Isaiah 65

Judgment and Salvation

1 “I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me;

I was found by those who did not seek me.

To a nation that did not call on my name,

I said, ‘Here am I, here am I.’

2 All day long I have held out my hands

to an obstinate people,

who walk in ways not good,

pursuing their own imaginations—

3 a people who continually provoke me

to my very face,

offering sacrifices in gardens

and burning incense on altars of brick;

4 who sit among the graves

and spend their nights keeping secret vigil;

who eat the flesh of pigs,

and whose pots hold broth of impure meat;

5 who say, ‘Keep away; don’t come near me,

for I am too sacred for you!’

Such people are smoke in my nostrils,

a fire that keeps burning all day.

6 “See, it stands written before me:

I will not keep silent but will pay back in full;

I will pay it back into their laps—

7 both your sins and the sins of your ancestors,”

says theLord.

“Because they burned sacrifices on the mountains

and defied me on the hills,

I will measure into their laps

the full payment for their former deeds.”

8 This is what theLordsays:

“As when juice is still found in a cluster of grapes

and people say, ‘Don’t destroy it,

there is still a blessing in it,’

so will I do in behalf of my servants;

I will not destroy them all.

9 I will bring forth descendants from Jacob,

and from Judah those who will possess my mountains;

my chosen people will inherit them,

and there will my servants live.

10 Sharon will become a pasture for flocks,

and the Valley of Achor a resting place for herds,

for my people who seek me.

11 “But as for you who forsake theLord

and forget my holy mountain,

who spread a table for Fortune

and fill bowls of mixed wine for Destiny,

12 I will destine you for the sword,

and all of you will fall in the slaughter;

for I called but you did not answer,

I spoke but you did not listen.

You did evil in my sight

and chose what displeases me.”

13 Therefore this is what the SovereignLordsays:

“My servants will eat,

but you will go hungry;

my servants will drink,

but you will go thirsty;

my servants will rejoice,

but you will be put to shame.

14 My servants will sing

out of the joy of their hearts,

but you will cry out

from anguish of heart

and wail in brokenness of spirit.

15 You will leave your name

for my chosen ones to use in their curses;

the SovereignLordwill put you to death,

but to his servants he will give another name.

16 Whoever invokes a blessing in the land

will do so by the one true God;

whoever takes an oath in the land

will swear by the one true God.

For the past troubles will be forgotten

and hidden from my eyes.

New Heavens and a New Earth

17 “See, I will create

new heavens and a new earth.

The former things will not be remembered,

nor will they come to mind.

18 But be glad and rejoice forever

in what I will create,

for I will create Jerusalem to be a delight

and its people a joy.

19 I will rejoice over Jerusalem

and take delight in my people;

the sound of weeping and of crying

will be heard in it no more.

20 “Never again will there be in it

an infant who lives but a few days,

or an old man who does not live out his years;

the one who dies at a hundred

will be thought a mere child;

# the one who fails to reacha hundred

will be considered accursed.

21 They will build houses and dwell in them;

they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit.

22 No longer will they build houses and others live in them,

or plant and others eat.

For as the days of a tree,

so will be the days of my people;

my chosen ones will long enjoy

the work of their hands.

23 They will not labor in vain,

nor will they bear children doomed to misfortune;

for they will be a people blessed by theLord,

they and their descendants with them.

24 Before they call I will answer;

while they are still speaking I will hear.

25 The wolf and the lamb will feed together,

and the lion will eat straw like the ox,

and dust will be the serpent’s food.

They will neither harm nor destroy

on all my holy mountain,”

says theLord.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/3/32k/ISA/65-5217e07388558a670efd5fdb35dabe86.mp3?version_id=111—

Isaiah 66

Judgment and Hope

1 This is what theLordsays:

“Heaven is my throne,

and the earth is my footstool.

Where is the house you will build for me?

Where will my resting place be?

2 Has not my hand made all these things,

and so they came into being?”

declares theLord.

“These are the ones I look on with favor:

those who are humble and contrite in spirit,

and who tremble at my word.

3 But whoever sacrifices a bull

is like one who kills a person,

and whoever offers a lamb

is like one who breaks a dog’s neck;

whoever makes a grain offering

is like one who presents pig’s blood,

and whoever burns memorial incense

is like one who worships an idol.

