Song of Solomon 4–6; Ephesians 1

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Song of Solomon 4–6

Solomon Admires His Bride’s Beauty

He

Behold, myou are beautiful, my love,

behold, you are beautiful!

nYour eyes are doves

obehind your veil.

pYour hair is like a flock of goats

leaping down qthe slopes of Gilead.

Your rteeth are like a flock of shorn ewes

that have come up from the washing,

all of which bear twins,

and not one among them has lost its young.

Your lips are like sa scarlet thread,

and your mouth is tlovely.

Your ucheeks are like halves of a pomegranate

obehind your veil.

Your vneck is like the tower of David,

built in wrows of stone;1

on it xhang a thousand shields,

all of ythem shields of warriors.

Your ztwo breasts are like two afawns,

twins of a gazelle,

that bgraze among the lilies.

cUntil the day breathes

and the shadows flee,

I will go away to the mountain of dmyrrh

and the hill of dfrankincense.

eYou are altogether beautiful, my love;

there is no fflaw in you.

gCome with me from hLebanon, my ibride;

come with me from hLebanon.

Depart2 from the peak of Amana,

from the peak of jSenir and kHermon,

from the dens of lions,

from the mountains of leopards.

You have captivated my heart, my lsister, my bride;

you have captivated my heart with one glance of your eyes,

with one mjewel of your necklace.

10  How beautiful is your love, my lsister, my bride!

How much nbetter is your love than wine,

and othe fragrance of your oils than any spice!

11  Your plips drip nectar, my bride;

qhoney and milk are under your tongue;

the fragrance of your garments is rlike the fragrance of hLebanon.

12  A garden locked is my lsister, my bride,

a spring locked, sa fountain tsealed.

13  Your shoots are uan orchard of pomegranates

with all vchoicest fruits,

whenna with xnard,

14  nard and saffron, ycalamus and ycinnamon,

with all trees of zfrankincense,

amyrrh and baloes,

with all ychoice spices

15  a garden fountain, a well of cliving water,

and flowing streams from hLebanon.

16  Awake, O north wind,

and come, O south wind!

Blow upon my dgarden,

let its spices flow.

Together in the Garden of Love

She

eLet my beloved come to his fgarden,

and eat its vchoicest fruits.

He

I gcame to my garden, my hsister, my bride,

I gathered my imyrrh with my spice,

I ate my jhoneycomb with my honey,

I kdrank my wine with my milk.

Others

Eat, lfriends, drink,

and be drunk with love!

The Bride Searches for Her Beloved

She

I slept, but my heart was awake.

A sound! My beloved is mknocking.

Open to me, my nsister, my olove,

my pdove, my qperfect one,

for my head is wet with dew,

my rlocks with the drops of the night.

sI had put off my garment;

how could I put it on?

I had tbathed my feet;

how could I soil them?

My beloved put his hand to the latch,

and my heart was thrilled within me.

I arose to open to my beloved,

and my hands dripped with myrrh,

my fingers with uliquid myrrh,

on the handles of the bolt.

I opened to my beloved,

but my beloved had turned and gone.

My soul failed me when he vspoke.

wI sought him, but found him not;

xI called him, but he gave no answer.

yThe watchmen found me

as they went about in the city;

they beat me, they bruised me,

they took away my veil,

those watchmen of the walls.

I zadjure you, O adaughters of Jerusalem,

if you find my beloved,

that you tell him

bI am sick with love.

Others

What is your beloved more than another beloved,

O cmost beautiful among women?

What is your beloved more than another beloved,

that you thus zadjure us?

The Bride Praises Her Beloved

She

10  My beloved is radiant and druddy,

edistinguished among ten thousand.

11  His head is the finest gold;

fhis locks are wavy,

black as a raven.

12  His geyes are like doves

beside streams of water,

bathed in milk,

sitting beside a full pool.3

13  His icheeks are like jbeds of spices,

mounds of sweet-smelling herbs.

His lips are klilies,

dripping uliquid myrrh.

14  His arms are rods of gold,

set with ljewels.

His body is polished ivory,4

bedecked with msapphires.5

15  His legs are alabaster columns,

set on bases of gold.

His appearance is like oLebanon,

choice as the cedars.

16  His pmouth6 is most sweet,

and he is altogether desirable.

This is my beloved and this is my friend,

O adaughters of Jerusalem.

Others

Where has your beloved gone,

O cmost beautiful among women?

Where has your beloved turned,

that we may seek him with you?

Together in the Garden of Love

She

My beloved has gone down to his qgarden

to rthe beds of spices,

to sgraze7 in the gardens

and to gather tlilies.

uI am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine;

he grazes among the lilies.

Solomon and His Bride Delight in Each Other

He

You are beautiful as vTirzah, wmy love,

xlovely as yJerusalem,

zawesome as an army with banners.

Turn away your eyes from me,

for they overwhelm me

aYour hair is like a flock of goats

leaping down the slopes of Gilead.

bYour teeth are like a flock of ewes

that have come up from the washing;

all of them bear twins;

not one among them has lost its young.

cYour cheeks are like halves of a pomegranate

behind your veil.

There are dsixty equeens and eighty econcubines,

and fvirgins without number.

My gdove, my hperfect one, is the only one,

the only one of her mother,

pure to iher who bore her.

jThe young women saw her and called her blessed;

ethe queens and econcubines also, and they praised her.

10  kWho is this who looks down like the dawn,

beautiful as the moon, bright as the sun,

lawesome as an army with banners?

She

11  I went down to the nut orchard

to look at mthe blossoms of the valley,

nto see whether the vines had budded,

whether the pomegranates were in bloom.

12  oBefore I was aware, my desire set me

among pthe chariots of my kinsman, a prince.8

Others

13  9 Return, return, O qShulammite,

return, return, that we may look upon you.

He

Why should you look upon qthe Shulammite,

as upon ra dance before stwo armies?10


Ephesians 1

Greeting

Paul, aan apostle of Christ Jesus bby the will of God,

To the saints who are in Ephesus, and care faithful1 in Christ Jesus:

dGrace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Spiritual Blessings in Christ

eBlessed be fthe God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing gin the heavenly places, heven as he ichose us in him jbefore the foundation of the world, that we should be kholy and blameless before him. In love lhe predestined us2 for madoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, naccording to the purpose of his will, oto the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in pthe Beloved. qIn him we have rredemption sthrough his blood, tthe forgiveness of our trespasses, uaccording to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight vmaking known3 to us the mystery of his will, naccording to his purpose, which he wset forth in Christ 10 as a plan for xthe fullness of time, yto unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.

11 In him we have obtained zan inheritance, ahaving been predestined baccording to the purpose of him who works all things according to cthe counsel of his will, 12 so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be dto the praise of his glory. 13 In him you also, when you heard ethe word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, fwere sealed with the gpromised Holy Spirit, 14 who is hthe guarantee4 of our iinheritance until jwe acquire kpossession of it,5 lto the praise of his glory.

Thanksgiving and Prayer

15 For this reason, mbecause I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love6 toward all the saints, 16 I ndo not cease to give thanks for you, oremembering you in my prayers, 17 that pthe God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, qmay give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, 18 rhaving the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is sthe hope to which he has called you, what are tthe riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, uaccording to the working of vhis great might 20 that he worked in Christ wwhen he raised him from the dead and xseated him at his right hand yin the heavenly places, 21 zfar above aall rule and authority and power and dominion, and above bevery name that is named, not only in cthis age but also in the one to come. 22 And dhe put all things under his feet and gave him as ehead over all things to the church, 23 fwhich is his body, gthe fullness of him hwho fills iall in all.