The Song of Songs 3
1 In the night on my bed I sought him whom my soul loves; I sought him, but did not find him. I called him, but he did not hear me.
2 I will rise now and go about the city, In the marketplaces and the streets. I will seek him whom my soul loves. I sought him, but did not find him.†
3 The watchmen who do their rounds in the city Found me, and I said to them, “Have you seen him whom my soul loves?”†
4 Scarcely had I departed from them When I found him whom my soul loves. I held him and would not let him go Until I brought him into my mother’s house, Into the chamber of her who conceived me.†
5 I implore you, O daughters of Jerusalem, By the hosts and powers of the field, That you rouse not nor wake my love Until he wishes.
Companions
6 Who is this who comes up from the desert Like pillars of smoke, Offering incense, myrrh, and frankincense, With all the fragrant powders of the perfumer?†
7 Behold the bed of Solomon; Sixty mighty men round about it From the mighty ones of Israel,
8 All holding a sword And trained in war. Every man has his sword upon his thigh Because of fear in the night.†
9 King Solomon made a palanquin for himself From the trees of Lebanon.†
10 He made its pillars of silver And its back of gold, Its covering crimson, Its interior a mosaic of love, Because of the daughters of Jerusalem.
11 Go forth and look at King Solomon, At the crown with which his mother crowned him In the day of his wedding, And in the day of the gladness of his heart.†
The Song of Songs 4
The Groom
1 Behold, you are beautiful, my companion, Behold, you are beautiful. Your eyes are like doves behind your veil; Your hair is as flocks of goats Coming down from Gilead.†
2 Your teeth are as flocks of shorn sheep That went up from the washing, All of them bearing twins, And none among them is barren.†
3 Your lips are like a thread of scarlet, And your manner of speech is pleasant. As the rind of a pomegranate Are your cheeks behind your veil.†
4 Your neck is like the tower of David, The one built on courses of stone. A thousand shields hang upon it, All the arrows of the mighty men.†
5 Your two breasts are like two fawns, Twins of a gazelle, that feed among the lilies.†
6 Until the day dawns and the shadows depart, I will go my way to the mountain of myrrh And to the hill of frankincense.†
7 You are altogether beautiful, And there is no blemish in you.†
8 Come from Lebanon, my bride, come from Lebanon. Beginning with faithfulness, you shall come and pass through From the top of Senir and Hermon, From the dens of lions And the mountains of leopards.†
9 My sister, my bride, you ravished my heart; You have ravished my heart with one look from your eyes, With one jewel of your necklace.†
10 My sister, my bride, How beautiful are your breasts. How much more beautiful are your breasts than wine, And the fragrance of your garments than all the spices.†
11 Your lips, my bride, drip as the honeycomb; Honey and milk are under your tongue; And the fragrance of your garments Is as the scent of Lebanon.†
12 My sister, my bride, is an enclosed garden; An enclosed garden, a sealed fountain.†
13 Your plants are a garden of pomegranates With the fragrance of a fruit harvest And aromatic plants:
14 Spikenard and saffron, Calamus and cinnamon; With every tree of Lebanon, Myrrh, aloes, with all the finest spices;
15 A fountain of gardens, A well of living and rushing water from Lebanon.
The Bride
16 Awake, O north wind, And come, O south wind; Blow through my garden And let my spices flow out. Let my beloved come to his garden And eat of its fruits.†
Psalms 135
1 Alleluia. Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, For His mercy endures forever;
2 Give thanks to the God of gods, For His mercy endures forever;
3 Give thanks to the Lord of lords, For His mercy endures forever;
4 To Him who alone does great wonders, For His mercy endures forever;
5 To Him who made the heavens with understanding, For His mercy endures forever;
6 To Him who made firm the earth on the waters, For His mercy endures forever;
7 To Him who alone made the great lights, For His mercy endures forever,
8 The sun for authority over the day, For His mercy endures forever,
9 The moon and stars for authority over the night, For His mercy endures forever;
10 To Him who struck down Egypt with their firstborn, For His mercy endures forever;
11 To Him who led Israel out of their midst, For His mercy endures forever,
12 With a strong hand and an upraised arm, For His mercy endures forever;
13 To Him who divided the Red Sea into parts, For His mercy endures forever,
14 And led Israel through the midst of it, For His mercy endures forever,
15 And who overthrew Pharaoh and all his host in the Red Sea, For His mercy endures forever;
Proverbs 29
7 A righteous man understands how to judge on behalf of the poor, But the ungodly man will not consider such knowledge; For he has no understanding heart for a poor man.
8 Pestilent men burn down a city, But wise men turn away wrath.
9 A wise man judges people fairly, But when a worthless man is angry, he laughs at them, and does not fear.
10 Bloodthirsty men will hate a holy man, But the upright will seek his soul.†
11 A man without discernment brings forth his whole mind, But a wise man distributes his in part.
12 When a king obeys an unrighteous word, All those under him are lawless.
Acts 1
From Passover to Pentecost
1 The former account I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach,
2 until the day in which He was taken up, after He through the Holy Spirit had given commandments to the apostles whom He had chosen,†
Days 1–39: Jesus’ Promise of the Holy Spirit
3 to whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.†
4 And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me;†
5 for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
6 Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?”†
7 And He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority.
8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
Day 40: The Ascension
9 Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight.†
10 And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel,
11 who also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.”
Days 40–49: Preparation for Pentecost
12 Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey.†
13 And when they had entered, they went up into the upper room where they were staying: Peter, James, John, and Andrew; Philip and Thomas; Bartholomew and Matthew; James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot; and Judas the son of James.
14 These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.
15 And in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples (altogether the number of names was about a hundred and twenty), and said,
16 “Men and brethren, this Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke before by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus;†
17 for he was numbered with us and obtained a part in this ministry.”
18 (Now this man purchased a field with the wages of iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst open in the middle and all his entrails gushed out.†
19 And it became known to all those dwelling in Jerusalem; so that field is called in their own language, Akel Dama, that is, Field of Blood.)
20 “For it is written in the Book of Psalms: ‘Let his dwelling place be desolate, And let no one live in it’ ; and, ‘Let another take his office.’ †
21 “Therefore, of these men who have accompanied us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us,
22 beginning from the baptism of John to that day when He was taken up from us, one of these must become a witness with us of His resurrection.”
23 And they proposed two: Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias.
24 And they prayed and said, “You, O Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which of these two You have chosen
25 to take part in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place.”
26 And they cast their lots, and the lot fell on Matthias. And he was numbered with the eleven apostles.†