61 " 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 e 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 ?
71 "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 .
81 "Oh e 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 e 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 ."
41 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 .
