I have come into my garden, my sister, my bride. I have gathered my myrrh with my spice; I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey; I have drunk my wine with my milk. Eat, friends. Drink, yes, drink abundantly, beloved.

The LORD is my Rock, my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my Rock, in whom I take refuge; my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower.

I was asleep, but my heart was awake. It is the voice of my beloved who knocks: "Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my undefiled; for my head is filled with dew, and my hair with the dampness of the night."

For their mother has played the prostitute. She who conceived them has done shamefully; for she said, 'I will go after my lovers, who give me my bread and my water, my wool and my flax, my oil and my drink.'

God, my Rock, in him I will take refuge; my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge. My savior, you save me from violence.

At the evening offering I arose up from my humiliation, even with my garment and my robe torn; and I fell on my knees, and spread out my hands to the LORD my God;

My anguish, my anguish. I am pained at my very heart; my heart is disquieted in me; I can't hold my peace; because you have heard, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war.

At the same time my understanding returned to me; and for the glory of my kingdom, my majesty and splendor returned to me; and my counselors and my lords sought me out; and I was established in my kingdom, and even more greatness was added to me.

my loving kindness, my fortress, my high tower, my deliverer, my shield, and he in whom I take refuge; who subdues my people under me.

Whatever my eyes desired, I did not keep from them. I did not withhold my heart from any joy, for my heart rejoiced because of all my labor, and this was my portion from all my labor.

because Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my requirements, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws."

Laban answered Jacob, "The daughters are my daughters, the children are my children, the flocks are my flocks, and all that you see is mine: and what can I do this day to these my daughters, or to their children whom they have borne?

The king was much moved, and went up to the room over the gate, and wept. As he went, he said, "My son Absalom. My son, my son Absalom. I wish I had died for you, Absalom, my son, my son."

?Since the day that I brought my people Israel out of Egypt, I chose no city out of all the tribes of Israel to build a house, that my name might be there, nor did I choose any man to be a leader over my people Israel; but I chose Jerusalem that my name may be there, and I chose David to be over my people Israel.?

It shall be, if you will listen to all that I command you, and will walk in my ways, and do that which is right in my eyes, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as David my servant did; that I will be with you, and will build you a sure house, as I built for David, and will give Israel to you.

"'In a controversy they shall stand to judge; according to my ordinances shall they judge it: and they shall keep my laws and my statutes in all my appointed feasts; and they shall make my Sabbaths holy.

My tent is destroyed, and all my cords are broken: my children are gone forth from me, and they are no more: there is none to spread my tent any more, and to set up my curtains.

But the children rebelled against me; they didn't walk in my statutes, neither kept my ordinances to do them, which if a man do, he shall live in them; they profaned my Sabbaths. Then I said I would pour out my wrath on them, to accomplish my anger against them in the wilderness.

I will lay my vengeance on Edom by the hand of my people Israel; and they shall do in Edom according to my anger and according to my wrath; and they shall know my vengeance, says the Lord GOD.'"

'As I live,' says the Lord GOD, 'surely because my sheep became a prey, and my sheep became food to all the animals of the field, because there was no shepherd, neither did my shepherds search for my sheep, but the shepherds fed themselves, and didn't feed my sheep';

While I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my petition before the LORD my God for the holy mountain of my God,

The LORD is my strength and my shield. My heart has trusted in him, and I am helped. Therefore my heart greatly rejoices. With my song I will thank him.

For my life is spent with sorrow, my years with sighing. My strength fails because of my iniquity. My bones are wasted away.

and if you shall reject my statutes, and if your soul abhors my ordinances, so that you will not do all my commandments, but break my covenant;

and that you will save alive my father, my mother, my brothers, and my sisters, and all that they have, and will deliver our lives from death."

Did not he tell me, 'She is my sister?' She, even she herself, said, 'He is my brother.' In the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my hands have I done this."

Besides, she is indeed my sister, the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife.

Hannah prayed, and said: "My heart exults in the LORD. My horn is exalted in the LORD. My mouth is enlarged over my enemies, because I rejoice in your salvation.

Why do you kick at my sacrifice and at my offering, which I have commanded in my habitation, and honor your sons above me, to make yourselves fat with the best of all the offerings of Israel my people?'

Moreover, my father, behold, yes, see the skirt of your robe in my hand; for in that I cut off the skirt of your robe, and did not kill you, know and see that there is neither evil nor disobedience in my hand, and I have not sinned against you, though you hunt for my life to take it.

