The Bride and the Daughters of Jerusalem

11 The [1]Song of Songs , which is Solomon's .

2 "[2]May he kiss me with the kisses of his mouth ! For your love is better than wine . 3 "Your oils have a pleasing fragrance , Your name is like [3]purified oil ; Therefore e the [4] maidens love you. 4 "Draw me after you and let us run together! The king has brought me into his chambers ." "[5]We will rejoice in you and be glad ; We will [6]extol your love more than wine . Rightly do they love you." 5 "[7]I am black but lovely , O daughters of Jerusalem , Like the tents of Kedar , Like the curtains of Solomon . 6 "Do not stare at me because I am [8]swarthy , For the sun has burned me. My mother's sons were angry with me; They made me caretaker of the vineyards , But I have not taken care of my own vineyard .

7 "Tell me, O you whom my soul loves , Where do you pasture your flock, Where do you make it lie down at noon ? For why should I be like one who [9]veils herself Beside the flocks of your companions ?" 8 "[10]If you yourself do not know , Most beautiful among women , Go forth on the trail of the flock And pasture your young goats By the tents of the shepherds .

The Bride and the Bridegroom

9 "[11]To me, my darling , you are like My mare among the chariots of Pharaoh . 10 "Your cheeks are lovely with ornaments , Your neck with strings of beads ." 11 "[12]We will make for you ornaments of gold With beads of silver ."

12 "[13]While the king was at his [14]table , My [15] perfume gave forth its fragrance . 13 "My beloved is to me a pouch of myrrh Which lies all night between my breasts . 14 "My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blossoms In the vineyards of Engedi ." 15 "[16][17] How beautiful you are, my darling , [17]How beautiful you are! Your eyes are like doves ." 16 "[19][20]How handsome you are, my beloved , And so pleasant ! Indeed , our couch is luxuriant ! 17 "The beams of our houses are cedars , Our rafters , [21] cypresses .

21 "I am the rose of Sharon , The lily of the valleys ." 2 "Like a lily among the thorns , So is my darling among the maidens ."

3 "Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest , So is my beloved among the young men . In his shade I took great delight and sat down , And his fruit was sweet to my taste . 4 "He has brought me to his banquet hall , And his banner over me is love . 5 "Sustain me with raisin cakes , Refresh me with apples , Because I am lovesick e . 6 "Let his left hand be under my head And his right hand embrace me." 7 "I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem , By the gazelles or by the hinds of the field , That you do not arouse or awaken my love Until she pleases ."

8 "Listen ! My beloved ! Behold , he is coming , Climbing on the mountains , Leaping on the hills ! 9 "My beloved is like a gazelle or a young stag . Behold , he is standing behind our wall , He is looking through the windows , He is peering through the lattice . 10 "My beloved responded and said to me, ' Arise , my darling , my beautiful one , And come along. 11 'For behold , the winter is past , The rain is over and gone . 12 'The flowers have already appeared in the land ; The time has arrived for pruning the vines, And the voice of the turtledove has been heard in our land . 13 'The fig tree has ripened its figs , And the vines in blossom have given forth their fragrance . Arise , my darling , my beautiful one , And come along!' "

14 "O my dove , in the clefts of the rock , In the secret place of the steep pathway , Let me see your form , Let me hear your voice ; For your voice is sweet , And your form is lovely ." 15 " Catch the foxes for us, The little foxes that are ruining the vineyards , While our vineyards are in blossom ." 16 " My beloved is mine, and I am his; He pastures his flock among the lilies . 17 " Until the cool of the day when the shadows flee away, Turn , my beloved , and be like a gazelle Or a young stag on the mountains of Bether ."

The Bride's Reverie

31 "On my bed night after night I sought him Whom my soul loves ; I sought him but did not find him. 2 'I must arise now and go about the city ; In the streets and in the squares I must seek him whom my soul loves .' I sought him but did not find him. 3 " The watchmen who make the rounds in the city found me, And I said, 'Have you seen him whom my soul loves ?' 4 " Scarcely had I left them When e I found him whom my soul loves ; I held on to him and would not let him go Until I had brought him to my mother's house , And into the room of her who conceived me." 5 "I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem , By the gazelles or by the hinds of the field , That you will not arouse or awaken my love Until she pleases ."

The Wedding Procession

6 " What is this coming up from the wilderness Like columns of smoke , Perfumed with myrrh and frankincense , With all scented powders of the merchant ?

7 "Behold , it is the traveling couch of Solomon ; Sixty mighty men around it, Of the mighty men of Israel . 8 "All of them are wielders of the sword , Expert in war ; Each man has his sword at his side , Guarding against the terrors of the night . 9 "King Solomon has made for himself a sedan chair From the timber of Lebanon . 10 "He made its posts of silver , Its back of gold And its seat of purple fabric , With its interior lovingly fitted out By the daughters of Jerusalem . 11 "Go forth , O daughters of Zion , And gaze on King Solomon with the crown With which his mother has crowned him On the day of his wedding , And on the day of his gladness of heart ."

21 Then after an interval of fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas , taking Titus along also . 2 It was because of a revelation that I went up; and I submitted to them the gospel which I preach among the Gentiles , but I did so in private e to those who were of reputation , for fear that I might be running , or had run , in vain . 3 But not even Titus , who was with me, though he was a Greek , was compelled to be circumcised . 4 But it was because of the false brethren secretly brought in, who had sneaked in to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus , in order to bring us into bondage . 5 But we did not yield in subjection to them for even an hour , so that the truth of the gospel would remain with you. 6 But from those who were of high reputation (what they were makes no difference to me; God shows no partiality )-well , those who were of reputation contributed nothing to me. 7 But on the contrary , seeing that I had been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised , just as Peter had been to the circumcised 8 (for He who effectually worked for Peter in his apostleship to the circumcised effectually worked for me also to the Gentiles ), 9 and recognizing the grace that had been given to me, James and Cephas and John , who were reputed to be pillars , gave to me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship , so that we might go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised . 10 They only asked us to remember the poor - the very thing I also was eager to do .

Paul Rebukes Peter at Antioch

11 But when Cephas came to Antioch , I opposed him to his face , because he stood condemned . 12 For prior to the coming of certain men from James , he used to eat with the Gentiles ; but when they came , he began to withdraw and hold himself aloof , fearing the party of the circumcision . 13 The rest of the Jews joined him in hypocrisy , with the result that even Barnabas was carried away by their hypocrisy . 14 But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel , I said to Cephas in the presence of all , "If you, being a Jew , live like the Gentiles and not like the Jews , how is it that you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews ? 15 "We are Jews by nature and not sinners from among the Gentiles ; 16 nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus , even we have believed in Christ Jesus , so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law ; since by the works of the Law no e flesh will be justified . 17 "But if , while seeking to be justified in Christ , we ourselves have also been found sinners , is Christ then a minister of sin ? May it never be! 18 "For if I rebuild what I have once destroyed , I prove myself to be a transgressor . 19 "For through the Law I died to the Law , so that I might live to God . 20 "I have been crucified with Christ ; and it is no longer I who live , but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God , who loved me and gave Himself up for me. 21 "I do not nullify the grace of God , for if righteousness comes through the Law , then Christ died needlessly ."