They have chosen their own ways,

and they delight in their abominations;

4 so I also will choose harsh treatment for them

and will bring on them what they dread.

For when I called, no one answered,

when I spoke, no one listened.

They did evil in my sight

and chose what displeases me.”

5 Hear the word of theLord,

you who tremble at his word:

“Your own people who hate you,

and exclude you because of my name, have said,

‘Let theLordbe glorified,

that we may see your joy!’

Yet they will be put to shame.

6 Hear that uproar from the city,

hear that noise from the temple!

It is the sound of theLord

repaying his enemies all they deserve.

7 “Before she goes into labor,

she gives birth;

before the pains come upon her,

she delivers a son.

8 Who has ever heard of such things?

Who has ever seen things like this?

Can a country be born in a day

or a nation be brought forth in a moment?

Yet no sooner is Zion in labor

than she gives birth to her children.

9 Do I bring to the moment of birth

and not give delivery?” says theLord.

“Do I close up the womb

when I bring to delivery?” says your God.

10 “Rejoice with Jerusalem and be glad for her,

all you who love her;

rejoice greatly with her,

all you who mourn over her.

11 For you will nurse and be satisfied

at her comforting breasts;

you will drink deeply

and delight in her overflowing abundance.”

12 For this is what theLordsays:

“I will extend peace to her like a river,

and the wealth of nations like a flooding stream;

you will nurse and be carried on her arm

and dandled on her knees.

13 As a mother comforts her child,

so will I comfort you;

and you will be comforted over Jerusalem.”

14 When you see this, your heart will rejoice

and you will flourish like grass;

the hand of theLordwill be made known to his servants,

but his fury will be shown to his foes.

15 See, theLordis coming with fire,

and his chariots are like a whirlwind;

he will bring down his anger with fury,

and his rebuke with flames of fire.

16 For with fire and with his sword

theLordwill execute judgment on all people,

and many will be those slain by theLord.

17 “Those who consecrate and purify themselves to go into the gardens, following one who is among those who eat the flesh of pigs, rats and other unclean things—they will meet their end together with the one they follow,” declares theLord.

18 “And I, because of what they have planned and done, am about to comeand gather the people of all nations and languages, and they will come and see my glory.

19 “I will set a sign among them, and I will send some of those who survive to the nations—to Tarshish, to the Libyansand Lydians (famous as archers), to Tubal and Greece, and to the distant islands that have not heard of my fame or seen my glory. They will proclaim my glory among the nations.

20 And they will bring all your people, from all the nations, to my holy mountain in Jerusalem as an offering to theLord—on horses, in chariots and wagons, and on mules and camels,” says theLord. “They will bring them, as the Israelites bring their grain offerings, to the temple of theLordin ceremonially clean vessels.

21 And I will select some of them also to be priests and Levites,” says theLord.

22 “As the new heavens and the new earth that I make will endure before me,” declares theLord, “so will your name and descendants endure.

23 From one New Moon to another and from one Sabbath to another, all mankind will come and bow down before me,” says theLord.

24 “And they will go out and look on the dead bodies of those who rebelled against me; the worms that eat them will not die, the fire that burns them will not be quenched, and they will be loathsome to all mankind.”

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/3/32k/ISA/66-3ddb021d9af917c091b25e90431e1c65.mp3?version_id=111—

Song of Songs 1

1 Solomon’s Song of Songs.

#

2 Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth—

for your love is more delightful than wine.

3 Pleasing is the fragrance of your perfumes;

your name is like perfume poured out.

No wonder the young women love you!

4 Take me away with you—let us hurry!

Let the king bring me into his chambers.

# We rejoice and delight in you;

we will praise your love more than wine.

How right they are to adore you!

5 Dark am I, yet lovely,

daughters of Jerusalem,

dark like the tents of Kedar,

# like the tent curtains of Solomon.

6 Do not stare at me because I am dark,

because I am darkened by the sun.

My mother’s sons were angry with me

and made me take care of the vineyards;

my own vineyard I had to neglect.

7 Tell me, you whom I love,

where you graze your flock

and where you rest your sheep at midday.

Why should I be like a veiled woman

beside the flocks of your friends?

8 If you do not know, most beautiful of women,

follow the tracks of the sheep

and graze your young goats

by the tents of the shepherds.

9 I liken you, my darling, to a mare

among Pharaoh’s chariot horses.

