American Standard Version of 1901
Versliste
By night on my bedI sought him whom my soul loveth:I sought him, but I found him not.
I said, I will rise now, and go about the city;In the streets and in the broad waysI will seek him whom my soul loveth:I sought him, but I found him not.
The watchmen that go about the city found me;To whom I said, Saw ye him whom my soul loveth?
It was but a little that I passed from them,When I found him whom my soul loveth:I held him, and would not let him go,Until I had brought him into my mother's house,And into the chamber of her that conceived me.
I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,By the roes, or by the hinds of the field,That ye stir not up, nor awake my love,Until {Or, it Or, she}he please.
Who is this that cometh up from the wildernessLike pillars of smoke,Perfumed with myrrh and frankincense,With all powders of the merchant?
Behold, it is the litter of Solomon;Threescore mighty men are about it,Of the mighty men of Israel.
They all handle the sword, and are expert in war:Every man hath his sword upon his thigh,Because of fear in the night.
King Solomon made himself a {Or, ear of state}palanquinOf the wood of Lebanon.
He made the pillars thereof of silver,The bottom thereof of gold, the seat of it of purple,The midst thereof being {Or, inlaid}paved with love,From the daughters of Jerusalem.
Go forth, O ye daughters of Zion, and behold king Solomon,With the crown wherewith his mother hath crowned himIn the day of his espousals,And in the day of the gladness of his heart.
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus through the will of God, to the saints that are {Some very ancient authorities omit at Ephesus.}at Ephesus, and the faithful in Christ Jesus:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Blessed be {Or, God and the Father See Romans 15:6 margin}the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ:
even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blemish before {Or, him: having in love foreordained us}him in love:
having foreordained us unto adoption as sons through Jesus Christ unto himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
to the praise of the glory of his grace, {Or, wherewith he endued us}which he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved:
in whom we have our redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,
{Or, wherewith he abounded}which he made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence,
making known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he purposed in him
unto a dispensation of the fulness of the {Greek: seasons.}times, to sum up all things in Christ, the things {Greek: upon.}in the heavens, and the things upon the earth; in him, I say,
in whom also we were made a heritage, having been foreordained according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his will;
to the end that we should be unto the praise of his glory, we who {Or, have}had before hoped in Christ:
in whom ye also, having heard the word of the truth, the {Or, good tidings. See marginal note on Matthew 4:23.}gospel of your salvation,— in whom, having also believed, ye were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise,
which is an earnest of our inheritance, unto the redemption of God's own possession, unto the praise of his glory.
For this cause I also, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which is {Or, in}among you, and {Many ancient authorities omit the love.}the love which ye show toward all the saints,
cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers;
that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him;
having the eyes of your heart enlightened, that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,
and what the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to that working of the strength of his might
which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and made him to sit at his right hand in the heavenly places,
far above all rule, and authority, and power, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this {Greek: age.}world, but also in that which is to come:
and he put all things in subjection under his feet, and gave him to be head over all things to the church,
which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.
And you did he make alive, when ye were dead through your trespasses and sins,
wherein ye once walked according to the {Greek: age.}course of this world, according to the prince of the {Greek: power.}powers of the air, of the spirit that now worketh in the sons of disobedience;
among whom we also all once lived in the lusts of our flesh, doing the desires of the flesh and of the {Greek: thoughts.}mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest:—
but God, being rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together {Some ancient authorities read in Christ.}with Christ (by grace have ye been saved),
and raised us up with him, and made us to sit with him in the heavenly places, in Christ Jesus:
that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus:
for by grace have ye been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;
not of works, that no man should glory.
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God afore prepared that we should walk in them.
Wherefore remember, that once ye, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called Circumcision, in the flesh, made by hands;
that ye were at that time separate from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of the promise, having no hope and without God in the world.
But now in Christ Jesus ye that once were far off are made nigh in the blood of Christ.
For he is our peace, who made both one, and brake down the middle wall of partition,
having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; that he might create in himself of the two one new man, so making peace;
and might reconcile them both in one body unto God through the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:
and he came and {Greek: brought good tidings of peace. Compare Matthew 11:5.}preached peace to you that were far off, and peace to them that were nigh:
for through him we both have our access in one Spirit unto the Father.
