WEBVTT 00:00:00.520 --> 00:00:03.700 Hello, this is Father Paul, and I'm glad we're 00:00:03.700 --> 00:00:05.740 taking this journey together to read the Bible 00:00:05.740 --> 00:00:09.339 in a year. Today's reading is the entire Song 00:00:09.339 --> 00:00:11.919 of Solomon, also known in some translations as 00:00:11.919 --> 00:00:15.539 the Song of Songs, chapters 1 through 8. The 00:00:15.539 --> 00:00:18.379 Song of Solomon is a poem. It's a conversation 00:00:18.379 --> 00:00:21.760 between three, the bride, her companions, and 00:00:21.760 --> 00:00:24.320 the bridegroom. And throughout the reading, different 00:00:24.320 --> 00:00:26.940 sections will be identified by who is speaking. 00:00:28.199 --> 00:00:31.899 Chapter 1 The Song of Songs, Witches Solomons 00:00:31.899 --> 00:00:35.780 The Bride Let him kiss me with the kisses of 00:00:35.780 --> 00:00:37.859 his mouth, for your love is better than wine. 00:00:38.020 --> 00:00:40.399 Because of the fragrance of your good ointments, 00:00:40.479 --> 00:00:43.420 your name is ointment poured forth. Therefore 00:00:43.420 --> 00:00:47.479 the virgins love you. Draw me away. The Companions 00:00:47.479 --> 00:00:51.140 We will run after you. The Bride The King has 00:00:51.140 --> 00:00:54.140 brought me into his chambers. The Companions 00:00:54.140 --> 00:00:57.280 We will be glad and rejoice in you. We will remember 00:00:57.280 --> 00:01:29.640 your love more than wine. The bride? By the flocks 00:01:29.640 --> 00:01:32.939 of your companions. The bridegroom. If you do 00:01:32.939 --> 00:01:35.540 not know, O fairest among women, follow in the 00:01:35.540 --> 00:01:38.040 footsteps of the flock, and feed your little 00:01:38.040 --> 00:01:41.060 goats beside the shepherd's tents. I have compared 00:01:41.060 --> 00:01:44.019 you, my love, to my filly among Pharaoh's chariots. 00:01:44.099 --> 00:01:46.900 Your cheeks are lovely with ornaments, your neck 00:01:46.900 --> 00:01:50.180 with chains of gold. The companions. We will 00:01:50.180 --> 00:01:53.000 make you ornaments of gold with studs of silver. 00:01:53.599 --> 00:01:57.109 The bride. While the king is at his table. My 00:01:57.109 --> 00:02:00.109 spikenard sends forth its fragrance. A bundle 00:02:00.109 --> 00:02:03.150 of myrrh is my beloved to me that lies all night 00:02:03.150 --> 00:02:06.329 between my breasts. My beloved is to me a cluster 00:02:06.329 --> 00:02:09.009 of henna blooms in the vineyards of Ein Gedi. 00:02:09.270 --> 00:02:12.629 The bridegroom. Behold, you are fair, my love. 00:02:12.969 --> 00:02:16.530 Behold, you are fair. You have dove's eyes. The 00:02:16.530 --> 00:02:18.990 bride. Behold, you are handsome, my beloved. 00:02:19.189 --> 00:02:22.689 Yes, pleasant. Also, our bed is green. The beams 00:02:22.689 --> 00:02:25.990 of our houses are cedar and our rafters are fir. 00:02:27.560 --> 00:02:31.580 Chapter 2 I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily 00:02:31.580 --> 00:02:34.680 of the valleys. The bridegroom? Like a lily among 00:02:34.680 --> 00:02:37.819 thorns, so is my love among the daughters. The 00:02:37.819 --> 00:02:40.840 bride? Like an apple tree among the trees of 00:02:40.840 --> 00:02:43.659 the woods, so is my beloved among the suns. I 00:02:43.659 --> 00:02:46.400 sat down in his shade with great delight, and 00:02:46.400 --> 00:02:49.599 his fruit was sweet to my taste. He brought me 00:02:49.599 --> 00:02:52.340 to the banqueting house, and his banner over 00:02:52.340 --> 00:02:55.639 me was love. Sustain me with cakes of raisins, 00:02:55.699 --> 00:02:59.099 refresh me with apples. for I am lovesick. His 00:02:59.099 --> 00:03:01.460 left hand is under my head, and his right hand 00:03:01.460 --> 00:03:04.240 embraces me. I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, 00:03:04.500 --> 00:03:07.020 by the gazelles or by the doors of the field. 