nuts, To look at the green plants of the valley, To see whether the vine budded, And the pomegranates were in flower.
^Before I was aware, my soul set me Upon the chariots of my princely people.
7 Return, return, 0 Shulammite; Return, return, that we may look upon thee.
What will ye see in the Shulammite? As it were a dance of two com- panies.
2How beautiful are thy steps in sandals, 0 prince's daughter! The roundings of thy thighs are like the links of a chain, The work of the hands of a skilled workman.
3Thy navel is like a round goblet, Wherein no mingled wine is want- ing; Thy belly is like a heap of wheat Set about with lilies. 4Thy two breasts are like two fawns That are twins of a gazelle. 5Thy neck is as a tower of ivory; Thine eyes as the pools in Hetihbon, By the gate of Bath-rabbim; Thy nose is like the tower of Jjebanpn ' Which looketh toward Damascus 6Thy head upon thee is like Carxnel, And the hair of thy head like purple; The king is held captive in the tresses thereof.
THE SONG OF SONGS 89 7How fair and how pleasant art thou, 0 love, for delights!
8This thy stature is like to a palmtree, And thy breasts to clusters of grapes. 9I said: (I will climb up into the palm-tree, 1 will take hold of the branches thereof; And let thy breasts be as clusters of the vine, And the smell of thy countenance like apples; 10 And the roof of thy mouth like the best wine, That glideth down smoothly for my beloved, Moving gently the lips of those that are asleep.7 lll am my beloved's, And his desire is toward me. 12Come, my beloved, let us go forth into the field; Let us lodge in the villages. lsLet us get up early to the vineyards; Let us see whether the vine hath budded, Whether the vine-blossom be opened, And the pomegranates be in flower; There will I give thee my love. 14The mandrakes give forth fra- And at our doors are all manner of precious fruits, New and old, Which I have laid up for thee, 0 my beloved.
U Oh that thou wert as my brother, ° That sucked the breasts of my mother! When I should find thee without, J would kiss thee • Yea, and none would despise me.
2I would lead thee, and bnng thee into my mother's, house, That thou mightest instruct me; I would cause thee to drink of spiced wine, Of the juice of my pomegranate. 3His left hand should be under my head, And his right hand should embrace me. 4'I adjure you, 0 daughters of Jeru- Why should ye awaken, or stir up love, Until it please?7 5Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness, Leaning upon her beloved? Under the apple-tree I awakened thee; There thy mother was in travail with thee, There was she in travail and brought thee forth.
6Set me as a seal upon thy heart, As a seal upon thine arm; For love is strong as death, Jealousy is cruel as the grave; The flashes thereof are flashes of fire, A very flame of the LORD. 7Many waters cannot quench love, Neither can the floods drown it; If a man would give all the sub- stance of his house for love, He would utterly be contemned 8 We have a little sister, And she hath no breasts, » What shall we do for our sister In the day when she shall be spoken for?
9If she be a wall, We will build upon her a turret of silver; And if she be a door, 89 THE SONG OF SONGS We will enclose her with boards of cedar.
10I am a wall, And my breasts like the towers thereof; Then was I in his eyes As one that found peace.
"Solomon had a vineyard at Baalhamon; He gave over the vineyard unto keepers; Every ®ne for the fruit thereof Brought in a thousand pieces of silver.
^My vineyard, which is mine, is before me; Thou, 0 Solomon, shalt have the thousand, And those that keep the fruit thereof two hundred.
13Thou that dwellest in the gardens, The companions hearken for thy voice: ' Cause me to hear it.1 14Make haste, my beloved, And be thou like to a gazelle or to a young hart Upon the mountains of spices.
