Song of Solomon 7 - Isaiah 1
Easy-to-Read Version
He Praises Her Beauty
7 Princess,[a] your feet are beautiful in those sandals.
The curves of your thighs are like jewelry made by an artist.
2 Your navel is like a round cup[b];
may it never be without wine.
Your belly is like a pile of wheat
surrounded by lilies.
3 Your breasts are like twin fawns
of a young gazelle.
4 Your neck is like an ivory tower.
Your eyes are like the pools in Heshbon
near the gate of Bath Rabbim.
Your nose is like the tower of Lebanon
that looks toward Damascus.
5 Your head is like Carmel,
and the hair on your head is like silk.
Your long flowing hair
captures even a king.
6 You are so beautiful and so pleasant,
a lovely, delightful young woman!
7 You are tall—
as tall as a palm tree.
And your breasts are like
the clusters of fruit on that tree.
8 I would love to climb that tree
and take hold of its branches.
May your breasts be like clusters of grapes
and your fragrance[c] like apples.
9 May your mouth be like the best wine,
flowing straight to my love,
flowing gently to the sleeper’s lips.
She Speaks to Him
10 I belong to my lover,
and he wants me.
11 Come, my lover,
let’s go out into the field;
let’s spend the night in the villages.
12 Let’s get up early and go to the vineyards.
Let’s see if the vines are in bloom.
Let’s see if the blossoms have opened
and if the pomegranates are in bloom.
There I will give you my love.
13 Smell the mandrakes[d]
and all the pleasant flowers by our door.
I have saved many pleasant things for you, my lover,
pleasant things, new and old.
8 If you were a baby, like my little brother nursing at his mother’s breasts,
and if I found you outside,
I could kiss you,
and no one would say it was wrong.
2 I would lead you into my mother’s house,
to the room of she who taught me.
I would give you spiced wine
squeezed from my pomegranate.
She Speaks to the Women
3 His left arm is under my head,
and his right hand holds me.
4 Women of Jerusalem, promise me,
don’t awaken love,
don’t arouse love, until I am ready.[e]
The Women of Jerusalem Speak
5 Who is this woman
coming from the desert, leaning on her lover?
She Speaks to Him
I woke you under the apple tree,
where your mother gave birth to you,
where you were born.
6 Keep me near you like a seal you wear over your heart,
like a signet ring you wear on your hand.
Love is as strong as death.
Passion is as strong as the grave.[f]
Its sparks become a flame,
and it grows to become a great fire[g]!
7 A flood cannot put out love.
Rivers cannot drown love.
Would people despise a man for giving
everything he owns for love?
Her Brothers Speak
8 We have a little sister,
and her breasts are not yet grown.
What should we do for our sister
when a man comes asking to marry her?
9 If she were a wall,
we would put silver trim[h] around her.
If she were a door,
we would put a cedar board around her.
She Answers Her Brothers
10 I am a wall,
and my breasts are my towers.
And he is satisfied with me![i]
He Speaks
11 Solomon had a vineyard at Baal Hamon.
He put men in charge of the vineyard.
Each man brought in grapes
worth 1000 shekels[j] of silver.
12 Solomon, you can keep your 1000 shekels.
Give 200 shekels to each man for the grapes he brought.
But I will keep my own vineyard.
He Speaks to Her
13 There you are, sitting in the garden.
Friends are listening to your voice.
Let me hear it too!
She Speaks to Him
14 Hurry, my lover!
Be like a gazelle or a young deer on the mountains of spice.
1 This is the vision of Isaiah son of Amoz. God showed Isaiah what would happen to Judah and Jerusalem. Isaiah saw this during the time when Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah were kings of Judah.
God’s Case Against Israel
2 Heaven and earth, listen! This is what the Lord says:
“I raised my children and helped them grow up,
but they have turned against me.
3 A bull knows its master,
and a donkey knows where its owner feeds it.
But Israel does not know me.
My people do not understand.”
4 Oh, what a sinful nation! Their guilt is like a heavy weight that they must carry. They are evil, destructive children.[k] They left the Lord and insulted the Holy One of Israel. They turned away and treated him like a stranger.
5 What good will it do to keep punishing you? You will continue to rebel. Your whole head and heart are already sick and aching.[l] 6 From the bottom of your feet to the top of your head, every part of your body has wounds, cuts, and open sores. You have not taken care of them. Your wounds have not been cleaned and bandaged.
7 Your land is in ruins, and your cities are in flames. Your enemies have taken your land, and foreigners are taking what it produces. It looks like some foreigners destroyed it.[m]
Warnings for Jerusalem
8 The city of Jerusalem[n] is now like an empty shed left in a vineyard. It is like an old straw hut abandoned in a field of cucumbers or like a city surrounded by enemies. 9 If the Lord All-Powerful had not allowed a few people to live, we would have been destroyed completely like the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. And that almost happened!
