Bible Readings for September 6, 2023

Let's read the Bible together in the next year. Today our passages are Song of Solomon 1:1-4:16; 2 Corinthians 8:16-24; Psalm 50:1-23; and Proverbs 22:22-23. The readings are the Contemporary English Version.

---

Song of Solomon 1-4:16 (Contemporary English Version)

Song of Solomon 1

Love Is Better than Wine

 ¹This is Solomon's

   most beautiful song.   

She Speaks:

 ²Kiss me tenderly!

   Your love is better than wine,

    ³and you smell so sweet.

   All the young women adore you;

   the very mention of your name

   is like spreading perfume.

    ⁴Hurry, my king! Let's hurry.

    ⁵Take me to your home.

   We are happy for you!

   And we praise your love

   even more than wine.

   Young women of Jerusalem,

   it is only right

   that you should adore him.

   My skin is dark and beautiful,

   like a tent in the desert

   or like Solomon's curtains.   

The Young Women Speak:

She Speaks:

 ⁶Don't stare at me

   just because the sun

   has darkened my skin.

   My brothers were angry with me;

   they made me work in the vineyard,

   and so I neglected

   my complexion.

   Don't let the other shepherds

   think badly of me. ^[a] ⁷I'm not one of those women

   who shamelessly follow

   after shepherds. ^[b] My darling, I love you!

   Where do you feed your sheep

   and let them rest at noon?   

He Speaks:

 ⁸My dearest, if you don't know,

   just follow the path

   of the sheep.

   Then feed your young goats

   near the shepherds' tents.

    ⁹You move as gracefully

   as the pony

   that leads

   the chariot of the king.

    ¹⁰Earrings add to your beauty,

   and you wear a necklace

   of precious stones.

    ¹¹Let's make you some jewelry

   of gold,

   woven with silver.   

She Speaks:

 ¹²My king, while you

   were on your couch,

   my love was a magic charm. ^[c] ¹³My darling, you are perfume

   between my breasts;

    ¹⁴you are flower blossoms

   from the gardens of En-Gedi. ^[d]

He Speaks:

 ¹⁵My darling, you are lovely,

   so very lovely--

   your eyes are those of a dove.   

She Speaks:

 ¹⁶My love, you are handsome,

   truly handsome--

   the fresh green grass

   will be our wedding bed

    ¹⁷in the shade of cedar

   and cypress trees.

   

Song of Solomon 2

Love Makes Everything Beautiful

She Speaks:

 ¹I am merely a rose ^[e] from the land of Sharon,

   a lily from the valley.   

He Speaks:

 ²My darling, when compared

   with other young women,

   you are a lily among thorns.   

She Speaks:

 ³And you, my love,

   are an apple tree

   among trees of the forest.

   Your shade brought me pleasure;

   your fruit was sweet.

    ⁴You led me to your banquet room

   and showered me with love.

    ⁵Refresh and strengthen me

   with raisins and apples.

   I am hungry for love!

    ⁶Put your left hand under my head

   and embrace me

   with your right arm.

    ⁷Young women of Jerusalem,

   promise me by the power

   of deer and gazelles ^[f] never to awaken love

   before it is ready.   

Winter Is Past

She Speaks:

 ⁸I hear the voice

   of the one I love,

   as he comes leaping

   over mountains and hills

    ⁹like a deer or a gazelle.

   Now he stands outside our wall,

   looking through the window

    ¹⁰and speaking to me.

   My darling, I love you!

   Let's go away together.   

He Speaks:

 ¹¹Winter is past,

   the rain has stopped;

    ¹²flowers cover the earth,

   it's time to sing. ^[g] The cooing of doves

   is heard in our land.

    ¹³Fig trees are bearing fruit,

   while blossoms on grapevines

   fill the air with perfume.

   My darling, I love you!

   Let's go away together.

    ¹⁴You are my dove

   hiding among the rocks

   on the side of a cliff.

   Let me see how lovely you are!

   Let me hear the sound

   of your melodious voice.

    ¹⁵Our vineyards are in blossom;

   we must catch the little foxes

   that destroy the vineyards. ^[h]

She Speaks:

 ¹⁶My darling, I am yours,

   and you are mine,

   as you feed your sheep

   among the lilies.

    ¹⁷Pretend to be a young deer

   dancing on mountain slopes ^[i] until daylight comes

   and shadows fade away.

   

Song of Solomon 3

Beautiful Dreams

She Speaks:

 ¹While in bed at night,

   I reached for the one I love

   with heart and soul.

