Song of Solomon 4–5; Galatians 3

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Song of Solomon 4–5

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.


Galatians 3

By Faith, or by Works of the Law?

O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? zIt was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly aportrayed as crucified. Let me ask you only this: bDid you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by chearing with faith? Are you so foolish? dHaving begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by1 the flesh? eDid you suffer2 so many things in vainif indeed it was in vain? Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and fworks miracles among you do so gby works of the law, or by hearing with faith just as hAbraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness?

Know then that it is ithose of faith who are jthe sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that kGod would justify3 the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, lIn you shall all the nations be blessed. So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.

The Righteous Shall Live by Faith

10 For all who rely on works of the law are munder a curse; for it is written, nCursed be everyone who does not oabide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them. 11 Now it is evident that pno one is justified before God by the law, for qThe righteous shall live by faith.4 12 But the law is not of faith, rather rThe one who does them shall live by them. 13 Christ sredeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for usfor it is written, tCursed is everyone who is hanged uon a tree 14 so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might vcome to the Gentiles, so that wwe might receive xthe promised Spirit5 through faith.

The Law and the Promise

15 yTo give a human example, brothers:6 zeven with a man-made covenant, no one annuls it or adds to it once it has been ratified. 16 Now athe promises were made bto Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, And to offsprings, referring to many, but referring to one, cAnd to your offspring, who is Christ. 17 This is what I mean: the law, which came d430 years afterward, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as eto make the promise void. 18 For if the inheritance comes by the law, it no longer comes by promise; but fGod gave it to Abraham by a promise.

19 Why then the law? gIt was added because of transgressions, huntil the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made, and it was iput in place through angels jby an intermediary. 20 Now kan intermediary implies more than one, but lGod is one.

21 Is the law then contrary to the promises of God? Certainly not! For mif a law had been given that could give life, then righteousness would indeed be by the law. 22 But the Scripture nimprisoned everything under sin, so that othe promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given pto those who believe.

23 Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, qimprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. 24 So then, rthe law was our sguardian until Christ came, tin order that we might be justified by faith. 25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, 26 for in Christ Jesus uyou are all sons of God, through faith. 27 For as many of you as vwere baptized winto Christ have xput on Christ. 28 yThere is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave7 nor free, zthere is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And aif you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, bheirs according to promise.