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

1 "Where has your beloved gone, O most beautiful among women? Where has your beloved turned, That we may seek him with you?"

2 "My beloved has gone down to his garden, To the beds of balsam, To pasture his flock in the gardens And gather lilies.

3 "I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine, He who pastures his flock among the lilies."

4 "You are as beautiful as Tirzah, my darling, As lovely as Jerusalem, As awesome as an army with banners.

5 "Turn your eyes away from me, For they have confused me; Your hair is like a flock of goats That have descended from Gilead.

6 "Your teeth are like a flock of ewes Which have come up from their washing, All of which bear twins, And not one among them has lost her young.

7 "Your temples are like a slice of a pomegranate Behind your veil.

8 "There are sixty queens and eighty concubines, And maidens without number;

9 But my dove, my perfect one, is unique: She is her mother's only daughter; She is the pure child of the one who bore her. The maidens saw her and called her blessed, The queens and the concubines also, and they praised her, saying,

10 'Who is this that grows like the dawn, As beautiful as the full moon, As pure as the sun, As awesome as an army with banners?'

11 "I went down to the orchard of nut trees To see the blossoms of the valley, To see whether the vine had budded Or the pomegranates had bloomed.

12 "Before I was aware, my soul set me Over the chariots of my noble people."

13 "Come back, come back, O Shulammite; Come back, come back, that we may gaze at you!" " Why should you gaze at the Shulammite, As at the dance of the two companies?

1 "How beautiful are your feet in sandals, O prince's daughter! The curves of your hips are like jewels, The work of the hands of an artist.

2 "Your navel is like a round goblet Which never lacks mixed wine; Your belly is like a heap of wheat Fenced about with lilies.

3 "Your two breasts are like two fawns, Twins of a gazelle.

4 "Your neck is like a tower of ivory, Your eyes like the pools in Heshbon By the gate of Bath-rabbim; Your nose is like the tower of Lebanon, Which faces toward Damascus.

5 "Your head crowns you like Carmel, And the flowing locks of your head are like purple threads; The king is captivated by your tresses.

6 "How beautiful and how delightful you are, My love, with all your charms!

7 "Your stature is like a palm tree, And your breasts are like its clusters.

8 "I said, 'I will climb the palm tree, I will take hold of its fruit stalks.' Oh, may your breasts be like clusters of the vine, And the fragrance of your breath like apples,

9 And your mouth like the best wine!" " It goes down smoothly for my beloved, Flowing gently through the lips of those who fall asleep.

10 "I am my beloved's, And his desire is for me.

11 "Come, my beloved, let us go out into the country, Let us spend the night in the villages.

12 "Let us rise early and go to the vineyards; Let us see whether the vine has budded And its blossoms have opened, And whether the pomegranates have bloomed. There I will give you my love.

13 "The mandrakes have given forth fragrance; And over our doors are all choice fruits, Both new and old, Which I have saved up for you, my beloved.

1 "Oh that you were like a brother to me Who nursed at my mother's breasts. If I found you outdoors, I would kiss you; No one would despise me, either.

2 "I would lead you and bring you Into the house of my mother, who used to instruct me; I would give you spiced wine to drink from the juice of my pomegranates.

3 "Let his left hand be under my head And his right hand embrace me."

4 "I want you to swear, O daughters of Jerusalem, Do not arouse or awaken my love Until she pleases."

5 "Who is this coming up from the wilderness Leaning on her beloved?" " Beneath the apple tree I awakened you; There your mother was in labor with you, There she was in labor and gave you birth.

6 "Put me like a seal over your heart, Like a seal on your arm. For love is as strong as death, Jealousy is as severe as Sheol; Its flashes are flashes of fire, The very flame of the LORD .

7 "Many waters cannot quench love, Nor will rivers overflow it; If a man were to give all the riches of his house for love, It would be utterly despised."

8 "We have a little sister, And she has 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 barricade her with planks of cedar."

10 "I was a wall, and my breasts were like towers; Then I became in his eyes as one who finds peace.

11 "Solomon had a vineyard at Baal-hamon; He entrusted the vineyard to caretakers. Each one was to bring a thousand shekels of silver for its fruit.

12 "My very own vineyard is at my disposal; The thousand shekels are for you, Solomon, And two hundred are for those who take care of its fruit."

13 "O you who sit in the gardens, My companions are listening for your voice - Let me hear it!"

14 "Hurry, my beloved, And be like a gazelle or a young stag On the mountains of spices."

1 Now I say, as long as the heir is a child, he does not differ at all from a slave although he is owner of everything,

2 but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by the father.

3 So also we, while we were children, were held in bondage under the elemental things of the world.

4 But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law,

5 so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.

6 Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!"

7 Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God.

8 However at that time, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those which by nature are no gods.

9 But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how is it that you turn back again to the weak and worthless elemental things, to which you desire to be enslaved all over again?

10 You observe days and months and seasons and years.

11 I fear for you, that perhaps I have labored over you in vain.

12 I beg of you, brethren, become as I am, for I also have become as you are. You have done me no wrong;

13 but you know that it was because of a bodily illness that I preached the gospel to you the first time;

14 and that which was a trial to you in my bodily condition you did not despise or loathe, but you received me as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus Himself.

15 Where then is that sense of blessing you had? For I bear you witness that, if possible, you would have plucked out your eyes and given them to me.

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

17 They eagerly seek you, not commendably, but they wish to shut you out so that you will seek them.

18 But it is good always to be eagerly sought in a commendable manner, and not only when I am present with you.

19 My children, with whom I am again in labor until Christ is formed in you-

20 but I could wish to be present with you now and to change my tone, for I am perplexed about you.

21 Tell me, you who want to be under law, do you not listen to the law?

22 For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the bondwoman and one by the free woman.

23 But the son by the bondwoman was born according to the flesh, and the son by the free woman through the promise.

24 This is allegorically speaking, for these women are two covenants: one proceeding from Mount Sinai bearing children who are to be slaves; she is Hagar.

25 Now this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children.

26 But the Jerusalem above is free; she is our mother.

27 For it is written, "REJOICE, BARREN WOMAN WHO DOES NOT BEAR; BREAK FORTH AND SHOUT, YOU WHO ARE NOT IN LABOR; FOR MORE NUMEROUS ARE THE CHILDREN OF THE DESOLATE THAN OF THE ONE WHO HAS A HUSBAND."

28 And you brethren, like Isaac, are children of promise.

29 But as at that time he who was born according to the flesh persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, so it is now also.

30 But what does the Scripture say? "CAST OUT THE BONDWOMAN AND HER SON, FOR THE SON OF THE BONDWOMAN SHALL NOT BE AN HEIR WITH THE SON OF THE FREE WOMAN."

31 So then, brethren, we are not children of a bondwoman, but of the free woman.