nn RUTH 1 AND it came to pass in the days when the judges judged, that there vas a famine in the land. And a certain man of Beth-lehem in Judah rent to sojourn in the field of Moab, le, and his wife, and his two sons. And the name of the man was Slimelech, and the name of his wife tfaomi, and the name of his two sons tfahlon and Chilion, Ephrathites of Seth-lehem in Judah. And they same into the field of Moab, and ontinued there. 3And Ehmelech Naomi's husband died; and she was aft, and her two sons. 4And they ook them wives of the women of tfoab: the name of the one was )rpah, and the name of the other luth; and they dwelt there about ten 'ears. 8And Mahlon and Chilion lied both of them; and the woman was 3ft of her two children and of her tusband. ^hen she arose with her &ughters-in-law, that she might re- urn from the field of Moab; for she .ad heard in the field of Moab how hat the LORD had remembered His >eople in giving them bread. 7And he went forth out of the place where he was, and her two daughters-in-law ath her; and they went on the way o return unto the land of Judah. knd Naomi said unto her two aughters-in-law: 'Go, return each f you to her mother's house; the X)RD deal kindly with you, as ye five dealt with the dead, and with ae. 'The LORD grant you that ye lay find rest, each of you in the house of her husband/ Then she kissed them; and they lifted up their voice, and wept. 10And they said unto her: 'Nay, but we will return with thee unto thy people.' uAnd Naomi said: 'turn back, my daughters; why will ye go with me? have I yet sons in my womb, that they may be your husbands? ^Turn back, my daughters, go your way; for I am too old to have a husband. If I should say: I have hope, should I even have a husband to-night, and also bear sons; 13would ye tarry for them till they were grown? would ye shut yourselves off for them and have no husbands? nay, my daughters; for it grieveth me much for your sakes, for the hand of the LORD is gone forth against me.' 14And they lifted up their voice, and wept again; and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law; but Ruth cleaved unto her. 15And she said: ' Behold, thy sister-in-law is gone back unto her people, and unto her god; return thou after thy sister- in-law/ 16And Ruth said: 'Entreat me not to leave thee, and to return from Mowing after thee- for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge; thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God* 17where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried; the LORD do so to me, and more also, if aught but death part thee and me.' l8And when she saw that she watf stedf aatly minded to go with her, she left off speaking unto her. 19So they two RUTH went until they came to Beth-lehem. And it came to pass, when they were come to Beth-lehem, that all the city was astir concerning them, and the women said: 'Is this Naomi?' 20And she said unto them: 'Call me not aNapmi, call me bMarah; for 'the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me. ^1 went out full, and the LORD hath brought me back home empty; why call ye me Naomi, seeing the LORD hath testified against me, and the Almighty hath afflicted me?' ^So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter-in-law, with her, who returned out of the field of Moab — and they came to Beth-lehem in the beginning of barley harvest.
O And Naomi had a kinsman of her husband's, a mighty man of valour, of the family of Elimelech, and his name was Boaz. 2And Ruth the Moabitess said unto Naomi 'Let me now go to the field, and glean among the ears of corn after him in whose sight I shall find favour.' And she said unto her: 'Go, my daughter.' 3And she went, and came and gleaned in the field after the reapers; and her hap was to lighten the portion of the field belonging unto Boaz, whp was of the family of Elimelech. 4And, behold, Boaz came from Beth-lehem, and said unto the reapers: 'The LOKD be with you.' And they answered him: 'The LOKD bless thee.' ^hen said Boaz unto his servant that was set over the reapers: 'Whose damsel is this?' 6And the servant that was set over the reapers answered and said: is a Moabitish damsel that 'It came back with Naomi out of the field of Moab; 7and she said: Let me glean, I pray you, and gather after the reapers among the sheaves; so she came, and hath continued even from the morning until now, save that she tarried a little in' the house.' 8Then said Boaz unto Ruth: 'Hearest thou not, my daughter? Go not to glean in another field, neither pass from hence, but abide here fast by my maidens. 9Let thine eyes be on the field that they do reap, and go thou after them; have I not charged the they shall not when thou art young men touch thee?
that and * That is, Pleasant, b That is, Bitter.
