Song of Songs 6; Song of Songs 7; Song of Songs 8; Galatians 4

1 [Daughters of Jerusalem]Which way did your lover go, you who are the most beautiful of women? Which way did your lover turn, that we may look for him along with you?

2 [Woman]My lover has gone down to his garden, to the fragrant plantings, to graze in the gardens, to gather the lilies.

3 I belong to my lover and my lover belongs to me— the one grazing among the lilies.

4 [Man]You are as beautiful, my dearest, as Tirzah, as lovely as Jerusalem, formidable as those lofty sights.

5 Turn your eyes away from me, for they overwhelm me! Your hair is like a flock of goats as they stream down from Gilead.

6 Your teeth are like a flock of ewes as they come up from the washing pool— all of them perfectly matched, not one of them lacks its twin.

7 Like a slice of pomegranate is the curve of your face behind the veil of your hair.

8 There may be sixty queens and eighty secondary wives, young women beyond counting,

9 but my dove, my perfect one, is one of a kind. To her mother she's the only one, radiant to the one who bore her. Young women see her and declare her fortunate; queens and secondary wives praise her.

10 Who is this, gazing down like the morning star, beautiful as the full moon, radiant as the sun, formidable as those lofty sights?

11 [Man]To the nut grove I went down to look upon the fresh growth in the valley, to see whether the vine was in flower, whether the pomegranates had bloomed.

12 I hardly knew myself; she had set me in an official's chariot!

13 [Man] Come back, come back, Shulammite! Come back, come back, so we may admire you. How you all admire the Shulammite as she whirls between two circles of dancers!

1 How graceful are your sandaled feet, willing woman! The smooth curves of your thighs—like fine jewelry, the work of an artist's hands!

2 Your navel, cupped like the full moon— may it never lack spiced wine! Your belly is a mound of winnowed wheat edged with lilies.

3 Your two breasts are like two fawns, twins of a gazelle doe;

4 your neck, like a tower of ivory; your eyes, pools in Heshbon, by the gate of that lordly city. Your profile is like the tower of Lebanon, looking out toward Damascus.

5 Your head crowns you like Mount Carmel, and your hair, braided in royal purple— a king is bound by the tresses!

6 You are so beautiful, so lovely— my love, delightful one!

7 Your stately form resembles a date palm, and your breasts are like clustered fruit.

8 I say, "I will climb the palm tree; I will hold its fruit!" May your breasts be now like grape clusters, and the scent of your breath like apples!

9 Your palate is like excellent wine . . . [Woman]. . . flowing smoothly for my love, gliding through the lips and teeth.

10 I belong to my lover, and his longing is only for me.

11 [Woman]Come, my love: Let's go out to the field and rest all night among the flowering henna.

12 Let's set out early for the vineyards. We will see if the vines have budded and the blossoms opened, see if the pomegranates have bloomed. There I'll give my loving to you.

13 The mandrakes give off their scent, and at our doorways is every delicacy— fresh or ripened— my love, I have kept them hidden for you.

1 [Woman]If only you were as my brother— the one who nursed at my mother's breast. I would find you in the street and kiss you, and no one would shame me for it.

2 I would lead you, I would bring you to my mother's house; she would teach me what to do. I would give you spiced wine to drink, some of my fresh pomegranate juice.

3 His left arm is beneath my head, and his right embraces me!

4 Make a solemn pledge, daughters of Jerusalem, never to rouse, never to arouse love until it desires.

5 [Daughters of Jerusalem]Who is this coming up from the wilderness leaning against her lover? [Woman]Under the apple tree I aroused you— there, where your mother labored with you, there where, laboring, she bore you.

6 Set me as a seal over your heart, as a seal upon your arm, for love is as strong as death, passionate love unrelenting as the grave. Its darts are darts of fire— divine flame!

7 Rushing waters can't quench love; rivers can't wash it away. If someone gave all his estate in exchange for love, he would be laughed to utter shame.

8 [The Woman's Brothers]Our sister is small; she has no breasts. What will we do for our sister on the day that she is spoken for?

9 If she is a city wall, then we will build a turret of silver on her. And if she is a door, then we will barricade her with a panel of cedar.

10 [Woman]I'm a city wall, and my breasts are the towers. So now I'm in his eyes as one who brings peace.

11 [Man]Solomon had a vineyard in Baal-hamon. He gave charge of the vineyard to keepers; one would bring in exchange for its fruit a thousand pieces of silver.

12 My vineyard, my very own, is before me. You can have the thousand, Solomon— with two hundred for those who tend the fruit!

13 You who sit in the gardens, my companions are listening for your voice. Let me hear it!

14 [Woman]"Take flight, my love, and be like a gazelle or a young stag on the mountains of spice!"

1 I'm saying that as long as the heirs are minors, they are no different from slaves, though they really are the owners of everything.

2 However, they are placed under trustees and guardians until the date set by the parents.

3 In the same way, when we were minors, we were also enslaved by this world's system.

4 But when the fulfillment of the time came, God sent his Son, born through a woman, and born under the Law.

5 This was so he could redeem those under the Law so that we could be adopted.

6 Because you are sons and daughters, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba, Father!"

7 Therefore, you are no longer a slave but a son or daughter, and if you are his child, then you are also an heir through God.

8 At the time, when you didn't know God, you were enslaved by things that aren't gods by nature.

9 But now, after knowing God (or rather, being known by God), how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless world system? Do you want to be slaves to it again?

10 You observe religious days and months and seasons and years.

11 I'm afraid for you! Perhaps my hard work for you has been for nothing.

12 I beg you to be like me, brothers and sisters, because I have become like you! You haven't wronged me.

13 You know that I first preached the gospel to you because of an illness.

14 Though my poor health burdened you, you didn't look down on me or reject me, but you welcomed me as if I were an angel from God, or as if I were Christ Jesus!

15 Where then is the great attitude that you had? I swear that, if possible, you would have dug out your eyes and given them to me.

16 So then, have I become your enemy by telling you the truth?

17 They are so concerned about you, though not with good intentions. Rather, they want to shut you out so that you would run after them.

18 However, it's always good to have people concerned about you with good intentions, and not just when I'm there with you.

19 My little children, I'm going through labor pains again until Christ is formed in you.

20 But I wish I could be with you now and change how I sound, because I'm at a loss about you.

21 Tell me—those of you who want to be under the Law—don't you listen to the Law?

22 It's written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman and one by the free woman.

23 The son by the slave woman was conceived the normal way, but the son by the free woman was conceived through a promise.

24 These things are an allegory: the women are two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai, which gives birth to slave children; this is Hagar.

25 Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and she corresponds to the present-day Jerusalem, because the city is in slavery with her children.

26 But the Jerusalem that is above is free, and she is our mother.

27 It's written: Rejoice, barren woman, you who have not given birth. Break out with a shout, you who have not suffered labor pains; because the woman who has been deserted will have many more children than the woman who has a husband.

28 Brothers and sisters, you are children of the promise like Isaac.

29 But just as it was then, so it is now also: the one who was conceived the normal way harassed the one who was conceived by the Spirit.

30 But what does the scripture say? Throw out the slave woman and her son, because the slave woman's son won't share the inheritance with the free woman's son.

31 Therefore, brothers and sisters, we aren't the slave woman's children, but we are the free woman's children.