   I looked for him,

   but he wasn't there.

    ²So I searched through the town

   for the one I love.

   I looked on every street,

   but he wasn't there.

    ³I even asked the guards

   patrolling the town,

   "Have you seen the one

   I love so much?"

    ⁴Right after that, I found him.

   I held him and would not let go

   until I had taken him

   to the home of my mother.

    ⁵Young women of Jerusalem,

   promise me by the power

   of deer and gazelles, ^[j] never to awaken love

   before it is ready.   

The Groom and the Wedding Party

Their Friends Speak:

 ⁶What do we see approaching

   from the desert

   like a cloud of smoke?

   With it comes the sweet smell

   of spices,

   including myrrh

   and frankincense.

    ⁷It is King Solomon

   carried on a throne,

   surrounded by sixty

   of Israel's best soldiers.

    ⁸Each of them wears a sword.

   They are experts at fighting,

   even in the dark.

    ⁹The throne is made of trees

   from Lebanon.

    ¹⁰Its posts are silver,

   the back is gold,

   and the seat is covered

   with purple cloth.

   You women of Jerusalem

   have taken great care

   to furnish the inside. ^[k] ¹¹Now come and see the crown

   given to Solomon

   by his mother

   on his happy wedding day.

   

Song of Solomon 4

What a Beautiful Bride

He Speaks:

 ¹My darling, you are lovely,

   so very lovely--

   as you look through your veil,

   your eyes are those of a dove.

   Your hair tosses about

   as gracefully as goats

   coming down from Gilead.

    ²Your teeth are whiter

   than sheep freshly washed;

   they match perfectly,

   not one is missing.

    ³Your lips are crimson cords,

   your mouth is shapely;

   behind your veil are hidden

   beautiful rosy cheeks. ^[l] ⁴Your neck is more graceful

   than the tower of David,

   decorated with thousands

   of warriors' shields.

    ⁵Your breasts are perfect;

   they are twin deer

   feeding among lilies.

    ⁶I will hasten to those hills

   sprinkled with sweet perfume

   and stay there till sunrise.

    ⁷My darling, you are lovely

   in every way.

    ⁸My bride, together

   we will leave Lebanon!

   We will say good-by

   to the peaks

   of Mount Amana,

   Senir, and Hermon,

   where lions and leopards

   live in the caves.

    ⁹My bride, my very own,

   you have stolen my heart!

   With one glance from your eyes

   and the glow of your necklace,

   you have stolen my heart.

    ¹⁰Your love is sweeter than wine;

   the smell of your perfume

   is more fragrant than spices.

    ¹¹Your lips are a honeycomb;

   milk and honey

   flow from your tongue.

   Your dress has the aroma

   of cedar trees from Lebanon.

    ¹²My bride, my very own,

   you are a garden,

   a fountain

   closed off to all others.

    ¹³Your arms ^[m] are vines, covered with delicious fruits

   and all sorts of spices--

   henna, nard, ¹⁴saffron,

   calamus, cinnamon,

   frankincense, myrrh, and aloes

   --all the finest spices.

    ¹⁵You are a spring in the garden,

   a fountain of pure water,

   and a refreshing stream

   from Mount Lebanon.   

She Speaks:

 ¹⁶Let the north wind blow,

   the south wind too!

   Let them spread the aroma

   of my garden,

   so the one I love

   may enter

   and taste

   its delicious fruits.

   

Footnotes:

1. Song of Solomon 1:6 Don't. . . me: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
2. Song of Solomon 1:7 I'm. . . shepherds: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
3. Song of Solomon 1:12 magic charm: The Hebrew text has "spikenard" (or "nard"), a sweet-smelling ointment made from a plant that comes from India. The ointment was sometimes used as a love charm.
4. Song of Solomon 1:14 En-Gedi: An oasis west of the Dead Sea.
5. Song of Solomon 2:1 rose: The traditional translation. The exact variety of the flower is not known, though it may have been a crocus.
6. Song of Solomon 2:7 deer and gazelles: Deer and gazelles were sacred animals in some religions of Old Testament times, and they were thought to have special powers.
7. Song of Solomon 2:12 sing: Or "trim the vines."
8. Song of Solomon 2:15 vineyards: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 15.
9. Song of Solomon 2:17 mountain slopes: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
10. Song of Solomon 3:5 deer and gazelles: See the note at 2.7.
11. Song of Solomon 3:10 inside: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
12. Song of Solomon 4:3 beautiful rosy cheeks: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
13. Song of Solomon 4:13 Your arms: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.