athirst, go unto the vessels, and drink of that which the young men have drawn.' 10Then she fell on her face, and bowed down to the ground, and said unto him: 'Why have I found favour in thy sight, that thou shouldest take cognizance of me, seeing I am a foreigner?' uAnd Boaz answered and said unto her: 'It hath fully been told me, all that thou hast done unto thy mother-in-law since the death of thy husband; and how thou hast left thy father and thy mother, and the land of thy nativity, and art come unto a people that thou knewest not heretofore. 12The LORD rec- ompense thy work, and be thy. reward complete from the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to take refuge/ uThen she said: 'Let me find favour in thy sight, my lord; for that thou hast comforted me, and for tfiat thou hast spoken to the heart of thy handmaid, though I be not as one of thy hand- maidens.' 14And Boaz said unto her at meal-time: 'Come hither, and eat of the bread, and dip thy morsel in the vinegar.' And she sat beside the reapers; and they reached her parched corn, and she did eat and was satisfied, and left thereof. "And when she was risen up to glean, Boaz commanded his young men, saying: ' Let her glean even among the sheaves, RUTH and put her not to shame. 16And also pull out some for her of purpose from the bundles, and leave it, and let her glean, and rebuke her not.' 17So she gleaned in the field until even; and she beat out that which she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah of barley. 18And she took it up, and went into the city; and her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned; and she brought forth and gave to her that which she had left after she was satisfied. 19And her mother-in-law said unto her: 'Where hast thou gleaned to-day? and where wroughtest thou? blessed be he that did take knowledge of thee ' And she told her mother-in-law with whom she had wrought, and said: 'The man's name with whom I wrought to- day is Boaz ' 20And Naomi said unto her daughter-in-law: 'Blessed be he of the LORD, who hath not left off His kindness to the living and to the dead.' And Naomi said unto her. 'The man is nigh of kin unto us, one of our near kinsmen.' 21And Ruth the Moabitess said: 'Yea, he said unto me: Thou shalt keep fast by my young men, until they have ended all my harvest,' ^And Naomi said unto Ruth her daughter-in-law: 'It is good, my daughter, that thou go out with his maidens, and that thou be not met in any other field.' ^So she kept fast by the maidens of Boaz to glean unto the end of barley har- vest and of wheat harvest; and she dwelt with her mother-in-law.
0 And Naomi her mother-in-law ^ said unto her: 'My daughter, shall 1 not seek rest for thee, that it^may be well with thee? ^ 2And now is there not Boaz our kinsman, with whose maidens thou wast? Behold, he winnoweth barley to-night in the threshing-floor. 3Wash thyself therefore, and anoint thee, and put thy raiment upon thee, and get thee down to the threshing-floor; but make not thyself known unto the man, until he shall have done eating and drink- ing. 4And it shall be, when he lieth down, that thou shalt mark the place where he shall lie, and thou shalt go in, and uncover his feet, and lay thee down; and he will tell thee what thou shalt do.' 5And she said unto her: 'All that thou sayest unto me I will do.' 6And she went down unto the threshing-floor, and did according to all that her mother-in-law bade her. 7And when Boaz had eaten and drunk, and his heart was merry, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of corn; and she came softly, and un- covered his feet, and laid her down. 8And it came to pass at midnight, that the man was startled, ana turned himself; and, behold, a woman lay at his feet. 9And he said: 'Who art thou?' And she answered: 'I am Ruth thy handmaid; spread therefore thy skirt over thy handmaid; for thou art a near kinsman.' 10And he said: 'Blessed be thou of the LORD, my daughter; thou hast shown more kindness t in the end than at the be- ginning, inasmuch as thou didst not follow the young men, whether poor or rich. "And now, my daughter, fear not; I will do to thee all that thou sayest; for all the men in the gate of my people do know that thou art a virtuous woman. 12And now it is true that I am a near kinsman; howbeit there is a kinsman nearer than I. 13Tarry this night, and it shall be in the morning, that if he will per- form unto thee the part of a kinsman, well; let him do the kinsman's part; but if he be not willing to do the part, of a kinsman to thee, then will I do the part of a kinsman to thee, as the RUTH LORD liveth; lie down until the morn- ing/ 14And she lay at his feet until the morning; and she rose up before one could discern another. For he said: 'Let it not be known that the woman came to the threshing-floor: lsAnd he said: 'Bring the mantle that is upon thee, and hold it'; and she held it; and he measured six measures of barley, and laid it on her and he went into the city. 16An<3 when she came to her mother-in-laWj she said: 'Who art thou, my daugh- ter?' And she told her all that th< man had done to her. 17And she said 1 These six measures of barley gave he me; for he said to me: Go not empty unto thy mother-in-law/ 18Then said she: ' Sit still, my daugh- ter, until thou know how the matter will fall; for the man will not rest, until he have finished the thing this day.1 A Now Boaz went up to the gate, and sat him down there; and, be- hold, the near kinsman of