00:03:07.240 --> 00:03:10.659 Do not stir up nor awaken love until it pleases. 00:03:11.300 --> 00:03:14.539 The voice of my beloved, behold, he comes, leaping 00:03:14.539 --> 00:03:16.599 upon the mountains, skipping upon the hills. 00:03:16.759 --> 00:03:19.400 My beloved is like a gazelle or a young stag. 00:03:19.919 --> 00:03:22.479 Behold, he stands behind our wall. He is looking 00:03:22.479 --> 00:03:24.699 through the windows, gazing through the lattice. 00:03:25.020 --> 00:03:28.199 My beloved spoke and said to me, rise up my love 00:03:28.199 --> 00:03:31.419 my fair one and come away for lo the winter is 00:03:31.419 --> 00:03:34.740 past the rain is over and gone the flowers appear 00:03:34.740 --> 00:03:37.699 on the earth the time of singing has come and 00:03:37.699 --> 00:03:39.879 the voice of the turtle dove is heard in our 00:03:39.879 --> 00:03:43.699 land the fig tree puts forth her green figs and 00:03:43.699 --> 00:03:45.979 the vines with the tender grapes give a good 00:03:45.979 --> 00:03:49.360 smell rise up my love my fair one and come away 00:03:49.360 --> 00:03:52.740 o my dove in the clefts of the rock in the secret 00:03:52.740 --> 00:03:56.210 places of the cliff let me see your face Let 00:03:56.210 --> 00:03:58.789 me hear your voice, for your voice is sweet and 00:03:58.789 --> 00:04:02.990 your face is lovely. The Companions Catch up 00:04:02.990 --> 00:04:05.889 the foxes, the little foxes that spoil the vines, 00:04:06.009 --> 00:04:09.889 for our vines have tender grapes. The Bride My 00:04:09.889 --> 00:04:12.810 beloved is mine and I am his. He feeds his flock 00:04:12.810 --> 00:04:15.530 among the lilies. Until the day breaks and the 00:04:15.530 --> 00:04:18.509 shadows flee away, turn, my beloved, and be a 00:04:18.509 --> 00:04:21.610 gazelle or a young stag upon the mountains of 00:04:21.610 --> 00:04:27.360 Bethar. Chapter 3 The Bride By night, on my bed, 00:04:27.439 --> 00:04:29.860 I sought the one I love. I sought him, but I 00:04:29.860 --> 00:04:32.980 did not find him. I will rise now, I said, and 00:04:32.980 --> 00:04:35.379 go about the city. In the streets and in the 00:04:35.379 --> 00:04:38.079 squares, I will seek the one I love. I sought 00:04:38.079 --> 00:04:40.759 him, but I did not find him. The watchmen who 00:04:40.759 --> 00:04:43.439 go about the city found me. I said, Have you 00:04:43.439 --> 00:04:46.420 seen the one I love? Scarcely had I passed by 00:04:46.420 --> 00:04:49.180 them when I found the one I love. I held him 00:04:49.180 --> 00:04:51.500 and would not let him go until I had brought 00:04:51.500 --> 00:04:53.879 him to the house of my mother and into the chamber 00:04:53.879 --> 00:04:56.740 of her who conceived me. I charge you, O daughters 00:04:56.740 --> 00:04:59.259 of Jerusalem, by the gazelles and by the does 00:04:59.259 --> 00:05:02.220 of the field, do not stir up nor awaken love 00:05:02.220 --> 00:05:06.000 until it pleases. Who is this coming out of the 00:05:06.000 --> 00:05:08.860 wilderness like pillars of smoke, perfumed with 00:05:08.860 --> 00:05:11.259 myrrh and frankincense, with all the merchants' 00:05:11.480 --> 00:05:14.540 fragrant powders? Behold, it is Solomon's couch, 00:05:14.740 --> 00:05:17.959 with sixty valiant men around it, of the valiant 00:05:17.959 --> 00:05:21.120 of Israel. They all hold swords, being expert 00:05:21.120 --> 00:05:24.000 in war. Every man has his sword on his thigh. 