Song of Songs 6 Cross References - ISV

¹ The Young Women Where did your beloved go, most beautiful of women? Where did your beloved turn, so we may look for him with you?
² The Loved OneMy beloved has gone down to his garden, to the beds of spices, to graze his flock in the gardens and gather lilies. ³ I belong to my beloved, and my beloved belongs to me. He is the one who grazes his flock among the lilies.
⁴ The LoverYou are beautiful, my darling, like Tirzah, lovely like Jerusalem, as awesome as an army with banners. ⁵ Turn your eyes from me, for they excite me. Your hair is like a flock of goats coming down from Mt. Gilead. ⁶ Your teeth are like a flock of ewes coming up from being washed. All of them are twins, not one has lost her young. ⁷ Your temple behind your veil is like a slice of pomegranate. ⁸ There are sixty queens and eighty mistresses, and too many young women to count, ⁹ but my dove, my perfect one, is unique. She’s unique to her mother, she’s pure to the one who gave birth to her. Young women see her and call her blessed, queens and mistresses praise her.
¹⁰ The Young WomenWho is this who appears like the dawn, beautiful as the moon, bright as the sun, awesome as an army with banners?
¹¹ The Loved OneI went down to the walnut orchard, to look at the green sprouts in the valley, to see whether the vine had budded, whether the pomegranates had blossomed. ¹² Before I knew it, I imagined myself among the chariots of my noble people.
¹³ The Young WomenReturn, return, Shulammite, return, return, so we may look at you!
The Lover Why should you look at the Shulammite, like you watch the dance of the two camps?

¹⁶ But Ruth answered, “Stop urging me to abandon you and to turn back from following you. Because wherever you go, I’ll go. Wherever you live, I’ll live. Your people will be my people, and your God, my God. ¹⁷ Where you die, I’ll die and be buried. May the LORD do this to me—and more—if anything except death comes between you and me.”

¹² May the LORD repay you for your work, and may a full reward be given you from the LORD God of Israel, under whose wings you have come for refuge.”

⁴ Take me with you! Let’s run away! Let the king bring me into his private chambers.
The Young Women The daughters of Jerusalem will rejoice and be happy for you. We will value your love more than wine. They love you appropriately.

⁸ The LoverIf you don’t know, most beautiful of women, go out after the flock and graze your young goats beside the shepherd’s tents.

² The LoverLike a lily among thorns, so is my darling among the young women.

⁶ I opened the door for my beloved, but my beloved had turned away; he was gone! My very life went out when he departed. I searched for him, but couldn’t find him. I called out to him, but he didn’t answer.

⁹ The Young WomenWhat is so special about your beloved, most beautiful of women? What is so special about your beloved, that you charge us like this?

⁴ The LoverYou are beautiful, my darling, like Tirzah, lovely like Jerusalem, as awesome as an army with banners.

⁹ but my dove, my perfect one, is unique. She’s unique to her mother, she’s pure to the one who gave birth to her. Young women see her and call her blessed, queens and mistresses praise her.
¹⁰ The Young WomenWho is this who appears like the dawn, beautiful as the moon, bright as the sun, awesome as an army with banners?

⁵ “You house of Jacob!
Come! Let’s live in the LORD’s light.

⁸ Hope of Israel, its deliverer in time of trouble, why are you like a stranger in the land, like a traveler who sets up his tent for a night?

²¹ and they will travel from one place to another place and say, “Let’s go quickly to pray in the presence of the LORD and to inquire of the LORD of the Heavenly Armies.’ And I will go, too. ²² Many people and powerful nations will come to inquire of the LORD of the Heavenly Armies in Jerusalem, and to pray in the presence of the LORD.”’”
²³ “This is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies says: ‘In the future, ten men speaking all the languages of the nations will grab hold of one Jewish person by the hem of his garment and say, “Let us go up to Jerusalem with you, because we heard that God is with you.”’”

¹¹ And great fear seized the whole church and everyone else who heard about this.
¹² The Apostles Perform Many MiraclesNow many signs and wonders were being performed by the apostles among the people, who were gathered together in Solomon’s Colonnade. ¹³ None of the others dared join them, although the rest of the people continued to hold them in high regard. ¹⁴ Nevertheless, believers were being added to the Lord in increasing numbers—both men and women.