10 Your cheeks are beautiful with earrings,

your neck with strings of jewels.

11 We will make you earrings of gold,

studded with silver.

12 While the king was at his table,

my perfume spread its fragrance.

13 My beloved is to me a sachet of myrrh

resting between my breasts.

14 My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blossoms

from the vineyards of En Gedi.

15 How beautiful you are, my darling!

Oh, how beautiful!

Your eyes are doves.

16 How handsome you are, my beloved!

Oh, how charming!

And our bed is verdant.

17 The beams of our house are cedars;

our rafters are firs.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/3/32k/SNG/1-af4a5bf28fa3e99bed55d8712e0c00e6.mp3?version_id=111—

Song of Songs 2

#

1 I am a roseof Sharon,

a lily of the valleys.

2 Like a lily among thorns

is my darling among the young women.

3 Like an appletree among the trees of the forest

is my beloved among the young men.

I delight to sit in his shade,

and his fruit is sweet to my taste.

4 Let him lead me to the banquet hall,

and let his banner over me be love.

5 Strengthen me with raisins,

refresh me with apples,

for I am faint with love.

6 His left arm is under my head,

and his right arm embraces me.

7 Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you

by the gazelles and by the does of the field:

Do not arouse or awaken love

until it so desires.

8 Listen! My beloved!

Look! Here he comes,

leaping across the mountains,

bounding over the hills.

9 My beloved is like a gazelle or a young stag.

Look! There he stands behind our wall,

gazing through the windows,

peering through the lattice.

10 My beloved spoke and said to me,

“Arise, my darling,

my beautiful one, come with me.

11 See! The winter is past;

the rains are over and gone.

12 Flowers appear on the earth;

the season of singing has come,

the cooing of doves

is heard in our land.

13 The fig tree forms its early fruit;

the blossoming vines spread their fragrance.

Arise, come, my darling;

my beautiful one, come with me.”

14 My dove in the clefts of the rock,

in the hiding places on the mountainside,

show me your face,

let me hear your voice;

for your voice is sweet,

and your face is lovely.

15 Catch for us the foxes,

the little foxes

that ruin the vineyards,

our vineyards that are in bloom.

16 My beloved is mine and I am his;

he browses among the lilies.

17 Until the day breaks

and the shadows flee,

turn, my beloved,

and be like a gazelle

or like a young stag

# on the rugged hills.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/3/32k/SNG/2-e01e4cdcbd53049de1cb80b2d16bc8a1.mp3?version_id=111—

Song of Songs 3

1 All night long on my bed

I looked for the one my heart loves;

I looked for him but did not find him.

2 I will get up now and go about the city,

through its streets and squares;

I will search for the one my heart loves.

So I looked for him but did not find him.

3 The watchmen found me

as they made their rounds in the city.

“Have you seen the one my heart loves?”

4 Scarcely had I passed them

when I found the one my heart loves.

I held him and would not let him go

till I had brought him to my mother’s house,

to the room of the one who conceived me.

5 Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you

by the gazelles and by the does of the field:

Do not arouse or awaken love

until it so desires.

6 Who is this coming up from the wilderness

like a column of smoke,

perfumed with myrrh and incense

made from all the spices of the merchant?

7 Look! It is Solomon’s carriage,

escorted by sixty warriors,

the noblest of Israel,

8 all of them wearing the sword,

all experienced in battle,

each with his sword at his side,

prepared for the terrors of the night.

9 King Solomon made for himself the carriage;

he made it of wood from Lebanon.

10 Its posts he made of silver,

its base of gold.

Its seat was upholstered with purple,

its interior inlaid with love.

Daughters of Jerusalem,

11 come out,

and look, you daughters of Zion.

# Lookon King Solomon wearing a crown,

the crown with which his mother crowned him

on the day of his wedding,

the day his heart rejoiced.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/3/32k/SNG/3-13d3f35159d92f505fa6424bbfc92b51.mp3?version_id=111—

Song of Songs 4

1 How beautiful you are, my darling!

Oh, how beautiful!

Your eyes behind your veil are doves.

Your hair is like a flock of goats

descending from the hills of Gilead.

2 Your teeth are like a flock of sheep just shorn,

coming up from the washing.

Each has its twin;

not one of them is alone.

3 Your lips are like a scarlet ribbon;

your mouth is lovely.

Your temples behind your veil

are like the halves of a pomegranate.

