(Now she was wearing a long robe, ¹  for this is what the king’s virgin daughters used to wear.) So Amnon’s ²  attendant removed her and bolted the door ³  behind her.

“Fall down! Sit in the dirt, O virgin ¹  daughter Babylon! Sit on the ground, not on a throne, O daughter of the Babylonians! Indeed, ²  you will no longer be called delicate and pampered.

I will rebuild you, my dear children Israel, ¹  so that you will once again be built up. Once again you will take up the tambourine and join in the happy throng of dancers. ² 

I will say, ¹  ‘My dear children of Israel, ²  keep in mind the road you took when you were carried off. ³  Mark off in your minds the landmarks. Make a mental note of telltale signs marking the way back. Return, my dear children of Israel. Return to these cities of yours.

Mary ¹  said to the angel, “How will this be, since I have not had sexual relations with ²  a man?”

Now the young woman was very beautiful. She was a virgin; no man had ever had sexual relations with her. ¹  She went down to the spring, filled her jug, and came back up.

For this reason the sovereign master himself will give you a confirming sign. ¹  Look, this ²  young woman ³  is about to conceive ⁴  and will give birth to a son. You, young woman, will name him ⁵  Immanuel. ⁶ 

He said, “You will no longer celebrate, oppressed ¹  virgin daughter Sidon! Get up, travel to Cyprus, but you will find no relief there.” ² 

“Tell these people this, Jeremiah: ¹  ‘My eyes overflow with tears day and night without ceasing. ²  For my people, my dear children, ³  have suffered a crushing blow. They have suffered a serious wound. ⁴ 

The sword will make people childless outside, and terror will do so inside; they will destroy ¹  both the young man and the virgin, the infant and the gray-haired man.

But if you marry, you have not sinned. And if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. But those who marry will face difficult circumstances, ¹  and I am trying to spare you such problems. ² 

So then, the one who marries ¹  his own virgin does well, but the one who does not, does better. ² 

They will fine him one hundred shekels of silver and give them to the young woman’s father, for the man who made the accusation ¹  ruined the reputation ²  of an Israelite virgin. She will then become his wife and he may never divorce her as long as he lives.

His servants advised ¹  him, “A young virgin must be found for our master, the king, ²  to take care of the king’s needs ³  and serve as his nurse. She can also sleep with you ⁴  and keep our master, the king, warm.” ⁵ 

accusing her of impropriety ¹  and defaming her reputation ²  by saying, “I married this woman but when I had sexual relations ³  with her I discovered she was not a virgin!”

If anyone thinks he is acting inappropriately toward his virgin, ¹  if she is past the bloom of youth ²  and it seems necessary, he should do what he wishes; he does not sin. Let them marry.

Here are my virgin daughter and my guest’s ¹  concubine. I will send them out and you can abuse them and do to them whatever you like. ²  But don’t do such a disgraceful thing to this man!”

מ (Mem) With what can I equate ¹  you? To what can I compare you, O Daughter Jerusalem? To what can I liken you ²  so that ³  I might comfort you, O Virgin Daughter Zion? Your wound is as deep ⁴  as the sea. ⁵  Who can heal you? ⁶ 

As a young man marries a young woman, so your sons ¹  will marry you. As a bridegroom rejoices over a bride, so your God will rejoice over you.

She did not abandon the prostitution she had practiced in Egypt; for in her youth men had sex with her, fondled her virgin breasts, and ravished her. ¹