⁷ Tell me, you whom I love, where do you graze your flock? Where do you make your flock lie down at noon? Why should I be considered a veiled woman beside the flocks of your companions?
⁸ The LoverIf you don’t know, most beautiful of women, go out after the flock and graze your young goats beside the shepherd’s tents.

¹ I’m a flower from Sharon, a lily of the valleys.
² The LoverLike a lily among thorns, so is my darling among the young women.

¹² My sister, my bride, is a locked garden a locked rock garden, a sealed up spring.

¹³ His cheeks are like beds of spices, like towers of perfume. His lips are lilies, dripping with liquid myrrh.

¹¹ The Loved OneI went down to the walnut orchard, to look at the green sprouts in the valley, to see whether the vine had budded, whether the pomegranates had blossomed.

¹¹ Like a shepherd, he tends his flock. He gathers the lambs in his arms, carries them close to his heart, and gently leads the mother sheep.”

¹ Israel’s Idolatry “Also the righteous are perishing, but no one takes it to heart; devout people are taken away, while no one understands that the righteous person is taken away from calamity.

¹¹ And the LORD will guide you continually, and satisfy your soul in parched places, and they will strengthen your bones; and you’ll be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters never fail.

¹¹ For just as the soil brings forth its shoots, and as a garden makes what is sown within it spring up, so the LORD God will make righteousness and praise spring up before all the nations for Zion’s sake.”

²³ God’s Shepherd: His Servant David“‘Then I’ll install one shepherd for them—my servant David—and he will feed them, will be there for them, and will serve as their shepherd.

¹⁷ The LORD your God among you is powerful— he will save and he will take joyful delight in you. In his love he will renew you with his love; he will celebrate with singing because of you.

²⁰ because where two or three have come together in my name, I am there among them.”

²⁰ teaching them to obey everything that I’ve commanded you. And remember, I am with you each and every day until the end of the age.”

³⁴ Jesus told them, “My food is doing the will of the one who sent me and completing his work. ³⁵ You say, don’t you, ‘In four more months the harvest will begin?’ Look, I tell you, open your eyes and observe that the fields are ready for harvesting now!

³ And since I’m going away to prepare a place for you, I’ll come back again and welcome you into my presence, so that you may be where I am.

²⁴ Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am and to see my glory, which you gave me because you loved me before the creation of the world.

²¹ For to me, to go on living is the Messiah, and to die is gain. ²² Now if I continue living, fruitful labor is the result, so I do not know which I would prefer. ²³ Indeed, I cannot decide between the two. I have the desire to leave this life and be with the Messiah, for that is far better.

¹³ Comfort about Christians who Have DiedBut we do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, about those who have died, so that you may not grieve like other people who have no hope. ¹⁴ For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so through Jesus God will bring those who have died with him.

¹⁷ because the lamb in the center of the throne will be their shepherd. He will lead them to springs filled with the water of life, and God will wipe every tear from their eyes.”

¹⁶ The Loved OneMy beloved belongs to me and I belong to him. He is the one who shepherds his flock among the lilies.

¹⁰ I belong to my beloved, and his desire is for me.

¹⁰ For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after that time, declares the Lord: I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.

² I also saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared like a bride adorned for her husband.
³ I heard a loud voice from the throne say, “See, the tent of God is among humans! He will make his home with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them, and he will be their God. ⁴ He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There won’t be death anymore. There won’t be any grief, crying, or pain, because the first things have disappeared.”

⁵ Jacob, your tents are so fine, as well as your dwelling places, O Israel! ⁶ They’re spread out like valleys, like gardens along river banks, like aloe planted by the LORD, or like cedars beside water. ⁷ He will pour water from his buckets, and his descendants will stream forth like abundant water. His king will be more exalted than Agag when he exalts his own kingdom. ⁸ God is bringing them out of Egypt with the strength of an ox. He’ll devour enemy nations, break their bones, and impale them with arrows. ⁹ He crouches, laying low like a lion. Who would awaken him? Those who bless you are blessed, and those who curse you are cursed.”