Shall I then take my bread, and my water, and my meat that I have killed for my shearers, and give it to men who I do not know where they come from?"

Uriah said to David, "The ark, Israel, and Judah, are staying in tents; and my lord Joab, and the servants of my lord, are encamped in the open field. Shall I then go into my house to eat and to drink, and to lie with my wife? As you live, and as your soul lives, I will not do this thing."

Please let your servant turn back again, that I may die in my own city, by the grave of my father and my mother. But behold, your servant Chimham; let him go over with my lord the king; and do to him what shall seem good to you."

and he said, "The LORD is my Rock, my fortress, and my deliverer, even mine;

In my distress I called on the LORD. Yes, I called to my God. He heard my voice out of his temple. My cry came into his ears.

The LORD is my strength and song. He has become my salvation. This is my God, and I will praise him; my father's God, and I will exalt him.

Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice, and keep my covenant, then you shall be my own possession from among all peoples; for all the earth is mine;

"Concerning this house which you are building, if you will walk in my statutes, and execute my ordinances, and keep all my commandments to walk in them; then will I establish my word with you, which I spoke to David your father.

because they have forsaken me, and have worshiped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of Moab, and Milcom the god of the children of Ammon. They have not walked in my ways, to do that which is right in my eyes, and to keep my statutes and my ordinances, as David his father did.

Then the king of Israel called all the elders of the land, and said, "Please notice how this man seeks mischief; for he sent to me for my wives, and for my children, and for my silver, and for my gold; and I did not deny him."

In addition, because I have set my affection on the house of my God, since I have a treasure of my own of gold and silver, I give it to the house of my God, over and above all that I have prepared for the holy house,

When I heard this thing, I tore my garment and my robe, and plucked off the hair of my head and of my beard, and sat down confounded.

in their setting of their threshold by my threshold, and their doorpost beside my doorpost, and there was but the wall between me and them; and they have defiled my holy name by their abominations which they have committed: therefore I have consumed them in my anger.

in that you have brought in foreigners, uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in my sanctuary, to profane it, even my house, when you offer my bread, the fat and the blood, and you have broken my covenant, to add to all your abominations.

Then Esther the queen answered, "If I have found favor in your sight, O king, and if it please the king, let my life be given me at my petition, and my people at my request.

I have commanded my consecrated ones; yes, I have called my mighty men for my anger, even my proudly exulting ones.

"Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom my soul delights. I have put my Spirit on him. He will bring justice to the nations.

For my own sake, for my own sake, will I do it; for how should my name be profaned? I will not give my glory to another.

I gave my back to those who strike, and my cheeks to those who tore out my beard; I did not cover my face from insults and spitting.

My righteousness is near, my salvation is gone forth, and my arms shall judge the peoples; the islands shall wait for me, and on my arm shall they trust.

even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer: their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted on my altar; for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples."

"I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the peoples there was no man with me: yes, I trod them in my anger, and trampled them in my wrath; and their lifeblood is sprinkled on my garments, and I have stained all my clothing.

It shall happen, if they will diligently learn the ways of my people, to swear by my name, "As the LORD lives;" even as they taught my people to swear by Baal; then shall they be built up in the midst of my people.

For these things I weep; my eyes, my eyes flow with tears; because the comforter who should refresh my soul is far from me. My children are desolate, because the enemy has prevailed.

My eyes are worn out from weeping, my stomach is churning. My heart is poured on the earth, because of the destruction of the daughter of my people, because the young children and the infants faint in the streets of the city.

She has rebelled against my ordinances in doing wickedness more than the nations, and against my statutes more than the countries that are around her; for they have rejected my ordinances, and as for my statutes, they have not walked in them.'

Thus shall my anger be accomplished, and I will cause my wrath toward them to rest, and I shall be comforted; and they shall know that I, the LORD, have spoken in my zeal, when I have accomplished my wrath on them.

But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness: they didn't walk in my statutes, and they rejected my ordinances, which if a man keep, he shall live in them; and my Sabbaths they greatly profaned. Then I said I would pour out my wrath on them in the wilderness, to consume them.

My bones stick to my skin and to my flesh. I have escaped by the skin of my teeth.

"My soul is weary of my life. I will give free course to my complaint. I will speak in the bitterness of my soul.