10 You officers of Sodom, listen to the Lord’s message. You people of Gomorrah,[o] listen to God’s teaching. 11 The Lord says, “Why do you continue giving me all these sacrifices? I have had enough of your sacrifices of rams and the fat from well-fed animals. I don’t want the blood of those bulls, sheep, and goats. 12 When you people come to meet with me, you trample everything in my yard. Who told you to do this?
13 “Don’t keep bringing me those worthless sacrifices. I hate the incense you give me. I cannot stand your festivals for the New Moon, the Sabbath, and other special meeting days. I hate the evil you do during those holy times together. 14 I hate your monthly meetings and councils. They have become like heavy weights to me, and I am tired of carrying them.
15 “When you raise your arms to pray to me, I will refuse to look at you. You will say more and more prayers, but I will refuse to listen because your hands are covered with blood.
16 “Wash yourselves and make yourselves clean. Stop doing the evil things I see you do. Stop doing wrong. 17 Learn to do good. Treat people fairly. Punish those who hurt others. Speak up for the widows and orphans. Argue their cases for them in court.
18 “I, the Lord, am the one speaking to you. Come, let’s discuss this. Even if your sins are as dark as red dye, that stain can be removed and you will be as pure as wool that is as white as snow.
19 “If you listen to what I say, you will get the good things from this land. 20 But if you refuse to listen and rebel against me, your enemies will destroy you.”
The Lord himself said this.
Unfaithful Jerusalem
21 Look at Jerusalem. She was a faithful city. What made her become like a prostitute? In the past, Jerusalem was filled with justice, and goodness should live there now. Instead, there are murderers.
22 Once you were like pure silver, but now you are like the impurities that people throw away when the silver is purified. You are like good wine that has been weakened with water. 23 Your rulers are rebels and friends of thieves. They demand bribes and accept money for doing wrong. They take money to cheat people, and they don’t speak up for widows and orphans. They will not even listen to their cries for help.
24 Because of this, the Lord God All-Powerful, the Mighty One of Israel, says, “Look, I will get relief from my enemies. You will not cause me any more trouble. 25 People use lye to clean silver. In the same way, I will clean away all your wrongs. I will remove all the impurities from you. 26 I will bring back the kind of judges you had in the beginning. Your counselors will be like those you had long ago. Then you will be called ‘The Good and Faithful City.’”
27 God is good and does what is right, so he will rescue Zion and the people who come back to him. 28 But all the criminals and sinners will be destroyed. Those who stopped following the Lord will be removed.
29 In the future, you will be ashamed of the oak trees and special gardens[p] you chose to worship, 30 because you will be like an oak tree whose leaves are dying. You will be like a garden dying without water. 31 Powerful people will be like small, dry pieces of wood, and what they did will be like the sparks that start a fire. These people and their works will both burn up, and no one will be able to put out that fire.
Footnotes
- Song of Solomon 7:1 Princess Literally, “Daughter of a prince.”
- Song of Solomon 7:2 round cup Or “turned bowl,” a stone bowl made on a lathe and used for mixing wine before it is poured into cups. This might also mean a bowl shaped like a crescent or half-moon.
- Song of Solomon 7:8 fragrance Literally, “breath of your nose.”
- Song of Solomon 7:13 mandrakes Plants with roots that look like people. People thought these plants had the power to make people fall in love.
- Song of Solomon 8:4 until I am ready Literally, “until it desires.”
- Song of Solomon 8:6 the grave Or “Sheol,” the place where dead people go.
- Song of Solomon 8:6 great fire Or “the flame of the Lord.”
- Song of Solomon 8:9 trim Or “supports.” Often horizontal beams and towers were built into walls to strengthen and support them. But here, this seems to be a decoration.
- Song of Solomon 8:10 he is satisfied with me Literally, “in his eyes I find peace.” In Hebrew this is also like the names “Solomon” and “Shulamith.”
- Song of Solomon 8:11 1000 shekels About 25 pounds (11.5 kg). Also in verse 12.
- Isaiah 1:4 They … children Or “They are destructive children of evil parents.”
- Isaiah 1:5 Your whole … aching Or “Every head and heart is already sick and aching.”
- Isaiah 1:7 It looks … destroyed it Or “It looks like the land of the foreigners that was destroyed.” This might refer to civil war in Israel or to some time when God destroyed foreign nations, such as Sodom and Gomorrah.
- Isaiah 1:8 city of Jerusalem Literally, “daughter Zion.” See “Zion” in the Word List.
- Isaiah 1:10 officers of Sodom … Gomorrah Here, this refers to leaders and people from Judah.
- Isaiah 1:29 special gardens Gardens where people worshiped false gods.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International
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