00:05:24.410 --> 00:05:26.689 because of fear in the night. Of the wood of 00:05:26.689 --> 00:05:29.810 Lebanon, Solomon the king made himself a palanquin. 00:05:30.009 --> 00:05:33.089 He made its pillars of silver, its support of 00:05:33.089 --> 00:05:36.170 gold, its seat of purple, its interior paved 00:05:36.170 --> 00:05:39.069 with love. By the daughters of Jerusalem, go 00:05:39.069 --> 00:05:41.649 forth, O daughters of Zion, and see King Solomon 00:05:41.649 --> 00:05:44.170 with the crown, with which his mother crowned 00:05:44.170 --> 00:05:46.730 him, on the day of his wedding, the day of the 00:05:46.730 --> 00:05:52.290 gladness of his heart. Chapter 4 The Bridegroom 00:05:52.959 --> 00:05:55.300 Behold, you are fair, my love, behold, you are 00:05:55.300 --> 00:05:58.259 fair. You have dove's eyes behind your veil. 00:05:58.399 --> 00:06:01.300 Your hair is like a flock of goats going down 00:06:01.300 --> 00:06:04.120 from Mount Gilead. Your teeth are like a flock 00:06:04.120 --> 00:06:07.139 of shorn sheep which have come up from the washing, 00:06:07.339 --> 00:06:10.899 every one of which bears twins, and none is barren 00:06:10.899 --> 00:06:13.879 among them. Your lips are like a strand of scarlet, 00:06:13.879 --> 00:06:16.680 and your mouth is lovely. Your temples behind 00:06:16.680 --> 00:06:19.720 your veil are like a piece of pomegranate. Your 00:06:19.720 --> 00:06:22.319 neck is like the Tower of David. built for an 00:06:22.319 --> 00:06:25.439 armory, on which hang a thousand bucklers, all 00:06:25.439 --> 00:06:28.500 shields of mighty men. Your two breasts are like 00:06:28.500 --> 00:06:31.680 two fawns, twins of a gazelle, which feed among 00:06:31.680 --> 00:06:34.519 the lilies. Until the day breaks and the shadows 00:06:34.519 --> 00:06:37.420 flee away, I will go my way to the mountain of 00:06:37.420 --> 00:06:40.259 Myrrh and to the hill of frankincense. You are 00:06:40.259 --> 00:06:43.160 all fair, my love, and there is no spot in you. 00:06:43.279 --> 00:06:46.040 Come with me from Lebanon, my spouse, with me 00:06:46.040 --> 00:06:48.879 from Lebanon. Look from the top of Amarna, from 00:06:48.879 --> 00:06:51.699 the top of Senir and Hermon. from the lion's 00:06:51.699 --> 00:06:54.959 dens, from the mountains of the leopards. You 00:06:54.959 --> 00:06:57.500 have ravaged my heart, my sister, my spouse. 00:06:57.740 --> 00:07:00.300 You have ravaged my heart with one look of your 00:07:00.300 --> 00:07:03.220 eyes, with one link of your necklace. How fair 00:07:03.220 --> 00:07:06.220 is your love, my sister, my spouse. How much 00:07:06.220 --> 00:07:08.879 better than wine is your love and the scent of 00:07:08.879 --> 00:07:11.779 your perfumes than all spices. Your lips, oh 00:07:11.779 --> 00:07:14.800 my spouse, drip as the honeycomb. Honey and milk 00:07:14.800 --> 00:07:17.019 are under your tongue and the fragrance of your 00:07:17.019 --> 00:07:44.400 garments is like the fragrance of Lebanon. The 00:07:44.400 --> 00:07:51.860 bride. Blow upon my garden, that its spices may 00:07:51.860 --> 00:07:54.379 flow out. Let my beloved come to his garden, 00:07:54.500 --> 00:08:00.199 and eat its pleasant fruits. Chapter 5 The Bridegroom 00:08:00.199 --> 00:08:03.079 I have come to my garden, my sister, my spouse. 