Why should I take my flesh in my teeth, and put my life in my hand?

if my step has turned out of the way, if my heart walked after my eyes, if any defilement has stuck to my hands,

Therefore I will take back my grain in its time, and my new wine in its season, and will pluck away my wool and my flax which should have covered her nakedness.

In my distress I called on the LORD, and cried to my God. He heard my voice out of his temple. My cry before him came into his ears.

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, LORD, my Rock, and my redeemer.

I am weary with my groaning. Every night I flood my bed. I drench my couch with my tears.

My loved ones and my friends keep their distance because of my affliction. My kinsmen stand far away.

"Hear my prayer, LORD, and give ear to my cry. Do not be silent at my tears. For I am a stranger with you, a foreigner, as all my fathers were.

Why are you in despair, my soul? Why are you disturbed within me? Hope in God. For I shall still praise him: my Savior, my helper, and my God.

I acknowledged my sin to you. I did not hide my iniquity. I said, I will confess my transgressions to the LORD, and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah.

But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth. I afflicted my soul with fasting; and my prayer returned into my own bosom.

Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams? With tens of thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my disobedience? The fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?

I am weary with my crying. My throat is dry. My eyes fail, looking for my God.

You know my reproach, my shame, and my dishonor. My adversaries are all before you.

My flesh and my heart fails, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine. Ephraim also is the defense of my head. Judah is my scepter.

With God is my salvation and my honor. The rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God.

I heard, and my body trembled. My lips quivered at the voice. Rottenness enters into my bones, and I tremble in my place, because I must wait quietly for the day of trouble, for the coming up of the people who invade us.

"Therefore wait for me," says the LORD, "until the day that I rise up to the prey, for my determination is to gather the nations, that I may assemble the kingdoms, to pour on them my indignation, even all my fierce anger, for all the earth will be devoured with the fire of my jealousy.

"Thus says the LORD of hosts: 'If you will walk in my ways, and if you will follow my instructions, then you also shall judge my house, and shall also keep my courts, and I will give you a place of access among these who stand by.

Gilead is mine. Manasseh is mine. Ephraim also is my helmet. Judah is my scepter.

You have ravished my heart, my sister, my bride. You have ravished my heart with one of your eyes, with one chain of your neck.

I also will set my face against that person, and will cut him off from among his people because he has given of his seed to Molech, to defile my sanctuary, and to profane my holy name.

then I will remember my covenant with Jacob; and also my covenant with Isaac, and also my covenant with Abraham; and I will remember the land.

because all those men who have seen my glory, and my signs, which I worked in Egypt and in the wilderness, yet have tempted me these ten times, and have not listened to my voice;

"Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, has turned my wrath away from the children of Israel, in that he was jealous with my jealousy among them, so that I did not consume the children of Israel in my jealousy.

"Command the children of Israel, and tell them, 'My offering, my food for my offerings made by fire, of a pleasant aroma to me, you shall observe to offer to me in their due season.'

if I whet my glittering sword, My hand take hold on judgment; I will render vengeance to my adversaries, and will recompense those who hate me.

But you shall go to my country, and to my relatives, and take a wife for my son Isaac."

The LORD, the God of heaven, who took me from my father's house, and from the land of my birth, who spoke to me, and who swore to me, saying, 'I will give this land to your seed.' He will send his angel before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there.

He said, "Blessed be the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken his loving kindness and his truth toward my master. As for me, the LORD has led me in the way to the house of my master's relatives."

but you shall go to my father's house, and to my relatives, and take a wife for my son.'

He said to me, 'The LORD, before whom I walk, will send his angel with you, and prosper your way. You shall take a wife for my son of my relatives, and of my father's house.

Then will you be clear from my oath, when you come to my relatives. If they do not give her to you, you shall be clear from my oath.'

I bowed my head, and worshiped the LORD, and blessed the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who had led me in the right way to take my master's brother's daughter for his son.

Now therefore, my son, obey my voice. Arise, flee to Laban, my brother, in Haran.

Leah said, "God has given me my hire, because I gave my handmaid to my husband." She named him Issachar.

Give me my wives and my children for whom I have served you, and let me go; for you know my service with which I have served you."

This was my situation: in the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night; and my sleep fled from my eyes.

Unless the God of my father, the God of Abraham, and the fear of Isaac, had been with me, surely now you would have sent me away empty. God has seen my affliction and the labor of my hands, and rebuked you last night."