4 Your neck is like the tower of David,

# built with courses of stone;

on it hang a thousand shields,

all of them shields of warriors.

5 Your breasts are like two fawns,

like twin fawns of a gazelle

that browse among the lilies.

6 Until the day breaks

and the shadows flee,

I will go to the mountain of myrrh

and to the hill of incense.

7 You are altogether beautiful, my darling;

there is no flaw in you.

8 Come with me from Lebanon, my bride,

come with me from Lebanon.

Descend from the crest of Amana,

from the top of Senir, the summit of Hermon,

from the lions’ dens

and the mountain haunts of leopards.

9 You have stolen my heart, my sister, my bride;

you have stolen my heart

with one glance of your eyes,

with one jewel of your necklace.

10 How delightful is your love, my sister, my bride!

How much more pleasing is your love than wine,

and the fragrance of your perfume

more than any spice!

11 Your lips drop sweetness as the honeycomb, my bride;

milk and honey are under your tongue.

The fragrance of your garments

is like the fragrance of Lebanon.

12 You are a garden locked up, my sister, my bride;

you are a spring enclosed, a sealed fountain.

13 Your plants are an orchard of pomegranates

with choice fruits,

with henna and nard,

14 nard and saffron,

calamus and cinnamon,

with every kind of incense tree,

with myrrh and aloes

and all the finest spices.

15 You area garden fountain,

a well of flowing water

streaming down from Lebanon.

16 Awake, north wind,

and come, south wind!

Blow on my garden,

that its fragrance may spread everywhere.

Let my beloved come into his garden

and taste its choice fruits.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/3/32k/SNG/4-c7db669cd7a849e11d59d8378837f9aa.mp3?version_id=111—

Song of Songs 5

1 I have come into my garden, my sister, my bride;

I have gathered my myrrh with my spice.

I have eaten my honeycomb and my honey;

I have drunk my wine and my milk.

Eat, friends, and drink;

drink your fill of love.

2 I slept but my heart was awake.

Listen! My beloved is knocking:

“Open to me, my sister, my darling,

my dove, my flawless one.

My head is drenched with dew,

my hair with the dampness of the night.”

3 I have taken off my robe—

must I put it on again?

I have washed my feet—

must I soil them again?

4 My beloved thrust his hand through the latch-opening;

my heart began to pound for him.

5 I arose to open for my beloved,

and my hands dripped with myrrh,

my fingers with flowing myrrh,

on the handles of the bolt.

6 I opened for my beloved,

but my beloved had left; he was gone.

# My heart sank at his departure.

I looked for him but did not find him.

I called him but he did not answer.

7 The watchmen found me

as they made their rounds in the city.

They beat me, they bruised me;

they took away my cloak,

those watchmen of the walls!

8 Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you—

if you find my beloved,

what will you tell him?

Tell him I am faint with love.

9 How is your beloved better than others,

most beautiful of women?

How is your beloved better than others,

that you so charge us?

10 My beloved is radiant and ruddy,

outstanding among ten thousand.

11 His head is purest gold;

his hair is wavy

and black as a raven.

12 His eyes are like doves

by the water streams,

washed in milk,

mounted like jewels.

13 His cheeks are like beds of spice

yielding perfume.

His lips are like lilies

dripping with myrrh.

14 His arms are rods of gold

set with topaz.

His body is like polished ivory

decorated with lapis lazuli.

15 His legs are pillars of marble

set on bases of pure gold.

His appearance is like Lebanon,

choice as its cedars.

16 His mouth is sweetness itself;

he is altogether lovely.

This is my beloved, this is my friend,

daughters of Jerusalem.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/3/32k/SNG/5-dbd9e6c9bfe92a9d12ef0cda9598a30c.mp3?version_id=111—

Song of Songs 6

1 Where has your beloved gone,

most beautiful of women?

Which way did your beloved turn,

that we may look for him with you?

2 My beloved has gone down to his garden,

to the beds of spices,

to browse in the gardens

and to gather lilies.

3 I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine;

he browses among the lilies.

4 You are as beautiful as Tirzah, my darling,

as lovely as Jerusalem,

as majestic as troops with banners.

5 Turn your eyes from me;

they overwhelm me.

Your hair is like a flock of goats

descending from Gilead.

6 Your teeth are like a flock of sheep

coming up from the washing.