So then ye are no more strangers and sojourners, but ye are fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the household of God,
being built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the chief corner stone;
in whom {Greek: every building.}each several building, fitly framed together, groweth into a holy {Or, sanctuary}temple in the Lord;
in whom ye also are builded together {Greek: into.}for a habitation of God in the Spirit.
For the law having a shadow of the good things to come, not the very image of the things, {Many ancient authorities read they can.}can never with the same sacrifices year by year, which they offer continually, make perfect them that draw nigh.
Else would they not have ceased to be offered? because the worshippers, having been once cleansed, would have had no more consciousness of sins.
But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance made of sins year by year.
For it is impossible that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sins.
Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, {Psalm 11:6 ff}Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not,But a body didst thou prepare for me;
In whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hadst no pleasure:
Then said I, Lo, I am come(In the roll of the book it is written of me)To do thy will, O God.
Saying above, Sacrifices and offerings and whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein (the which are offered according to the law),
then hath he said, Lo, I am come to do thy will. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second.
{Or, In}By which will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
And every {Some ancient authorities read high priest.}priest indeed standeth day by day ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, the which can never take away sins:
but he, when he had offered one sacrifice for {Or, sins, for ever sat down &c.}sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God;
henceforth expecting till his enemies be made the footstool of his feet.
For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.
And the Holy Spirit also beareth witness to us; for after he hath said,
{Jeremiah 31:33 f.}This is the covenant that {Greek: I will covenant.}I will make with themAfter those days, saith the Lord:I will put my laws on their heart,And upon their mind also will I write them;then saith he,
And their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.
Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin.
Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holy place by the blood of Jesus,
by the way which he dedicated for us, a new and living way, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;
and having a great priest over the house of God;
let us draw near with a true heart in {Or, full assurance}fulness of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil {Or, conscience, and our body washed with pure water: let us hold fast}conscience: and having our body washed with pure water,
let us hold fast the confession of our hope that it waver not; for he is faithful that promised:
and let us consider one another to provoke unto love and good works;
not forsaking our own assembling together, as the custom of some is, but exhorting one another; and so much the more, as ye see the day drawing nigh.
For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more a sacrifice for sins,
but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and a {Or, jealously}fierceness of fire which shall devour the adversaries.
A man that hath set at nought Moses' law dieth without compassion on the word of two or three witnesses:
of how much sorer punishment, think ye, shall he be judged worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant wherewith he was sanctified {Greek: a common thing.}an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?
For we know him that said, {Deuteronomy 32:35}Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense. And again, {Deuteronomy 32:36}The Lord shall judge his people.
It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
But call to remembrance the former days, in which, after ye were enlightened, ye endured a great conflict of sufferings;
partly, being made a gazingstock both by reproaches and afflictions; and partly, becoming partakers with them that were so used.
For ye both had compassion on them that were in bonds, and took joyfully the spoiling of your possessions, knowing that {Many ancient authorities read ye have your own selves for a better possession &c. Compare Luke 9:25; 21:19.}ye have for yourselves a better possession and an abiding one.
Cast not away therefore your boldness, which hath great recompense of reward.
For ye have need of {Or, stedfastness}patience, that, having done the will of God, ye may receive the promise.
{Habakkuk 2:3 f.}For yet a very little while,He that cometh shall come, and shall not tarry.
But {Some ancient authorities read the righteous one.}my righteous one shall live by faith:And if he shrink back, my soul hath no pleasure in him.
But we are not {Greek: of shrinking back.}of them that shrink back unto perdition; but of them that have faith unto the {Or, gaining}saving of the soul.
Let not your heart be troubled: {Or, ye believe in God}believe in God, believe also in me.
In my Father's house are many {Or, abiding-places}mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you.
And if I go and prepare a place for you, I come again, and will receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that no wind should blow on the earth, or on the sea, or upon any tree.
And I saw another angel ascend from the sunrising, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a great voice to the four angels to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea,
saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we shall have sealed the {Or, bondservants}servants of our God on their foreheads.
