Monday, 23 September

1.   The song of songs, which is Solomon’s. 2.   THE SHULAMITE Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth––For your love is better than wine. 3.   Because of the fragrance of your good ointments, Your name is ointment poured forth; Therefore the virgins love you. 4.   Draw me away! THE DAUGHTERS OF JERUSALEM We will run after you. THE SHULAMITE The king has brought me into his chambers. THE DAUGHTERS OF JERUSALEM We will be glad and rejoice in you. We will remember your love more than wine. THE SHULAMITE Rightly do they love you. 5.   I am dark, but lovely, O daughters of Jerusalem, Like the tents of Kedar, Like the curtains of Solomon. 6.   Do not look upon me, because I am dark, Because the sun has tanned me. My mother’s sons were angry with me; They made me the keeper of the vineyards, But my own vineyard I have not kept. 7.   (TO HER BELOVED) Tell me, O you whom I love, Where you feed your flock , Where you make it rest at noon. For why should I be as one who veils herself By the flocks of your companions? 8.   THE BELOVED If you do not know, O fairest among women, Follow in the footsteps of the flock, And feed your little goats Beside the shepherds’ tents. 9.   I have compared you, my love, To my filly among Pharaoh’s chariots. 10.   Your cheeks are lovely with ornaments, Your neck with chains of gold . 11.   THE DAUGHTERS OF JERUSALEM We will make you ornaments of gold With studs of silver. 12.   THE SHULAMITE While the king is at his table, My spikenard sends forth its fragrance. 13.   A bundle of myrrh is my beloved to me, That lies all night between my breasts. 14.   My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blooms In the vineyards of En Gedi. 15.   THE BELOVED Behold, you are fair, my love! Behold, you are fair! You have dove’s eyes. 16.   THE SHULAMITE Behold, you are handsome, my beloved! Yes, pleasant! Also our bed is green. 17.   The beams of our houses are cedar, And our rafters of fir.

1.   I am the rose of Sharon, And the lily of the valleys. 2.   THE BELOVED Like a lily among thorns, So is my love among the daughters. 3.   THE SHULAMITE Like an apple tree among the trees of the woods, So is my beloved among the sons. I sat down in his shade with great delight, And his fruit was sweet to my taste. 4.   THE SHULAMITE TO THE DAUGHTERS OF JERUSALEM He brought me to the banqueting house, And his banner over me was love. 5.   Sustain me with cakes of raisins, Refresh me with apples, For I am lovesick. 6.   His left hand is under my head, And his right hand embraces me. 7.   I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, By the gazelles or by the does of the field, Do not stir up nor awaken love Until it pleases. 8.   THE SHULAMITE The voice of my beloved! Behold, he comes Leaping upon the mountains, Skipping upon the hills. 9.   My beloved is like a gazelle or a young stag. Behold, he stands behind our wall; He is looking through the windows, Gazing through the lattice. 10.   My beloved spoke, and said to me: "Rise up, my love, my fair one, And come away. 11.   For lo, the winter is past, The rain is over and gone. 12.   The flowers appear on the earth; The time of singing has come, And the voice of the turtledove Is heard in our land. 13.   The fig tree puts forth her green figs, And the vines with the tender grapes Give a good smell. Rise up, my love, my fair one, And come away! 14.   "O my dove, in the clefts of the rock, In the secret places of the cliff, Let me see your face, Let me hear your voice; For your voice is sweet, And your face is lovely." 15.   HER BROTHERS Catch us the foxes, The little foxes that spoil the vines, For our vines have tender grapes. 16.   THE SHULAMITE My beloved is mine, and I am his. He feeds his flock among the lilies. 17.   (TO HER BELOVED) Until the day breaks And the shadows flee away, Turn, my beloved, And be like a gazelle Or a young stag Upon the mountains of Bether.

1.   THE SHULAMITE By night on my bed I sought the one I love; I sought him, but I did not find him. 2.   "I will rise now," I said , "And go about the city; In the streets and in the squares I will seek the one I love." I sought him, but I did not find him. 3.   The watchmen who go about the city found me; I said , "Have you seen the one I love?" 4.   Scarcely had I passed by them, When I found the one I love. I held him and would not let him go, Until I had brought him to the house of my mother, And into the chamber of her who conceived me. 5.   I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, By the gazelles or by the does of the field, Do not stir up nor awaken love Until it pleases. 6.   THE SHULAMITE Who is this coming out of the wilderness Like pillars of smoke, Perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, With all the merchant’s fragrant powders? 7.   Behold, it is Solomon’s couch, With sixty valiant men around it, Of the valiant of Israel. 8.   They all hold swords, Being expert in war. Every man has his sword on his thigh Because of fear in the night. 9.   Of the wood of Lebanon Solomon the King Made himself a palanquin: 10.   He made its pillars of silver, Its support of gold, Its seat of purple, Its interior paved with love By the daughters of Jerusalem. 11.   Go forth, O daughters of Zion, And see King Solomon with the crown With which his mother crowned him On the day of his wedding, The day of the gladness of his heart.

1.   Now on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they, and certain other women with them, came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared. 2.   But they found the stone rolled away from the tomb. 3.   Then they went in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4.   And it happened, as they were greatly perplexed about this, that behold, two men stood by them in shining garments. 5.   Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, "Why do you seek the living among the dead? 6.   "He is not here, but is risen! Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, 7.   "saying, ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.’" 8.   And they remembered His words. 9.   Then they returned from the tomb and told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. 10.   It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them, who told these things to the apostles. 11.   And their words seemed to them like idle tales, and they did not believe them. 12.   But Peter arose and ran to the tomb; and stooping down, he saw the linen cloths lying by themselves; and he departed, marveling to himself at what had happened. 13.   Now behold, two of them were traveling that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was seven miles from Jerusalem. 14.   And they talked together of all these things which had happened. 15.   So it was, while they conversed and reasoned, that Jesus Himself drew near and went with them. 16.   But their eyes were restrained, so that they did not know Him. 17.   And He said to them, "What kind of conversation is this that you have with one another as you walk and are sad?" 18.   Then the one whose name was Cleopas answered and said to Him, "Are You the only stranger in Jerusalem, and have You not known the things which happened there in these days?" 19.   And He said to them, "What things?" So they said to Him, "The things concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a Prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, 20.   "and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to be condemned to death, and crucified Him. 21.   "But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, today is the third day since these things happened. 22.   "Yes, and certain women of our company, who arrived at the tomb early, astonished us. 23.   "When they did not find His body, they came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said He was alive. 24.   "And certain of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but Him they did not see." 25.   Then He said to them, "O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! 26.   "Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?" 27.   And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself. 28.   Then they drew near to the village where they were going, and He indicated that He would have gone farther. 29.   But they constrained Him, saying, "Abide with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent." And He went in to stay with them. 30.   Now it came to pass, as He sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed and broke it , and gave it to them. 31.   Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight. 32.   And they said to one another, "Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?" 33.   So they rose up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, 34.   saying, "The Lord is risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!" 35.   And they told about the things that had happened on the road, and how He was known to them in the breaking of bread.