SOLOMON 2

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The Bride’s Admiration2:1 “I am the rose of Sharon,

The lily of the valleys.”

2 “Like a lily among the thorns,

So is my darling among the maidens.”

3 “Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest,

So is my beloved among the young men.

In his shade I took great delight and sat down,

And his fruit was sweet to my taste.

4 “He has brought me to his banquet hall,

And his banner over me is love.

5 “Sustain me with raisin cakes,

Refresh me with apples,

Because I am lovesick.

6 “Let his left hand be under my head

And his right hand embrace me.”

7 “I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,

By the gazelles or by the hinds of the field,

That you do not arouse or awaken my love

Until she pleases.”

8 “Listen! My beloved!

Behold, he is coming,

Climbing on the mountains,

Leaping on the hills!

9 “My beloved is like a gazelle or a young stag.

Behold, he is standing behind our wall,

He is looking through the windows,

He is peering through the lattice.

10 “My beloved responded and said to me,

‘Arise, my darling, my beautiful one,

And come along.

11 ‘For behold, the winter is past,

The rain is over and gone.

12 ‘The flowers have already appeared in the land;

The time has arrived for pruning the vines,

And the voice of the turtledove has been heard in our land.

13 ‘The fig tree has ripened its figs,

And the vines in blossom have given forth their fragrance.

Arise, my darling, my beautiful one,

And come along!’”

14 “O my dove, in the clefts of the rock,

In the secret place of the steep pathway,

Let me see your form,

Let me hear your voice;

For your voice is sweet,

And your form is lovely.”

15 “Catch the foxes for us,

The little foxes that are ruining the vineyards,

While our vineyards are in blossom.”

16 “My beloved is mine, and I am his;

He pastures his flock among the lilies.

17 “Until the cool of the day when the shadows flee away,

Turn, my beloved, and be like a gazelle

Or a young stag on the mountains of Bether.”

PROVERBS 29

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Warnings and Instructions29:1 A man who hardens his neck after much reproof

Will suddenly be broken beyond remedy.

2 When the righteous increase, the people rejoice,

But when a wicked man rules, people groan.

3 A man who loves wisdom makes his father glad,

But he who keeps company with harlots wastes his wealth.

4 The king gives stability to the land by justice,

But a man who takes bribes overthrows it.

5 A man who flatters his neighbor

Is spreading a net for his steps.

6 By transgression an evil man is ensnared,

But the righteous sings and rejoices.

7 The righteous is concerned for the rights of the poor,

The wicked does not understand such concern.

8 Scorners set a city aflame,

But wise men turn away anger.

9 When a wise man has a controversy with a foolish man,

The foolish man either rages or laughs, and there is no rest.

10 Men of bloodshed hate the blameless,

But the upright are concerned for his life.

11 A fool always loses his temper,

But a wise man holds it back.

12 If a ruler pays attention to falsehood,

All his ministers become wicked.

13 The poor man and the oppressor have this in common:

The LORD gives light to the eyes of both.

14 If a king judges the poor with truth,

His throne will be established forever.

15 The rod and reproof give wisdom,

But a child who gets his own way brings shame to his mother.

16 When the wicked increase, transgression increases;

But the righteous will see their fall.

17 Correct your son, and he will give you comfort;

He will also delight your soul.

18 Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained,

But happy is he who keeps the law.

19 A slave will not be instructed by words alone;

For though he understands, there will be no response.

20 Do you see a man who is hasty in his words?

There is more hope for a fool than for him.

21 He who pampers his slave from childhood

Will in the end find him to be a son.

22 An angry man stirs up strife,

And a hot-tempered man abounds in transgression.

23 A man’s pride will bring him low,

But a humble spirit will obtain honor.

24 He who is a partner with a thief hates his own life;

He hears the oath but tells nothing.

25 The fear of man brings a snare,

But he who trusts in the LORD will be exalted.

26 Many seek the ruler’s favor,

But justice for man comes from the LORD.

27 An unjust man is abominable to the righteous,

And he who is upright in the way is abominable to the wicked.

PSALM 101

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The Psalmist’s Profession of Uprightness.A Psalm of David.
101:1 I will sing of lovingkindness and justice,

To You, O LORD, I will sing praises.

2 I will give heed to the blameless way.

When will You come to me?

I will walk within my house in the integrity of my heart.

3 I will set no worthless thing before my eyes;

I hate the work of those who fall away;

It shall not fasten its grip on me.

4 A perverse heart shall depart from me;

I will know no evil.

5 Whoever secretly slanders his neighbor, him I will destroy;

No one who has a haughty look and an arrogant heart will I endure.

6 My eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me;

He who walks in a blameless way is the one who will minister to me.

7 He who practices deceit shall not dwell within my house;

He who speaks falsehood shall not maintain his position before me.

8 Every morning I will destroy all the wicked of the land,

So as to cut off from the city of the LORD all those who do iniquity.

PSALM 102

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Prayer of an Afflicted Man for Mercy on Himself and on Zion.A Prayer of the Afflicted when he is faint and pours out his complaint before the LORD.
102:1 Hear my prayer, O LORD!

And let my cry for help come to You.

2 Do not hide Your face from me in the day of my distress;

Incline Your ear to me;

In the day when I call answer me quickly.

3 For my days have been consumed in smoke,

And my bones have been scorched like a hearth.

4 My heart has been smitten like grass and has withered away,

Indeed, I forget to eat my bread.

5 Because of the loudness of my groaning

My bones cling to my flesh.

6 I resemble a pelican of the wilderness;

I have become like an owl of the waste places.

7 I lie awake,

I have become like a lonely bird on a housetop.

8 My enemies have reproached me all day long;

Those who deride me have used my name as a curse.

9 For I have eaten ashes like bread

And mingled my drink with weeping

10 Because of Your indignation and Your wrath,

For You have lifted me up and cast me away.

11 My days are like a lengthened shadow,

And I wither away like grass.

12 But You, O LORD, abide forever,

And Your name to all generations.

13 You will arise and have compassion on Zion;

For it is time to be gracious to her,

For the appointed time has come.

14 Surely Your servants find pleasure in her stones

And feel pity for her dust.

15 So the nations will fear the name of the LORD

And all the kings of the earth Your glory.

16 For the LORD has built up Zion;

He has appeared in His glory.

17 He has regarded the prayer of the destitute

And has not despised their prayer.

18 This will be written for the generation to come,

That a people yet to be created may praise the LORD.

19 For He looked down from His holy height;

From heaven the LORD gazed upon the earth,

20 To hear the groaning of the prisoner,

To set free those who were doomed to death,

21 That men may tell of the name of the LORD in Zion

And His praise in Jerusalem,

22 When the peoples are gathered together,

And the kingdoms, to serve the LORD.

23 He has weakened my strength in the way;

He has shortened my days.

24 I say, “O my God, do not take me away in the midst of my days,

Your years are throughout all generations.

25 “Of old You founded the earth,

And the heavens are the work of Your hands.

26 “Even they will perish, but You endure;

And all of them will wear out like a garment;

Like clothing You will change them and they will be changed.

27 “But You are the same,

And Your years will not come to an end.

28 “The children of Your servants will continue,

And their descendants will be established before You.”