Song of Solomon 7 - Isaiah 1

Common English Bible

        . . . flowing smoothly for my love,
            gliding through the lips and teeth.^[c]
10 I belong to my lover,
        and his longing is only for me.

¹¹ 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.

8 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.^[d]
I would give you spiced wine to drink,
        some of my fresh pomegranate juice.

⁵ Who is this coming up from the wilderness
        leaning against her lover?

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.^[e]
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 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.^[f]
And if she is a door,
        then we will barricade her^[g] with a panel of cedar.

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

¹¹ 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^[h]—
        with two hundred for those who tend the fruit!

¹⁴ “Take flight, my love,
        and be like a gazelle
        or a young stag
        on the mountains of spice!”

² Hear you heavens, and listen earth,
        for the Lord has spoken:
I reared children; I raised them,
    and they turned against me!
³ An ox knows its owner,
    and a donkey its master’s feeding trough.
    But Israel doesn’t know;
        my people don’t behave intelligently.

¹⁰ Hear the Lord’s word, you leaders of Sodom.
    Listen to our God’s teaching,
        people of Gomorrah!
¹¹ What should I think about all your sacrifices?
    says the Lord.
I’m fed up with entirely burned offerings of rams
    and the fat of well-fed beasts.
    I don’t want the blood of bulls, lambs, and goats.
¹² When you come to appear before me,
    who asked this from you,
    this trampling of my temple’s courts?
¹³ Stop bringing worthless offerings.
    Your incense repulses me.
New moon, sabbath, and the calling of an assembly—
    I can’t stand wickedness with celebration!
¹⁴ I hate your new moons and your festivals.
    They’ve become a burden that I’m tired of bearing.
¹⁵ When you extend your hands,
    I’ll hide my eyes from you.
Even when you pray for a long time,
    I won’t listen.
Your hands are stained with blood.
¹⁶     Wash! Be clean!
Remove your ugly deeds from my sight.
    Put an end to such evil;
¹⁷     learn to do good.
Seek justice:
    help the oppressed;^[j]
    defend the orphan;
    plead for the widow.

²¹ This faithful town has become a prostitute!
She was full of justice;
    righteousness lived in her—
    but now murderers.
²² Your silver has become impure;
    your beer is diluted with water.
²³ Your princes are rebels,
    companions of thieves.
Everyone loves a bribe and pursues gifts.
    They don’t defend the orphan,
    and the widow’s cause never reaches them.
²⁴ Therefore, says the Lord God of heavenly forces,
    the mighty one of Israel:
Doom! I will vent my anger against my foes;
    I will take it out on my enemies,
²⁵     and I will turn my hand against you.
I will refine your impurities as with lye,
    and remove all your cinders.
²⁶ Then I will restore your judges as in earlier times,
    and your counselors as at the beginning.
After this you will be called Righteous City, Faithful Town.