00:08:03.319 --> 00:08:06.300 I have gathered my myrrh with my spice. I have 00:08:06.300 --> 00:08:08.920 eaten my honeycomb with my honey. I have drunk 00:08:08.920 --> 00:08:12.420 my wine with my milk. Eat, O friends, drink, 00:08:12.600 --> 00:08:16.459 yes, drink deeply, O beloved ones. The Bride 00:08:16.459 --> 00:08:19.790 I sleep, but my heart is awake. It is the voice 00:08:19.790 --> 00:08:22.490 of my beloved. He knocks, saying, Open for me, 00:08:22.569 --> 00:08:25.649 my sister, my love, my dove, my perfect one, 00:08:25.750 --> 00:08:28.550 for my head is covered with dew, my locks with 00:08:28.550 --> 00:08:31.310 the drops of the night. I have taken off my robe. 00:08:31.550 --> 00:08:34.769 How can I put it on again? I have washed my feet. 00:08:34.950 --> 00:08:37.809 How can I defile them? My beloved put his hand 00:08:37.809 --> 00:08:40.450 by the latch of the door, and my heart yearned 00:08:40.450 --> 00:08:43.309 for him. I arose to open for my beloved, and 00:08:43.309 --> 00:08:45.649 my hands dripped with myrrh, my fingers with 00:08:45.649 --> 00:08:48.860 liquid myrrh on the handles of the lock. I opened 00:08:48.860 --> 00:08:51.279 for my beloved, but my beloved had turned away 00:08:51.279 --> 00:08:54.539 and was gone. My heart leaped up when he spoke. 00:08:54.779 --> 00:08:57.659 I sought him, but I could not find him. I called 00:08:57.659 --> 00:09:00.600 him, but he gave me no answer. The watchmen who 00:09:00.600 --> 00:09:03.220 went about the city found me. They struck me, 00:09:03.279 --> 00:09:06.000 they wounded me. The keepers of the walls took 00:09:06.000 --> 00:09:08.419 my veil away from me. I charge you, O daughters 00:09:08.419 --> 00:09:11.360 of Jerusalem, if you find my beloved, that you 00:09:11.360 --> 00:09:15.080 tell him I am lovesick. The companions, what 00:09:15.080 --> 00:09:17.659 is your beloved? More than another beloved or 00:09:17.659 --> 00:09:20.659 fairest among women. What is your beloved more 00:09:20.659 --> 00:09:24.220 than another beloved that you so charge us? The 00:09:24.220 --> 00:09:27.360 bride. My beloved is white and ruddy, chief among 00:09:27.360 --> 00:09:29.899 ten thousand. His head is like the finest gold. 00:09:30.080 --> 00:09:33.279 His locks are wavy and black as a raven. His 00:09:33.279 --> 00:09:35.620 eyes are like doves by the rivers of waters, 00:09:35.799 --> 00:09:39.320 washed with milk and fitly set. His cheeks are 00:09:39.320 --> 00:09:41.919 like a bed of spices, banks of scented herbs. 00:09:42.179 --> 00:09:45.649 His lips are lilies, dripping liquid myrrh. His 00:09:45.649 --> 00:09:49.590 hands are rods of gold, set with beryl. His body 00:09:49.590 --> 00:09:52.669 is carved ivory, inlaid with sapphires. His legs 00:09:52.669 --> 00:09:55.649 are pillars of marble, set on basis of fine gold. 00:09:55.909 --> 00:09:58.649 His countenance is like Lebanon, excellent as 00:09:58.649 --> 00:10:02.009 the cedars. His mouth is most sweet. Yes, he 00:10:02.009 --> 00:10:04.990 is altogether lovely. This is my beloved, and 00:10:04.990 --> 00:10:07.529 this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem. 00:10:09.049 --> 00:10:13.009 Chapter 6 The Companions Where has your beloved 00:10:13.009 --> 00:10:15.860 gone, O fairest among women? Where has your beloved 00:10:15.860 --> 00:10:18.659 turned aside, that we may seek him with you? 00:10:19.139 --> 00:10:22.039 The Bride My beloved has gone to his garden, 00:10:22.179 --> 00:10:25.220 to the beds of spices, to feed his flock in the 00:10:25.220 --> 00:10:28.379 gardens, and to gather lilies. I am my beloved's, 00:10:28.379 --> 00:10:31.279 