1  O Lord, in your ^zstrength the king rejoices,

and in your ^asalvation how greatly he exults!

2  You have ^bgiven him his heart’s desire

and have not withheld the request of his lips. Selah

3  For you ^cmeet him with rich blessings;

you set ^da crown of ^efine gold upon his head.

4  He asked life of you; you ^fgave it to him,

^glength of days forever and ever.

5  His ^hglory is great through your salvation;

ⁱsplendor and majesty you bestow on him.

6  For you make him most blessed forever;¹

you make him glad with the ^jjoy of your presence.

7  For the king trusts in the Lord,

and through the steadfast love of the Most High he shall not be ^kmoved.

8  Your hand will ^lfind out all your enemies;

your right hand will find out those who hate you.

9  You will make them as ^ma blazing oven

when you appear.

The Lord will swallow them up in his ⁿwrath,

and ^ofire will consume them.

10  You ^pwill destroy their ^qdescendants from the earth,

and their offspring from among the children of man.

11  Though they plan evil against you,

though they ^rdevise mischief, they will not succeed.

12  For you will put them ^sto flight;

you will ^taim at their faces with your bows.

13  Be exalted, O Lord, in your strength!

We will sing and praise your power.

1  Oh that you were like a brother to me

who nursed at my mother’s breasts!

If I found you outside, I would kiss you,

and none would despise me.

2  I would lead you and ^rbring you

into the house of my mother—

she who used to teach me.

I would give you ^sspiced wine to drink,

the juice of my pomegranate.

3  ^tHis left hand is under my head,

and his right hand embraces me!

4  I ^uadjure you, O ^vdaughters of Jerusalem,

^wthat you not stir up or awaken love

until it pleases.

5  ^xWho is that coming up from the wilderness,

leaning on her beloved?

Under the apple tree I awakened you.

There your mother was in labor with you;

there she who bore you was in labor.

6  Set me as a seal upon your heart,

as ^ya seal upon your arm,

for ^zlove is strong as death,

^ajealousy¹ is fierce as the grave.²

Its flashes are flashes of fire,

the very ^bflame of the Lord.

7  Many waters cannot quench love,

neither can floods drown it.

If a man offered for love

all the wealth of his ^chouse,

he³ would be utterly despised.

8  We have a little sister,

and she ^dhas no breasts.

What shall we do for our sister

on the day when she is spoken for?

9  If she is a wall,

we will build on her a battlement of silver,

but if she is a door,

we will enclose her with ^eboards of cedar.

10  ^fI was a wall,

and my ^gbreasts were like towers;

then I was in his eyes

as one who finds⁴ peace.

11  Solomon had ^ha vineyard at Baal-hamon;

he ⁱlet out the vineyard to ^jkeepers;

each one was to bring for its fruit ^ka thousand pieces of silver.

12  My vineyard, my very own, is before me;

you, O Solomon, may have the thousand,

and ^lthe keepers of the fruit two hundred.

13  ^mO you who dwell in the gardens,

with ⁿcompanions listening for your voice;

^olet me hear it.

14  ^pMake haste, my beloved,

and be ^qlike a gazelle

or a young stag

on ^rthe mountains of spices.