whom Boaz spoke came by; unto whom he said: 'Ho, such a one! turn aside, sit down here/ And he turned aside, and sat down. 2And he took ten men of the elders of the city, and said: 'Sit ye down here/ And they sat down. 3And he said unto the near kinsman: 'Naomi, that is come back out of the field of Monb, selletb the parcel of land, which was our brother Elimelech's; %nd I thought to disclose it unto thee, saying: Buy it before them that sit here, and before the elders of my people. If ^ thou wilt redeem it, redeem it; but if it will not be redeemed, then tell me, that I may know; for there is none to redeem it beside thee; and I am after thee/ And he said:' 'I will redeem it/ Then said Boaz: 'What day thou buyest the field of the hand of Naomi — hast thou also bought of Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of the dead, to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance?' 6And the near kinsman said: 'I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I mar mine own inheritance; take thou my right of redemption on thee; for I cannot redeem it/ — 7Now this was the custom in former time in Israel concerning redeeming and concerning exchang- ing, to confirm all things: a man drew off his shoe, and gave it to his neigh- bour; and this was the attestation in Israel. — 8So the near kinsman said unto Boaz: 'Buy it for 'thyself/ And he drew off his shoe. 9And Boaz said unto the elders, and unto all the people: 'Ye are witnesses this day, that I have bought all that was Elimelech/s, and all that was Chilion's and Mahlon's, of the hand of Naomi* "Moreover Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of Mahlon, have I acquired to be my wife, to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance, that the name of the dead be not cut off from among his brethren, and from the gate of his place; ye are witnesses this day ' nAnd all the people that were in the gate, and the elders, said: 'We are witnesses^ The LORD make the woman that is come into thy house like Rachel and like Leah, which two did build the house of Israel; and do thou worthily in ihrath, and be famous in Beth- ,em; 12and let thy house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore anto Judah, of the seed which the LORD shall give thee of this young woman/ 13So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife; and he went in unto her, and the LORD gave her conception, and she bore a son. I4And ihe women said unto Naomi: 'Blessed the LORD, who hath not left thee RUTH this day without a near kinsman, and let his name be famous in Israel 16And he shall be unto thee a restorer of life, and a nourisher of thine old age; for thy daughter-in-law, who loveth thee, who is better to thee than seven sons, hath borne him/ 16And Naomi took the child, and laid it in her bosom, and became nurse unto it. 17And the women her neighbours gave it a name, saying: •Heb.
'There is a son born to Naomi'; and they called his name Obed; he is the father of Jesse, the father of David.
18Now these are the generations of Perez: Perez begot Hezron; 19and Hezron begot Ram, and Ram begot Amminadab; 20and Amminadab begot Nahshon, and Nahshon begot Sal- mon; 21and Salmon begot Boaz, and Boaz begot Obed; ^and Obed begot Jesse, and Jesse begot David.
Salmah.
LAMENTATIONS K 1 How doth the city sit solitary.
That was full of people! How is she become as a widow! She that was great among the nations, And princess among the provinces, How is she become tributary! 1 2She weepeth sore in the night, And her tears are on her cheeks; She hath none to comfort her Among all her lovers; All her friends have dealt treacher- ously with her, They are become her enemies. 3 3Judah is gone into exile because of affliction, And because of great servitude; She dwelleth among the nations, She findeth no rest; All her pursuers overtook her Within the straits. *1 4The ways of Zion do mourn, Because none come to the solemn assembly; All her gates are desolate, Her priests sigh; Her virgins are afflicted, And she herself is in bitterness. * n 5Her adversaries are become the head, Her enemies are at ease; For the LORD hath afflicted her For the multitude of her trans- gressions; Her young children are gono into captivity Before the adversary. 1 6And gone is from the daughter of Zion All her splendour; Her princes are become like harts That find no pasture, And they are gone without strengi h Before the pursuer.
T 'Jerusalem remembereth In the days of her affliction and of her anguish All her treasures that she had From the days of old; Now that her people fall by the hand of the adversary, And none doth help her, The adversaries have seen her, They have mocked at her desola- tions, n ^Jerusalem hath grievously sinned, Therefore she is become as one unclean; All that honoured her despise her, Because they have seen her naked- ness; She herself also sigheth, And turneth backward. 13 9Her filthiness was in her skirts, She was not mindful of her end; Therefore is she come down won- derfully, She hath no comforter.
'Behold, 0 LORD, my affliction, For the enemy hath magnified himself/ i 10The adversary hath spread out his hand Upon all her treasures; For she hath seen that the heathen Are entered into her sanctuary, LAMENTATIONS Concerning whom Thou didst com- mand That they should not enter into Thy congregation. D UA11 her people sigh, ' They seek bread; They have given then: pleasant tilings for food To refresh the soul.
'See, 0 LOED, and behold, How abject I am become.'
