Song of Solomon 1 1-Song of Solomon 1 17
This is Solomon’s song of songs, more wonderful than any other.Kiss me and kiss me again, for your love is sweeter than wine.How pleasing is your fragrance; your name is like the spreading fragrance of scented oils. No wonder all the young women love you!Take me with you; come, let’s run! The king has brought me into his bedroom. How happy we are for you, O king. We praise your love even more than wine. How right they are to adore you.I am dark but beautiful, O women of Jerusalem— dark as the tents of Kedar, dark as the curtains of Solomon’s tents.Don’t stare at me because I am dark— the sun has darkened my skin. My brothers were angry with me; they forced me to care for their vineyards, so I couldn’t care for myself— my own vineyard.Tell me, my love, where are you leading your flock today? Where will you rest your sheep at noon? For why should I wander like a prostitute among your friends and their flocks?If you don’t know, O most beautiful woman, follow the trail of my flock, and graze your young goats by the shepherds’ tents.You are as exciting, my darling, as a mare among Pharaoh’s stallions.How lovely are your cheeks; your earrings set them afire! How lovely is your neck, enhanced by a string of jewels.We will make for you earrings of gold and beads of silver.The king is lying on his couch, enchanted by the fragrance of my perfume.My lover is like a sachet of myrrh lying between my breasts.He is like a bouquet of sweet henna blossoms from the vineyards of En gedi.How beautiful you are, my darling, how beautiful! Your eyes are like doves.You are so handsome, my love, pleasing beyond words! The soft grass is our bed;fragrant cedar branches are the beams of our house, and pleasant smelling firs are the rafters.
Proverbs 1:1-31
These are the proverbs of Solomon, David’s son, king of Israel.Their purpose is to teach people wisdom and discipline, to help them understand the insights of the wise.Their purpose is to teach people to live disciplined and successful lives, to help them do what is right, just, and fair.These proverbs will give insight to the simple, knowledge and discernment to the young.Let the wise listen to these proverbs and become even wiser. Let those with understanding receive guidanceby exploring the meaning in these proverbs and parables, the words of the wise and their riddles.Fear of the Lord is the foundation of true knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.My child, listen when your father corrects you. Don’t neglect your mother’s instruction.What you learn from them will crown you with grace and be a chain of honor around your neck.My child, if sinners entice you, turn your back on them!They may say,“ Come and join us. Let’s hide and kill someone! Just for fun, let’s ambush the innocent!Let’s swallow them alive, like the grave; let’s swallow them whole, like those who go down to the pit of death.Think of the great things we’ll get! We’ll fill our houses with all the stuff we take.Come, throw in your lot with us; we’ll all share the loot.”My child, don’t go along with them! Stay far away from their paths.They rush to commit evil deeds. They hurry to commit murder.If a bird sees a trap being set, it knows to stay away.But these people set an ambush for themselves; they are trying to get themselves killed.Such is the fate of all who are greedy for money; it robs them of life.Wisdom shouts in the streets. She cries out in the public square.She calls to the crowds along the main street, to those gathered in front of the city gate:“ How long, you simpletons, will you insist on being simpleminded? How long will you mockers relish your mocking? How long will you fools hate knowledge?Come and listen to my counsel. I’ll share my heart with you and make you wise.“ I called you so often, but you wouldn’t come. I reached out to you, but you paid no attention.You ignored my advice and rejected the correction I offered.So I will laugh when you are in trouble! I will mock you when disaster overtakes you—when calamity overtakes you like a storm, when disaster engulfs you like a cyclone, and anguish and distress overwhelm you.“ When they cry for help, I will not answer. Though they anxiously search for me, they will not find me.For they hated knowledge and chose not to fear the Lord.They rejected my advice and paid no attention when I corrected them.Therefore, they must eat the bitter fruit of living their own way, choking on their own schemes.