Each has its twin,

not one of them is missing.

7 Your temples behind your veil

are like the halves of a pomegranate.

8 Sixty queens there may be,

and eighty concubines,

and virgins beyond number;

9 but my dove, my perfect one, is unique,

the only daughter of her mother,

the favorite of the one who bore her.

The young women saw her and called her blessed;

the queens and concubines praised her.

10 Who is this that appears like the dawn,

fair as the moon, bright as the sun,

majestic as the stars in procession?

11 I went down to the grove of nut trees

to look at the new growth in the valley,

to see if the vines had budded

or the pomegranates were in bloom.

12 Before I realized it,

# my desire set me among the royal chariots of my people.

13 Come back, come back, O Shulammite;

come back, come back, that we may gaze on you!

Why would you gaze on the Shulammite

# as on the dance of Mahanaim?

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/3/32k/SNG/6-9b7e0ef885144c648213ec817c684685.mp3?version_id=111—

Song of Songs 7

#

1 How beautiful your sandaled feet,

O prince’s daughter!

Your graceful legs are like jewels,

the work of an artist’s hands.

2 Your navel is a rounded goblet

that never lacks blended wine.

Your waist is a mound of wheat

encircled by lilies.

3 Your breasts are like two fawns,

like twin fawns of a gazelle.

4 Your neck is like an ivory tower.

Your eyes are the pools of Heshbon

by the gate of Bath Rabbim.

Your nose is like the tower of Lebanon

looking toward Damascus.

5 Your head crowns you like Mount Carmel.

Your hair is like royal tapestry;

the king is held captive by its tresses.

6 How beautiful you are and how pleasing,

my love, with your delights!

7 Your stature is like that of the palm,

and your breasts like clusters of fruit.

8 I said, “I will climb the palm tree;

I will take hold of its fruit.”

May your breasts be like clusters of grapes on the vine,

the fragrance of your breath like apples,

9 and your mouth like the best wine.

May the wine go straight to my beloved,

# flowing gently over lips and teeth.

10 I belong to my beloved,

and his desire is for me.

11 Come, my beloved, let us go to the countryside,

# let us spend the night in the villages.

12 Let us go early to the vineyards

to see if the vines have budded,

if their blossoms have opened,

and if the pomegranates are in bloom—

there I will give you my love.

13 The mandrakes send out their fragrance,

and at our door is every delicacy,

both new and old,

that I have stored up for you, my beloved.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/3/32k/SNG/7-5e7601d21af1960ecaf89d8dc9e5b16a.mp3?version_id=111—

Song of Songs 8

1 If only you were to me like a brother,

who was nursed at my mother’s breasts!

Then, if I found you outside,

I would kiss you,

and no one would despise me.

2 I would lead you

and bring you to my mother’s house—

she who has taught me.

I would give you spiced wine to drink,

the nectar of my pomegranates.

3 His left arm is under my head

and his right arm embraces me.

4 Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you:

Do not arouse or awaken love

until it so desires.

5 Who is this coming up from the wilderness

leaning on her beloved?

Under the apple tree I roused you;

there your mother conceived you,

there she who was in labor gave you birth.

6 Place me like a seal over your heart,

like a seal on your arm;

for love is as strong as death,

# its jealousyunyielding as the grave.

It burns like blazing fire,

# like a mighty flame.

7 Many waters cannot quench love;

rivers cannot sweep it away.

If one were to give

all the wealth of one’s house for love,

# itwould be utterly scorned.

8 We have a little sister,

and her breasts are not yet grown.

What shall we do for our sister

on the day she is spoken for?

9 If she is a wall,

we will build towers of silver on her.

If she is a door,

we will enclose her with panels of cedar.

10 I am a wall,

and my breasts are like towers.

Thus I have become in his eyes

like one bringing contentment.

11 Solomon had a vineyard in Baal Hamon;

he let out his vineyard to tenants.

Each was to bring for its fruit

# a thousand shekelsof silver.

12 But my own vineyard is mine to give;

the thousand shekels are for you, Solomon,

# and two hundredare for those who tend its fruit.

13 You who dwell in the gardens

with friends in attendance,

let me hear your voice!

14 Come away, my beloved,

and be like a gazelle

or like a young stag

on the spice-laden mountains.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/3/32k/SNG/8-88374607f740b43d969165894d39f541.mp3?version_id=111—