The Beloved about Her Lover: Like ¹  an apple tree ²  among the trees of the forest, so is my beloved among the young men. I delight ³  to sit ⁴  in his shade, ⁵  and his fruit ⁶  is sweet ⁷  to my taste. ⁸ 

The Lover to His Beloved: Oh, ²  you are beautiful, my darling! ³  Oh, you are beautiful! Your eyes behind your veil are like doves. ⁴  Your hair is like a flock of female goats descending ⁵  from Mount Gilead.

Therefore my ¹  people will be deported ²  because of their lack of understanding. Their ³  leaders will have nothing to eat, ⁴  their ⁵  masses will have nothing to drink. ⁶ 

A wolf will reside ¹  with a lamb, and a leopard will lie down with a young goat; an ox and a young lion will graze together, ²  as a small child leads them along.

The poor will graze in my pastures; ¹  the needy will rest securely. But I will kill your root by famine; it will put to death all your survivors. ² 

The sovereign master ¹  will give you distress to eat and suffering to drink; ²  but your teachers will no longer be hidden; your eyes will see them. ³ 

¹ The rain and snow fall from the sky and do not return, but instead water the earth and make it produce and yield crops, and provide seed for the planter and food for those who must eat.

The dogs have big appetites; they are never full. ¹  They are shepherds who have no understanding; they all go their own way, each one looking for monetary gain. ² 

“They will go out and observe the corpses of those who rebelled against me, for the maggots that eat them will not die, ¹  and the fire that consumes them will not die out. ²  All people will find the sight abhorrent.” ³ 

Because of that, ¹  the Lord, the God who rules over all, ²  said to me, ³  “Because these people have spoken ⁴  like this, ⁵  I will make the words that I put in your mouth like fire. And I will make this people like wood which the fiery judgments you speak will burn up.” ⁶ 

The prophets prophesy lies. The priests exercise power by their own authority. ¹  And my people love to have it this way. But they will not be able to help you when the time of judgment comes! ² 

Then the dead bodies of these people will be left on the ground for the birds and wild animals to eat. ¹  There will not be any survivors to scare them away.

As your words came to me I drank them in, ¹  and they filled my heart with joy and happiness because I belong to you. ² 

One basket had very good-looking figs in it. They looked like those that had ripened early. ¹  The other basket had very bad-looking figs in it, so bad they could not be eaten.

You were adorned with gold and silver, while your clothing was of fine linen, silk, and embroidery. You ate the finest flour, honey, and olive oil. You became extremely beautiful and attained the position of royalty.

As for my food that I gave you – the fine flour, olive oil, and honey I fed you – you placed it before them as a soothing aroma. That is exactly what happened, declares the sovereign Lord.

“‘You took your sons and your daughters whom you bore to me and you sacrificed them ¹  as food for the idols to eat. As if your prostitution not enough,

Your turbans will be on your heads and your sandals on your feet; you will not mourn or weep, but you will rot ¹  for your iniquities ²  and groan among yourselves.

But Daniel made up his mind ¹  that he would not defile ²  himself with the royal delicacies or the royal wine. ³  He therefore asked the overseer of the court officials for permission not to defile himself.

At the end of the ten days their appearance was better and their bodies were healthier ¹  than all the young men who had been eating the royal delicacies.