¹⁷ Then Jeroboam’s wife got up and left for Tirzah. As soon as she set foot over the threshold of the house, the child died.

²¹ When Baasha learned of this, he stopped fortifying Ramah and remained in Tirzah,

³³ Baasha Reigns over IsraelDuring the third year of the reign of King Asa of Judah, Ahijah’s son Baasha became king over all of Israel. He reigned for 24 years at Tirzah.

² Beautifully situated, the joy of all the earth, Mount Zion towards the north, the city of the great King.

² From Zion, the perfection of beauty, God has shined forth.

⁴ The human person is a mere empty breath; his days are like a fading shadow. ⁵ Bow your heavens, LORD, and descend; touch the mountains, and they will smolder. ⁶ Send forth lightning and scatter the enemy, shoot your arrows and confuse them. ⁷ Reach down your hand from your high place; rescue me and deliver me from mighty waters, from the control of foreigners. ⁸ Their mouths speak lies, and their right hand deceives,

⁵ The Loved OneThe daughters of Jerusalem, I’m dark and lovely like the tents of Kedar, like the curtains of Solomon.

¹⁵ The LoverLook at you! You are beautiful, my darling. Look at you! You are so beautiful. Your eyes are doves.

¹⁴ My dove, in the hidden places of the rocks, in the secret places of the cliffs, show me your form, and let me hear your voice. For your voice is pleasant, and your shape is lovely.

⁷ My darling, you are altogether beautiful and there is no blemish in you.

² The Loved OneI was asleep, but my heart was awake. There’s a sound! My beloved is knocking.
The Lover “Open up for me, my sister, my darling, my dove, my perfect one. For my head is drenched with dew, my hair with the dampness of the night.”

¹⁰ The Young WomenWho is this who appears like the dawn, beautiful as the moon, bright as the sun, awesome as an army with banners?

¹⁵ Everyone who passes by on the road shake their fists at you. They hiss and shake their heads at cherished Jerusalem: “Is this the city men used to call ‘The Perfection of Beauty,’ and ‘The Joy of the Entire Earth’”?

¹³ You were adorned with gold, silver, clothing of fine linen, silk, and embroidery. You ate food made from the finest flour, honey, and olive oil. You were exceedingly beautiful, attaining royal status. ¹⁴ Your fame spread throughout the nations because of your beauty. You were perfectly beautiful due to my splendor with which I endowed you,” declares the Lord GOD.

³ It will come about at that time that I will make Jerusalem a heavy weight; so everyone who burdens themselves with it will be crushed, even though all of the nations of the earth gather themselves against it.

⁴ For the weapons of our warfare are not those of the world. Instead, they have the power of God to demolish fortresses. We tear down arguments

²⁷ and might present the church to himself in all its glory, without a spot or wrinkle or anything of the kind, but holy and without fault.

¹⁴ The armies of heaven, wearing fine linen, white and pure, follow him on white horses. ¹⁵ A sharp sword comes out of his mouth to strike down the nations. He will rule them with an iron rod and tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. ¹⁶ On his robe that covers his thigh he has a name written:
KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS

² I also saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared like a bride adorned for her husband.

²⁶ and said, “Let me go, because the dawn has come.”
“I won’t let you go,” Jacob replied, “unless you bless me.”
²⁷ Then the man asked him, “What’s your name?”
“Jacob,” he responded
²⁸ “Your name won’t be Jacob anymore,” the man replied, “but Israel, because you exerted yourself against both God and men, and you’ve emerged victorious.”

¹⁰ Now let me alone so that my anger may burn against them and that I may consume them, but I’ll make a great nation of you.”

¹ The Lover Look at you! You are beautiful, my darling. Look at you! You are so beautiful. Your eyes behind your veil are doves, your hair is like a flock of goats coming down from Mt. Gilead. ² Your teeth are like a flock of sheep about to be sheared, who are coming up from being washed. All of them are twins, not one has lost her young. ³ Your lips are like a scarlet thread, and your mouth is lovely. Behind your veil, your temple is like a slice of pomegranate.