And I heard the number of them that were sealed, a hundred and forty and four thousand, sealed out of every tribe of the children of Israel:
Of the tribe of Judah were sealed twelve thousand:Of the tribe of Reuben twelve thousand;Of the tribe of Gad twelve thousand;
Of the tribe of Asher twelve thousand;Of the tribe of Naphtali twelve thousand;Of the tribe of Manasseh twelve thousand;
Of the tribe of Simeon twelve thousand;Of the tribe of Levi twelve thousand;Of the tribe of Issachar twelve thousand;
Of the tribe of Zebulun twelve thousand;Of the tribe of Joseph twelve thousand;Of the tribe of Benjamin were sealed twelve thousand.
After these things I saw, and behold, a great multitude, which no man could number, out of every nation and of all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, arrayed in white robes, and palms in their hands;
and they cry with a great voice, saying,Salvation unto our God who sitteth on the throne, and unto the Lamb.
And all the angels were standing round about the throne, and about the elders and the four living creatures; and they fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God,
saying,Amen: {Greek: The blessing, and the glory &c.}Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honor, and power, and might, be unto our God {Greek: unto the ages of ages.}for ever and ever. Amen.
And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, These that are arrayed in the white robes, who are they, and whence came they?
And I {Greek: have said.}say unto him, My lord, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they that come out of the great tribulation, and they washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
Therefore are they before the throne of God; and they serve him day and night in his {Or, sanctuary}temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall spread his tabernacle over them.
They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun strike upon them, nor any heat:
for the Lamb that is in the midst {Or, before See chapter 4:6; compare 5:6.}of the throne shall be their shepherd, and shall guide them unto fountains of waters of life: and God shall wipe away every tear from their eyes.
And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly.The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear; break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child: for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, saith Jehovah.
Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thy habitations; spare not: lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes.
For thou shalt spread abroad on the right hand and on the left; and thy seed shall possess the nations, and make the desolate cities to be inhabited.
Fear not; for thou shalt not be ashamed: neither be thou confounded; for thou shalt not be put to shame: for thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth; and the reproach of thy widowhood shalt thou remember no more.
For thy Maker is thy husband; Jehovah of hosts is his name: and the Holy One of Israel is thy Redeemer; the God of the whole earth shall he be called.
For Jehovah hath called thee as a wife forsaken and grieved in spirit, even a wife of youth, when she is cast off, saith thy God.
For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee.
{Or, In a little wrath}In overflowing wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting lovingkindness will I have mercy on thee, saith Jehovah thy Redeemer.
For this is as the waters of Noah unto me; for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah shall no more go over the earth, so have I sworn that I will not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee.
For the mountains may depart, and the hills be removed; but my lovingkindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall my covenant of peace be removed, saith Jehovah that hath mercy on thee.
O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, behold, I will set thy stones in {Or, antimony See 1 Chronicles 29:2}fair colors, and lay thy foundations with sapphires.
And I will make thy {Or, windows}pinnacles of rubies, and thy gates of carbuncles, and all thy border of precious stones.
And all thy children shall be {Or, disciples}taught of Jehovah; and great shall be the peace of thy children.
In righteousness shalt thou be established: {Or, be thou far}thou shalt be far from oppression, for thou shalt not fear; and from terror, for it shall not come near thee.
Behold, they may {Or, stir up strife}gather together, but not by me: whosoever shall {Or, stir up strife}gather together against thee {Or, shall fall away to thee}shall fall because of thee.
Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the fire of coals, and bringeth forth a weapon for {Or, its}his work; and I have created the waster to destroy.
No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of Jehovah, and {Or, their righteousness is of me}their righteousness which is of me, saith Jehovah.
{Hebrew: Saying.}They say, If a man put away his wife, and she go from him, and become another man's, will he return unto her again? will not that land be greatly polluted? But thou hast played the harlot with many lovers; {Or, and thinkest thou to return &c?}yet return again to me, saith Jehovah.
Lift up thine eyes unto the bare heights, and see; where hast thou not been lain with? By the ways hast thou sat for them, as an Arabian in the wilderness; and thou hast polluted the land with thy whoredoms and with thy wickedness.
Therefore the showers have been withholden, and there hath been no latter rain; yet thou hast a harlot's forehead, thou refusedst to be ashamed.
Wilt thou not from this time cry unto me, My Father, thou art the {Or, companion}guide of my youth?