and my beloved is mine. He feeds his flock among 00:10:31.279 --> 00:10:35.200 the lilies. The Bridegroom O my love, you are 00:10:35.200 --> 00:10:38.080 as beautiful as Tirzah, lovely as Jerusalem, 00:10:38.360 --> 00:10:41.639 awesome as an army with banners. Turn your eyes 00:10:41.639 --> 00:10:44.379 away from me, for they have overcome me. Your 00:10:44.379 --> 00:10:47.120 hair is like a flock of goats going down from 00:10:47.120 --> 00:10:49.679 Gilead. Your teeth are like a flock of sheep 00:10:49.679 --> 00:10:52.299 which have come up from the washing. Everyone 00:10:52.299 --> 00:10:55.440 bears twins, and none is barren among them. Like 00:10:55.440 --> 00:10:57.919 a piece of pomegranate are your temples behind 00:10:57.919 --> 00:11:01.000 your veil. There are sixty queens and eighty 00:11:01.000 --> 00:11:04.259 concubines and virgins without number. My dove, 00:11:04.440 --> 00:11:07.340 my perfect one, is the only one, the only one 00:11:07.340 --> 00:11:09.779 of her mother, the favorite of the one who bore 00:11:09.779 --> 00:11:12.539 her. The daughters saw her and called her blessed. 00:11:13.100 --> 00:11:15.340 The queens and the concubines, and they praised 00:11:15.340 --> 00:11:18.120 her. Who is she who looks forth as the morning, 00:11:18.340 --> 00:11:21.580 fair as the moon, clear as the sun, awesome as 00:11:21.580 --> 00:11:25.240 an army with banners? The bride. I went down 00:11:25.240 --> 00:11:28.059 to the garden of nuts, to see the verger of the 00:11:28.059 --> 00:11:30.720 valley, to see whether the vine had budded, and 00:11:30.720 --> 00:11:33.620 the pomegranates had bloomed, before I was even 00:11:33.620 --> 00:11:36.779 aware my soul had made me as the chariots of 00:11:36.779 --> 00:11:40.039 my noble people. The bridegroom and his companions. 00:11:40.720 --> 00:11:43.840 Return, return, O Shulamite. Return, return, 00:11:44.039 --> 00:11:47.639 that we may look upon you. The bride. What would 00:11:47.639 --> 00:11:50.179 you see in the Shulamite, as it were the dance 00:11:50.179 --> 00:11:54.980 of the two camps? Chapter 7. The Bridegroom. 00:11:55.500 --> 00:11:58.320 How beautiful are your feet in sandals, O Prince's 00:11:58.320 --> 00:12:00.799 daughter! The curves of your thighs are like 00:12:00.799 --> 00:12:03.500 jewels, the work of the hands of a skillful workman. 00:12:03.720 --> 00:12:07.000 Your navel is a rounded goblet. It lacks no blended 00:12:07.000 --> 00:12:10.000 beverage. Your waist is a heap of wheat, set 00:12:10.000 --> 00:12:12.620 about with lilies. Your two breasts are like 00:12:12.620 --> 00:12:15.679 two fawns, twins of a gazelle. Your neck is like 00:12:15.679 --> 00:12:18.740 an ivory tower. Your eyes like the pools in Hezbon, 00:12:18.940 --> 00:12:22.179 by the gate of Bad Rabim. Your nose is like the 00:12:22.179 --> 00:12:24.860 Tower of Lebanon, which looks toward Damascus. 00:12:25.059 --> 00:12:27.740 Your head crowns you like Mount Carmel, and the 00:12:27.740 --> 00:12:30.500 hair of your head is like purple. A king is held 00:12:30.500 --> 00:12:33.620 captive by your tresses. How fair and how pleasant 00:12:33.620 --> 00:12:36.940 you are, O love with your delights! This stature 00:12:36.940 --> 00:12:39.460 of yours is like a palm tree, and your breasts 00:12:39.460 --> 00:12:42.450 like its clusters. I said I will go up to the 00:12:42.450 --> 00:12:44.789 palm tree, I will take hold of its branches. 