¹ The Destiny of the JudgedThen the LORD told me, “Even if Moses and Samuel were standing before me, I wouldn’t be favorably disposed toward this people. Send them out of my presence! Let them go!

²⁷ She said, “Yes, Lord. But even the puppies eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ tables.”
²⁸ Then Jesus answered her, “Lady, your faith is great! What you want is granted.” That very hour her daughter was healed.

² Your teeth are like a flock of sheep about to be sheared, who are coming up from being washed. All of them are twins, not one has lost her young.

¹⁹ Seeing a fig tree by the roadside, he went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. He told it, “May fruit never come from you again!” And immediately the fig tree dried up.

³⁰ Throw this useless servant into the darkness outside! In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’”

³ Your lips are like a scarlet thread, and your mouth is lovely. Behind your veil, your temple is like a slice of pomegranate.

¹ Solomon’s Forbidden Marriages and Idolatry
But King Solomon married many foreign women besides the daughter of Pharaoh: women from Moab, Ammon, Edom, and Sidonia, along with Hittite women, too,

³ He had 700 princess wives and 300 mistresses who turned his heart away from the LORD,

²¹ Rehoboam loved Absalom’s daughter Maacah more than he did all of his wives and mistresses. (He married eighteen wives and 60 concubines, fathering 28 sons and 60 daughters.)

⁹ The king’s daughters are among your honorable women; the queen, dressed in gold from Ophir, has taken her place at your right hand.”

¹⁴ In embroidered garments she is presented to the king. Her virgin companions who follow her train will be presented to you.

⁹ The Vision of Tribulation SaintsAfter these things, I looked, and there was a crowd so large that no one was able to count it! They were from every nation, tribe, people, and language. They were standing in front of the throne and the lamb and were wearing white robes, with palm branches in their hands.

¹³ She said, “How happy I am, because women will call me happy!” So she named him Asher.

⁹ I saw them from the top of the rocks. I watched them from the hills. Truly this is a people that lives by itself and doesn’t matter among the nations.

⁶ Observe them carefully, because this will show your wisdom and discernment in the eyes of people who’ll listen to all these decrees. Then they’ll say: ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and discerning people.’ ⁷ For what great nation has a god so near like the LORD our God whenever we call on him?

²⁹ How blessed are you, Israel! Who can be like you, a people delivered by the LORD, your shield of help and your finely crafted sword. May your enemies cower before you. You will tread down their high places.”

² Then our mouths were filled with laughter, and our tongues formed joyful shouts. Then it was said among the nations, “The LORD has done great things for them.”

²⁸ Her children stand up and encourage her, as does her husband, who praises her: ²⁹ “Many women have done wonderful things,” he says, “but you surpass all of them!”

²⁶ But the heavenly Jerusalem is the free woman, and she is our spiritual mother.

³ Do your best to maintain the unity of the Spirit by means of the bond of peace. ⁴ There is one body and one Spirit. Likewise, you were called to the one hope of your calling. ⁵ There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, ⁶ one God and Father of all, who is above all, through all, and in all.

¹⁰ when he comes to be glorified by his saints and to be regarded with wonder on that day by all who have believed—including you, because you believed our testimony.

⁹ The Vision of the New JerusalemThen one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came to me and said, “Come! I will show you the bride, the wife of the lamb.” ¹⁰ He carried me away in the Spirit to a large, high mountain and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven.

⁴ He is like dawn’s first light, like bright sun blazing on a cloudless morning, glistening on grassland that flourishes after a rain shower.

¹⁷ Your life will be brighter than noonday. Even its darkness will be like dawn.

²⁶ if I look at the sun when it shines or the moon as it rises in steady splendor,

⁵ There they are seized with terror, because God is with those who are righteous.

¹⁸ The path of the righteous is like the light of dawn that grows brighter until the full light of day.

⁶ The Lover ArrivesWhat is this coming up from the desert like columns of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and incense from all the fragrant powders of the merchant?

⁵ The Young WomenWho is this coming up from the desert, leaning on her beloved?
The Loved One Under the apple tree I awakened you. There your mother had gone into labor with you; there she went into labor and gave birth to you.