Will he retain his anger for ever? will he keep it to the end? Behold, thou {Or, hast spoken thus, but hast done &c.}hast spoken and hast done evil things, and hast {Hebrew: been able.}had thy way.
Moreover Jehovah said unto me in the days of Josiah the king, Hast thou seen that which backsliding Israel hath done? she is gone up upon every high mountain and under every green tree, and there hath played the harlot.
{Or, And I said, After she hath done all these things, she &c.}And I said after she had done all these things, {Or, Let her return unto me}She will return unto me; but she returned not: and her treacherous sister Judah saw it.
And I saw, when, for this very cause that backsliding Israel had committed adultery, I had put her away and given her a bill of divorcement, yet treacherous Judah her sister feared not; but she also went and played the harlot.
And it came to pass through the lightness of her whoredom, that the land was polluted, and she committed adultery with stones and with stocks.
And yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah hath not returned unto me with her whole heart, but feignedly, saith Jehovah.
And Jehovah said unto me, Backsliding Israel hath showed herself more righteous than treacherous Judah.
Go, and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, Return, thou backsliding Israel, saith Jehovah; I will not {Hebrew: cause my countenance to fall upon you.}look in anger upon you; for I am merciful, saith Jehovah, I will not keep anger for ever.
Only {Or, know}acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against Jehovah thy God, and hast scattered thy ways to the strangers under every green tree, and ye have not obeyed my voice, saith Jehovah.
Return, O backsliding children, saith Jehovah; for I am a husband unto you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion.
And I will give you shepherds according to my heart, who shall feed you with knowledge and understanding.
And it shall come to pass, when ye are multiplied and increased in the land, in those days, saith Jehovah, they shall say no more, The ark of the covenant of Jehovah; neither shall it come to mind; neither shall they remember it; neither shall they {Or, visit}miss it; neither {Or, shall that be done any more}shall it be made any more.
At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of Jehovah; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of Jehovah, to Jerusalem: neither shall they walk any more after the stubbornness of their evil heart.
In those days the house of Judah shall walk {Or, to}with the house of Israel, and they shall come together out of the land of the north to the land that I gave for an inheritance unto your fathers.
But I said, How {Or, shall I…nations?}I will put thee among the children, and give thee {Or, the goodliest heritage of the nations}a pleasant land, a goodly heritage of the hosts of the nations! and I said, {Another reading is, Thou shalt…and shalt not &c.}Ye shall call me My Father, and shall not turn away from following me.
Surely as a wife treacherously departeth from her husband, so have ye dealt treacherously with me, O house of Israel, saith Jehovah.
A voice is heard upon the bare heights, the weeping and the supplications of the children of Israel; because they have perverted their way, they have forgotten Jehovah their God.
Return, ye backsliding children, I will heal your backslidings.Behold, we are come unto thee; for thou art Jehovah our God.
Truly in vain is the help that is looked for from the hills, the {Or, noisy throng}tumult on the mountains: truly in Jehovah our God is the salvation of Israel.
But the {Hebrew: shame. See chapter 11:13; Hosea 9:10}shameful thing hath devoured the labor of our fathers from our youth, their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters.
Let us lie down in our shame, and let our confusion cover us; for we have sinned against Jehovah our God, we and our fathers, from our youth even unto this day; and we have not obeyed the voice of Jehovah our God.
And Jehovah said unto me, Go again, love a woman beloved {Or, of her husband, yet an &c.}of her friend, and an adulteress, even as Jehovah loveth the children of Israel, though they turn unto other gods, and {Or, them that love}love cakes of raisins.
So I bought her to me for fifteen pieces of silver, and a homer of barley, and a {Hebrew: letheeh.}half-homer of barley;
and I said unto her, Thou shalt abide for me many days; thou shalt not play the harlot, and thou shalt not be any man's wife: so will I also be toward thee.
For the children of Israel shall abide many days without king, and without prince, and without sacrifice, and without {Or, obelisk}pillar, and without ephod or teraphim:
afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek Jehovah their God, and David their king, and shall come with fear unto Jehovah and to his goodness in the latter days.
For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.
And his tail draweth the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon standeth before the woman that is about to be delivered, that when she is delivered he may devour her child.