---

2 Corinthians 8:16-24 (Contemporary English Version)

Titus and His Friends

 ¹⁶I am grateful that God made Titus care as much about you as we do. ¹⁷When we begged Titus to visit you, he said he would. He wanted to because he cared so much for you. ¹⁸With Titus we are also sending one of the Lord's followers who is well known in every church for spreading the good news. ¹⁹The churches chose this follower to travel with us while we carry this gift that will bring praise to the Lord and show how much we hope to help. ²⁰We don't want anyone to find fault with the way we handle your generous gift. ²¹But we want to do what pleases the Lord and what people think is right.

    ²²We are also sending someone else with Titus and the other follower. We approve of this man. In fact, he has already shown us many times that he wants to help. And now he wants to help even more than ever, because he trusts you so much. ²³Titus is my partner, who works with me to serve you. The other two followers are sent by the churches, and they bring honor to Christ. ²⁴Treat them in such a way that the churches will see your love and will know why we bragged about you.

---

Psalm 50:1-23 (Contemporary English Version)

Psalm 50

(A psalm by Asaph.)

What Pleases God

 ¹From east to west,

   the powerful LORD God

   has been calling together

   everyone on earth.

    ²God shines brightly from Zion,

   the most beautiful city.

    ³Our God approaches,

   but not silently;

   a flaming fire comes first,

   and a storm surrounds him.

    ⁴God comes to judge his people.

   He shouts to the heavens

   and to the earth,

    ⁵"Call my followers together!

   They offered me a sacrifice,

   and we made an agreement."

    ⁶The heavens announce,

   "God is the judge,

   and he is always honest."

    ⁷My people, I am God!

   Israel, I am your God.

   Listen to my charges

   against you.

    ⁸Although you offer sacrifices

   and always bring gifts,

    ⁹I won't accept your offerings

   of bulls and goats.

    ¹⁰Every animal in the forest

   belongs to me,

   and so do the cattle

   on a thousand hills.

    ¹¹I know all the birds

   in the mountains,

   and every wild creature

   is in my care.

    ¹²If I were hungry,

   I wouldn't tell you,

   because I own the world

   and everything in it.

    ¹³I don't eat the meat of bulls

   or drink the blood of goats.

    ¹⁴I am God Most High!

   The only sacrifice I want

   is for you to be thankful

   and to keep your word.

    ¹⁵Pray to me in time of trouble.

   I will rescue you,

   and you will honor me.

    ¹⁶But to the wicked I say:

   "You don't have the right

   to mention my laws

   or claim

   to keep our agreement!

    ¹⁷You refused correction

   and rejected my commands.

    ¹⁸You made friends

   with every crook you met,

   and you liked people who break

   their wedding vows.

    ¹⁹You talked only about violence

   and told nothing but lies;

    ²⁰you sat around gossiping,

   ruining the reputation

   of your own relatives."

    ²¹When you did all of this,

   I didn't say a word,

   and you thought,

   "God is just like us!"

   But now I will accuse you.

    ²²You have ignored me!

   So pay close attention

   or I will tear you apart,

   and no one can help you.

    ²³The sacrifice that honors me

   is a thankful heart.

   Obey me, ^[a] and I, your God,

   will show my power to save.

   

Footnotes:

1. Psalm 50:23 Obey me: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.

---

Proverbs 22:22-23 (Contemporary English Version)

-1-

 ²² Don't take advantage

   of the poor

   or cheat them in court.

    ²³The LORD is their defender,

   and what you do to them,

   he will do to you.

---

Thought for the Day

 

“Jesus replied: If anyone loves me, they will obey me. Then my Father will love them, and we will come to them and live in them.” (John 14:23 - Contemporary English Version) We can show our love for Jesus by showing love to others. And when we do, not only will we receive the satisfaction of knowing that we're doing what we've been called to do, we'll also feel closer to the one who loved us before time had any meaning. 

---

Quote for the Day

English actor, Michael Caine wrote, "Be like a duck. Calm on the surface, but always paddling like the dickens underneath."

---

A Joke for Today

Arriving late for a political conference, the college student asks another student standing by the door, "How long has the candidate been talking now?"

"Half an hour."

"And what is he talking about?"

"That I wouldn't know, he hasn't said."

---

A Prayer Request

As Christians, we can offer specific daily prayers for our community, nation and world. Below is the need that we're laying before God today.

That leaders put aside their pride and ambition for the good of their country.