⁸ God’s Reward“Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will spring up quickly; and your vindication will go before you, and the glory of the LORD will guard your back.

¹ God’s Day of Vengeance “Who is this coming from Edom, from Bozrah, in garments stained crimson? Who is this, robed in such splendor, marching in his great might? It is I, speaking in vindication, mighty to save.

⁵ Therefore I cut them to pieces by the prophets, killing them by the words from my mouth. The verdict against you shines like a beacon.

² But the Sun of Righteousness will arise with healing in its light for those who fear my name. You will go out and leap like calves released from their stalls

⁴³ Then the righteous will shine like the sun in their Father’s kingdom. Let the person who has ears listen!”

² His appearance was changed in front of them, his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as light.

³⁷ In all these things we are triumphantly victorious due to the one who loved us.

¹ The Vision of the Powerful AngelThen I saw another powerful angel come down from heaven. He was dressed in a cloud, and there was a rainbow over his head. His face was like the sun, and his legs were like columns of fire.

¹ The Vision of a Woman Dressed with the SunA spectacular sign appeared in the sky: a woman dressed with the sun, who had the moon under her feet and a victor’s crown of twelve stars on her head.

¹⁰ He carried me away in the Spirit to a large, high mountain and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven. ¹¹ The glory of God was its radiance, and its light was like a valuable gem, like jasper, as clear as crystal.

²³ The city doesn’t need any sun or moon to give it light, because the glory of God gave it light, and the lamb was its lamp.

⁵ There will be no more night, and they will not need any light from lamps or the sun because the Lord God will shine on them. They will rule forever and ever.

¹⁶ “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give this testimony to you for the churches. I am the root and descendent of David, the bright morning star.”

⁹ The LORD God caused every tree that is both beautiful and suitable for food to spring up out of the ground. The tree of life was also in the middle of the garden, along with the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

¹² The righteous will flourish like palm trees; they will grow like a cedar in Lebanon. ¹³ Planted in the LORD’s Temple, they will flourish in the courtyard of our God. ¹⁴ They will still bear fruit even in old age; they will be luxuriant and green. ¹⁵ They will proclaim: “The LORD is upright; my rock, in whom there is no injustice.”

¹² My sister, my bride, is a locked garden a locked rock garden, a sealed up spring. ¹³ Your shoots are an orchard of pomegranates, with choice fruit, henna with nard, ¹⁴ nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon, with all the trees of frankincense, along with myrrh and aloes, and all the finest spices. ¹⁵ You are a garden spring, a well of fresh water, streams flowing from Lebanon.

¹ The Lover I’ve come into my garden, my sister, my bride; I’ve gathered my myrrh with my spices. I’ve eaten my honeycomb with my honey. I’ve drunk my wine with my milk. Eat, friends! Drink and become drunk with love.

² The Loved OneMy beloved has gone down to his garden, to the beds of spices, to graze his flock in the gardens and gather lilies.

¹² Let us go early to the vineyards, let us see whether the vine has budded, whether the blossom has opened, whether the pomegranates have bloomed. There I’ll give you my love.

² He plowed its land and cleared it of stones. Then he planted it with the choicest vines, built a watchtower in the middle of it, and dug a wine vat in it; He expected it to produce good grapes, but it produced only wild ones.” ³ “So now, you inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge, won’t you please, between me and my vineyard. ⁴ What more could I do in my vineyard, that I haven’t already done? When I expected it to produce good grapes, why did it yield wild ones?

¹³ Seeing in the distance a fig tree covered with leaves, he went to see if he could find anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing except leaves because it wasn’t the season for figs.

⁷ So he told the gardener, ‘Look here! For three years I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this tree but I haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it waste the soil?’

¹⁶ “You have not chosen me, but I have chosen you. I have appointed you to go and produce fruit that will last, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he will give it to you.

³⁶ Paul and Barnabas DisagreeA few days later, Paul told Barnabas, “Let’s go back and visit the brothers in every town where we proclaimed the word of the Lord and see how they’re doing.”

