The Lover to His Beloved: I have entered my garden, O my sister, my bride; I have gathered my myrrh with my balsam spice. I have eaten my honeycomb and my honey; I have drunk my wine and my milk! The Poet to the Couple: ¹  Eat, friends, and drink! ²  Drink freely, O lovers!

And each of you ¹  take his censer, put ²  incense in it, and then each of you present his censer before the Lord: 250 censers, along with you, and Aaron – each of you with his censer.”

So bathe yourself, ¹  rub on some perfumed oil, ²  and get dressed up. ³  Then go down ⁴  to the threshing floor. But don’t let the man know you’re there until he finishes his meal. ⁵ 

Once she had weaned him, she took him up with her, along with three bulls, an ephah ¹  of flour, and a container ²  of wine. She brought him to the Lord’s house at Shiloh, even though he was young. ³ 

Saul and Jonathan were greatly loved ¹  during their lives, and not even in their deaths were they separated. They were swifter than eagles, stronger than lions.

He went out to the spring and threw the salt in. Then he said, “This is what the Lord says, ‘I have purified ¹  this water. It will no longer cause death or fail to produce crops.” ² 

Do not let me have evil desires, ¹  or participate in sinful activities with men who behave wickedly. ²  I will not eat their delicacies. ³ 

The Beloved to Her Lover: Awake, O north wind; come, O south wind! Blow on my garden so that its fragrant spices may send out their sweet smell. ¹  May my beloved come into his garden and eat its delightful fruit!

I want ¹  to climb the palm tree, ²  and take hold of its fruit stalks. May your breasts be like the clusters of grapes, ³  and may the fragrance of your breath be like apricots! ⁴ 

I would lead you and bring you to my mother’s house, the one who taught me. ¹  I would give you ²  spiced wine ³  to drink, ⁴  the nectar of my pomegranates. ⁵ 

What more can I do for my vineyard beyond what I have already done? When I waited for it to produce edible grapes, why did it produce sour ones instead?

At that time ¹  Tyre will be forgotten for seventy years, ²  the typical life span of a king. ³  At the end of seventy years Tyre will try to attract attention again, like the prostitute in the popular song: ⁴ 

The Lord who commands armies will hold a banquet for all the nations on this mountain. ¹  At this banquet there will be plenty of meat and aged wine – tender meat and choicest wine. ² 

נ (Nun) Your prophets saw visions for you that were worthless lies. ¹  They failed to expose your sin so as to restore your fortunes. ²  They saw oracles for you that were worthless ³  lies.

He said to me, “These waters go out toward the eastern region and flow down into the Arabah; when they enter the Dead Sea, ¹  where the sea is stagnant, ²  the waters become fresh. ³ 

Can horses run on rocky cliffs? Can one plow the sea with oxen? ¹  Yet you have turned justice into a poisonous plant, and the fruit of righteous actions into a bitter plant. ² 

I will bring them back from Egypt and gather them from Assyria. ¹  I will bring them to the lands of Gilead and Lebanon, for there will not be enough room for them in their own land.

For these are the kind who do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By their smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds ¹  of the naive.

cargo such as gold, silver, ¹  precious stones, pearls, fine linen, purple cloth, silk, ²  scarlet cloth, ³  all sorts of things made of citron wood, ⁴  all sorts of objects made of ivory, all sorts of things made of expensive wood, bronze, iron and marble,

cinnamon, spice, ¹  incense, perfumed ointment, ²  frankincense, ³  wine, olive oil and costly flour, ⁴  wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and four-wheeled carriages, ⁵  slaves and human lives. ⁶