00:12:45.049 --> 00:12:47.549 Let now your breasts be like clusters of the 00:12:47.549 --> 00:12:50.169 vine, the fragrance of your breath like apples, 00:12:50.350 --> 00:12:52.690 and the roof of your mouth like the best wine. 00:12:53.090 --> 00:12:56.409 The Bride The wine goes down smoothly from my 00:12:56.409 --> 00:12:59.269 beloved, moving gently the lips of sleepers. 00:12:59.350 --> 00:13:02.090 I am my beloved's, and his desire is toward me. 00:13:02.450 --> 00:13:05.029 Come, my beloved, let us go forth to the field, 00:13:05.149 --> 00:13:08.059 let us lodge in the villages. Let us get up early 00:13:08.059 --> 00:13:10.659 to the vineyards, let us see if the vine has 00:13:10.659 --> 00:13:13.639 budded, whether the grape blossoms are open and 00:13:13.639 --> 00:13:16.519 the pomegranates are in bloom. There I will give 00:13:16.519 --> 00:13:19.360 you my love. The mandrakes give off a fragrance, 00:13:19.600 --> 00:13:22.980 and at our gates are pleasant fruits, all manner, 00:13:23.120 --> 00:13:26.220 new and old, which I have laid up for you, my 00:13:26.220 --> 00:13:31.820 beloved. Chapter 8 O that you were like my brother, 00:13:31.940 --> 00:13:34.639 who nursed at my mother's breasts! If I should 00:13:34.639 --> 00:13:37.240 find you outside, I would kiss you. I would not 00:13:37.240 --> 00:13:40.120 be despised. I would lead you and bring you into 00:13:40.120 --> 00:13:42.700 the house of my mother, she who used to instruct 00:13:42.700 --> 00:13:45.419 me. I would cause you to drink of spiced wine, 00:13:45.580 --> 00:13:48.740 of the juice of my pomegranate. His left hand 00:13:48.740 --> 00:13:51.120 is under my head, and his right hand embraces 00:13:51.120 --> 00:13:53.980 me. I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, do 00:13:53.980 --> 00:13:57.220 not stir up nor awaken love until it pleases. 00:13:58.120 --> 00:14:01.259 The Companions Who is this coming up from the 00:14:01.259 --> 00:14:04.220 wilderness, leaning upon her beloved? I awakened 00:14:04.220 --> 00:14:07.500 you under the apple tree. There your mother brought 00:14:07.500 --> 00:14:10.399 you forth. There she who bore you brought you 00:14:10.399 --> 00:14:37.549 forth. The Bride and she has no breasts. What 00:14:37.549 --> 00:14:40.269 should we do for our sister in the day when she 00:14:40.269 --> 00:14:43.289 is spoken for? If she is a wall, we will build 00:14:43.289 --> 00:14:46.330 upon her a battlement of silver. And if she is 00:14:46.330 --> 00:14:49.009 a door, we will enclose her with boards of cedar. 00:14:49.470 --> 00:14:52.629 I am a wall, and my breasts like towers. Then 00:14:52.629 --> 00:14:55.350 I became in his eyes as one who found peace. 00:14:55.789 --> 00:14:59.309 Solomon had a vineyard at Baal Hamon. He leased 00:14:59.309 --> 00:15:01.889 the vineyard to keepers. Everyone was to bring 00:15:01.889 --> 00:15:05.169 for its fruit a thousand silver coins. My own 00:15:05.169 --> 00:15:08.190 vineyard is before me. You, O Solomon, may have 00:15:08.190 --> 00:15:11.049 a thousand, and those who tend its fruit, two 00:15:11.049 --> 00:15:14.470 hundred. The bridegroom. You who dwell in the 00:15:14.470 --> 00:15:17.210 gardens, the companions, listen for your voice. 00:15:17.389 --> 00:15:21.529 Let me hear it. The bride. Make haste, my beloved, 00:15:21.750 --> 00:15:24.789 and be like a gazelle, or a young stag on the 00:15:24.789 --> 00:15:32.929 mountains of spices. I hope you enjoyed today's 00:15:32.929 --> 00:15:35.110 reading as much as I did. And I look forward 00:15:35.110 --> 00:15:37.169 to seeing you again tomorrow to continue on our 00:15:37.169 --> 00:15:39.269 journey. God bless you and have a great day.