God looks down from heaven ¹  at the human race, ²  to see if there is anyone who is wise ³  and seeks God. ⁴ 

Men are nothing but a mere breath; human beings are unreliable. ¹  When they are weighed in the scales, all of them together are lighter than air. ² 

If they say, “Come with us! We will ¹  lie in wait ²  to shed blood; ³  we will ambush ⁴  an innocent person ⁵  capriciously. ⁶ 

The Beloved to Her Lover: ¹  Oh, how I wish you ²  would kiss me passionately! ³  For your lovemaking ⁴  is more delightful ⁵  than wine. ⁶ 

The Lover to His Beloved: If you do not know, O most beautiful of women, simply follow the tracks of my flock, and pasture your little lambs beside the tents of the shepherds.

The Beloved to Her Lover: Oh, how handsome you are, my lover! ¹  Oh, ²  how delightful ³  you are! The lush foliage ⁴  is our canopied bed; ⁵ 

The Beloved about Her Lover: All night long ¹  on my bed ²  I longed for ³  my lover. ⁴  I longed for ⁵  him but he never appeared. ⁶ 

The Maidens to The Beloved: Why is your beloved better than others, ¹  O most beautiful of women? Why is your beloved better than others, that you would command us in this manner?

The Beloved to the Maidens: My beloved has gone down to his garden, ¹  to the flowerbeds of balsam spices, ²  to graze ³  in the gardens, and to gather lilies. ⁴ 

If she is a wall, ¹  we will build on her a battlement ²  of silver; but if she is a door, we will barricade ³  her with boards ⁴  of cedar. ⁵ 

The Beloved: I was a wall, and my breasts were like fortress towers. ¹  Then I found favor ²  in his eyes. ³ 

The Beloved to Her Lover: Make haste, my beloved! Be like a gazelle or a young stag on the mountains of spices.

But where, oh where, are your wise men? ¹  Let them tell you, let them find out what the Lord who commands armies has planned for Egypt.

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 

“Take the harp, go through the city, forgotten prostitute! Play it well, play lots of songs, so you’ll be noticed!” ¹ 

At the end of seventy years ¹  the Lord will revive ²  Tyre. She will start making money again by selling her services to all the earth’s kingdoms. ³ 

everyone who belongs to me, ¹  whom I created for my glory, whom I formed – yes, whom I made!

I made the earth, I created the people who live ¹  on it. It was me – my hands ²  stretched out the sky, ³  I give orders to all the heavenly lights. ⁴ 

“I, I am the one who consoles you. ¹  Why are you afraid of mortal men, of mere human beings who are as short-lived as grass? ² 

That is why the rains have been withheld, and the spring rains have not come. Yet in spite of this you are obstinate as a prostitute. ¹  You refuse to be ashamed of what you have done.