> 12'Let it not come unto you, all ye that pass by! Behold, and see If there be any pain like unto my pain, Which is done unto me, Wherewith the LOED hath afflicted me In the day of His fierce anger. "J2 13From on high hath He sent fire Into my bones, and it prevaileth against them; He hath spread a net for my feet, He hath turned me back; He hath made me desolate And faint all the day. 3 14The yoke of my transgressions is impressed by His hand; They are knit together, They are come up upon my neck; He nath made my strength to fail; The Lord hath delivered me into their hands, Against whom I am not able to stand.
0 16The Lord hath set at nought All my mighty men in the midst of me; He hath called a solemn assembly against me To crush my young men; The Lord hath trodden as in a winepress The virgin daughter of Judah.'
y i6<;por these things I weep; Mine eye, mine eye runneth down with water; Because the comforter is far from me, Even he that should refresh my soul; My children are desolate, Because the enemy hath prevailed.' 3 17Zion spreadeth forth her hands; There is none to comfort her; The LOED hath commanded con- cerning Jacob, That they that are round about him should be his adversaries, Jerusalem is among them As one unclean.
£ 18'The LOED is righteous; For I have rebelled against His word; Hear, I pray you, all ye peoples, And behold my pain: My virgins and my young men Are gone into captivity. p 19I called for my lovers, But they deceived me; My priests and mine elders Perished in the city, While they sought them food To refresh their souls. 1 20Behold, O LOED, for I am in dis- tress, Mine inwards burn; My heart is turned within me, For I have grievously rebelled.
Abroad the sword bereaveth, At home there is the like of death. •» 2J They have hoard that I sigh, There is none to comfort me; All mine enemies have heard of my trouble, and are glad, For Thou hast done it; Thou wilt bring the day that Thou hast proclaimed, And they shall be like uuto me.
LAMENTATIONS ri ^Let all their wickedness come be- fore Thee; And do unto them, As Thou hast done unto me For all my transgressions; For my sighs are many, And my heart is faint.'
tf O How hath the Lord eoverec with a cloud The daughter of Zion in His anger He hath cast down from heaven unto the earth The beauty of Israel, And hath not remembered His footstool In the day of His anger. H 2The Lord hath swallowed up unsparingly All the habitations of Jacob; He hath thrown down in His wrath The strongholds of the daughter of Judah; He hath brought them down to the ground; He hath profaned the kingdom and the princes thereof. 3 8He hath cut off in fierce anger All the horn of Israel; He hath drawn back His right hand From before the enemy; And He hath burned in Jacob like a flaming fire, Which devoureth round about.
1 4Hehath bent Hisbow like an enemy, Standing with His right hand as an adversary, And hath slain all that were pleas- ant to the eye; In the tent of the daughter of Zion He hath poured out His fury hke fire.
n ^The Lord is become as an enemy, He hath swallowed up Israel; He hath swallowed up all her palaces, He hath destroyed his strongholds; And He hath multiplied in the daughter of Judah Mourning and moaning. 1 6And He hath stripped His taber- nacle, as if it were a garden, He hath destroyed His place of assembly* The LORD hath caused to be for- gotten m Zion Appointed season and sabbath, And hath rejected in the indigna- tion of His anger The king and the priest. T 7The Lord hath cast off His altar, He hath abhorred His sanctuary, He hath given up into the hand of the enemy The walls of her palaces; They have made a noise in the house of the LORD, As in the day of a solemn assembly. n 8The LORD hath purposed to destroy The wall of the daughter of Zion; He hath stretched out the line, He hath not withdrawn His hand from destroying; But He hath made the rampart and wall to mourn, B 9Her gates are sunk into the ground; He hath destroyed and broken her bars; Her king and her princes are among the nations, Instruction is no more; Yea, her prophets find No vision from the LORD. i 10They sit upon the ground, and keep silence, The elders of the daughter of Zion; They have cast up dust upon their heads, They have girded themselves with sackcloth; The virgins of Jerusalem hang down Their heads to the ground.
LAMENTATIONS D uMine eyes do fail with tears, Mine inwards burn, My liver is poured upon the earth, For the breach of the daughter of my people; Because the young children and the sucklings swoon In the broad places of the city.
2 12They say to their mothers: 'Where is corn and wine?' When they swoon as the wounded In the broad places of the city, When their soul is poured out Into their mothers' bosom. E l8What shall I take to witness for thee? what shall I liken to thee, 0 daughter of Jerusalem? What shall I equal to thee, that I may comfort thee, 0 virgin daughter of Zion? For thy breach is great like the sea; Who can heal thee?
3 14Thy prophets have seen visions for thee Of vanity and delusion;