SONG OF SOLOMON 3

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The Bride’s Troubled Dream3:1 “On my bed night after night I sought him

Whom my soul loves;

I sought him but did not find him.

2 ‘I must arise now and go about the city;

In the streets and in the squares

I must seek him whom my soul loves.’

I sought him but did not find him.

3 “The watchmen who make the rounds in the city found me,

And I said, ‘Have you seen him whom my soul loves?’

4 “Scarcely had I left them

When I found him whom my soul loves;

I held on to him and would not let him go

Until I had brought him to my mother’s house,

And into the room of her who conceived me.”

5 “I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,

By the gazelles or by the hinds of the field,

That you will not arouse or awaken my love

Until she pleases.”

Solomon’s Wedding Day6 “What is this coming up from the wilderness

Like columns of smoke,

Perfumed with myrrh and frankincense,

With all scented powders of the merchant?

7 “Behold, it is the traveling couch of Solomon;

Sixty mighty men around it,

Of the mighty men of Israel.

8 “All of them are wielders of the sword,

Expert in war;

Each man has his sword at his side,

Guarding against the terrors of the night.

9 “King Solomon has made for himself a sedan chair

From the timber of Lebanon.

10 “He made its posts of silver,

Its back of gold

And its seat of purple fabric,

With its interior lovingly fitted out

By the daughters of Jerusalem.

11 “Go forth, O daughters of Zion,

And gaze on King Solomon with the crown

With which his mother has crowned him

On the day of his wedding,

And on the day of his gladness of heart.”

SONG OF SOLOMON 4

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Solomon’s Love Expressed4:1 “How beautiful you are, my darling,

How beautiful you are!

Your eyes are like doves behind your veil;

Your hair is like a flock of goats

That have descended from Mount Gilead.

2 “Your 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 lost her young.

3 “Your lips are like a scarlet thread,

And your mouth is lovely.

Your temples are like a slice of a pomegranate

Behind your veil.

4 “Your neck is like the tower of David,

Built with rows of stones

On which are hung a thousand shields,

All the round shields of the mighty men.

5 “Your two breasts are like two fawns,

Twins of a gazelle

Which feed among the lilies.

6 “Until the cool of the day

When the shadows flee away,

I will go my way to the mountain of myrrh

And to the hill of frankincense.

7 “You are altogether beautiful, my darling,

And there is no blemish in you.

8 “Come with me from Lebanon, my bride,

May you come with me from Lebanon.

Journey down from the summit of Amana,

From the summit of Senir and Hermon,

From the dens of lions,

From the mountains of leopards.

9 “You have made my heart beat faster, my sister, my bride;

You have made my heart beat faster with a single glance of your eyes,

With a single strand of your necklace.

10 “How beautiful is your love, my sister, my bride!

How much better is your love than wine,

And the fragrance of your oils

Than all kinds of spices!

11 “Your lips, my bride, drip honey;

Honey and milk are under your tongue,

And the fragrance of your garments is like the fragrance of Lebanon.

12 “A garden locked is my sister, my bride,

A rock garden locked, a spring sealed up.

13 “Your shoots are an orchard of pomegranates

With choice fruits, henna with nard plants,

14 Nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon,

With all the trees of frankincense,

Myrrh and aloes, along with all the finest spices.

15 “You are a garden spring,

A well of fresh water,

And streams flowing from Lebanon.”

16 “Awake, O north wind,

And come, wind of the south;

Make my garden breathe out fragrance,

Let its spices be wafted abroad.

May my beloved come into his garden

And eat its choice fruits!”

PSALM 52

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Futility of Boastful Wickedness.For the choir director. A Maskil of David, when Doeg the Edomite came and told Saul and said to him, “David has come to the house of Ahimelech.”
52:1 Why do you boast in evil, O mighty man?

The lovingkindness of God endures all day long.

2 Your tongue devises destruction,

Like a sharp razor, O worker of deceit.

3 You love evil more than good,

Falsehood more than speaking what is right. Selah.

4 You love all words that devour,

O deceitful tongue.

5 But God will break you down forever;

He will snatch you up and tear you away from your tent,

And uproot you from the land of the living. Selah.

6 The righteous will see and fear,

And will laugh at him, saying,

7 “Behold, the man who would not make God his refuge,

But trusted in the abundance of his riches

And was strong in his evil desire.”

8 But as for me, I am like a green olive tree in the house of God;

I trust in the lovingkindness of God forever and ever.

9 I will give You thanks forever, because You have done it,

And I will wait on Your name, for it is good, in the presence of Your godly ones.

PROVERBS 6

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Parental Counsel6:1 My son, if you have become surety for your neighbor,

Have given a pledge for a stranger,

2 If you have been snared with the words of your mouth,

Have been caught with the words of your mouth,

3 Do this then, my son, and deliver yourself;

Since you have come into the hand of your neighbor,

Go, humble yourself, and importune your neighbor.

4 Give no sleep to your eyes,

Nor slumber to your eyelids;

5 Deliver yourself like a gazelle from the hunter’s hand

And like a bird from the hand of the fowler.

6 Go to the ant, O sluggard,

Observe her ways and be wise,

7 Which, having no chief,

Officer or ruler,

8 Prepares her food in the summer

And gathers her provision in the harvest.

9 How long will you lie down, O sluggard?

When will you arise from your sleep?

10 “A little sleep, a little slumber,

A little folding of the hands to rest”--

11 Your poverty will come in like a vagabond

And your need like an armed man.

12 A worthless person, a wicked man,

Is the one who walks with a perverse mouth,

13 Who winks with his eyes, who signals with his feet,

Who points with his fingers;

14 Who with perversity in his heart continually devises evil,

Who spreads strife.

15 Therefore his calamity will come suddenly;

Instantly he will be broken and there will be no healing.

16 There are six things which the LORD hates,

Yes, seven which are an abomination to Him:

17 Haughty eyes, a lying tongue,

And hands that shed innocent blood,

18 A heart that devises wicked plans,

Feet that run rapidly to evil,

19 A false witness who utters lies,

And one who spreads strife among brothers.

20 My son, observe the commandment of your father

And do not forsake the teaching of your mother;

21 Bind them continually on your heart;

Tie them around your neck.

22 When you walk about, they will guide you;

When you sleep, they will watch over you;

And when you awake, they will talk to you.

23 For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching is light;

And reproofs for discipline are the way of life

24 To keep you from the evil woman,

From the smooth tongue of the adulteress.

25 Do not desire her beauty in your heart,

Nor let her capture you with her eyelids.

26 For on account of a harlot one is reduced to a loaf of bread,

And an adulteress hunts for the precious life.

27 Can a man take fire in his bosom

And his clothes not be burned?

28 Or can a man walk on hot coals

And his feet not be scorched?

29 So is the one who goes in to his neighbor’s wife;

Whoever touches her will not go unpunished.

30 Men do not despise a thief if he steals

To satisfy himself when he is hungry;

31 But when he is found, he must repay sevenfold;

He must give all the substance of his house.

32 The one who commits adultery with a woman is lacking sense;

He who would destroy himself does it.

33 Wounds and disgrace he will find,

And his reproach will not be blotted out.

34 For jealousy enrages a man,

And he will not spare in the day of vengeance.

35 He will not accept any ransom,

Nor will he be satisfied though you give many gifts.