¹⁸ Ephraim’s Prayer and Confession“I’ve certainly heard Ephraim shuddering with grief as they said, ‘You have disciplined me, and I’m disciplined like an untrained calf. Restore me, and let me return, for you are the LORD my God. ¹⁹ Indeed, after I turned away, then I repented. And after I came to understand, I slapped my forehead. I was both ashamed and humiliated because I bear the disgrace of my youth.’”
²⁰ God’s Gracious Response“Is Ephraim my dear son? Is he a darling child? Indeed, as often as I’ve spoken about him, I surely still remember him. Therefore I deeply yearn for him. I’ll surely have great compassion on him,” declares the LORD.

⁸ “How can I give up on you, Ephraim? I will deliver you, will I not, Israel? How can I treat you like Admah? I can’t make you like Zeboim, can I? My heart stirs within me; my compassion also fans into flame! ⁹ I will not act in my anger; I will not return to destroy Ephraim, For I am God, and not a human— the Holy One among you— so I will not enter the city in anger.

²⁰ “So he got up and went to his father. While he was still far away, his father saw him and was filled with compassion. He ran to his son, threw his arms around him, and kissed him affectionately.

² As he was watching them, Jacob said, “This must be God’s camp,” so he named that place Mahanaim.

¹⁰ The scepter will never depart from Judah, nor a ruler’s staff from between his feet, until the One comes, who owns them both, and to him will belong the allegiance of nations.

²¹ Watch when the unmarried women from Shiloh come out to participate in the dances. Then come out of the vineyards and each of you grab a wife from the unmarried women from Shiloh. Then go back home to the territory of Benjamin.

²⁴ David Receives Supplies in the WildernessLater, David arrived at Mahanaim. Absalom and all of the Israelis who supported him crossed the Jordan River.

² His abode is in Salem, his dwelling place in Zion.

⁶ Don’t stare at me because I’m dark; the sun has tanned me. My mother’s sons were angry with me. They made me the caretaker of the vineyards, but I didn’t take care of my own vineyard.

⁶ “Because this people have rejected the gently-flowing waters of Shiloah, and because they keep rejoicing in Rezin and Remaliah’s son,

¹² Go, proclaim these words to the north, and say, ‘Return, unfaithful Israel,’ declares the LORD. ‘I won’t look on you in anger, for I am gracious,’ declares the LORD. ‘I won’t remain angry forever. ¹³ ‘Only acknowledge your iniquity, that you have rebelled against the LORD your God, and have scattered your favors to strangers under every green tree. But you haven’t obeyed me,’ declares the LORD.
¹⁴ “Return, unfaithful people,” declares the LORD, “for I am your husband. I’ll take you, one from a city and two from a family, and I’ll bring you to Zion.

²² God Calls for Repentance“Turn back, unfaithful people, and I’ll heal your unfaithfulness.”
Israel Replies “Look, we’re coming to you because you are the LORD our God.

¹ A Call to Repentance “Return, Israel, to the LORD your God, for you have fallen due to your own iniquity. ² Bring a prepared speech with you as you return to the LORD. Say to him: ‘Take away all our iniquity, and accept what is good. Then we will present the fruit of our lips. ³ Assyria won’t save us; we won’t be riding on horses, Nor will we be saying anymore to the work of our hands, “You are our God.” Indeed, in you the orphan finds mercy.’ ⁴ “I will correct their apostasy, loving them freely, since my anger will have turned away from them.

⁴⁴ Then, turning to the woman, he told Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You didn’t give me any water for my feet, but this woman has washed my feet with her tears and dried them with her hair.

¹⁰ In the same way, I tell you that there is joy in the presence of God’s angels over one sinner who repents.”

⁷ and told him, “Go and wash in the pool of Siloam” (which is translated “Sent One”). So he went off, washed, and came back seeing.

¹⁶ I have other sheep that don’t belong to this fold. I must lead these also, and they’ll listen to my voice. So there will be one flock and one shepherd.

²⁹ Is God the God of the Jews only? Is he not the God of the gentiles, too? Yes, of the gentiles, too,

²³ but I see in my body a different principle waging war with the Law in my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin that exists in my body.

¹⁷ For what the flesh wants is opposed to the Spirit, and what the Spirit wants is opposed to the flesh. They are opposed to each other, and so you do not do what you want to do.

¹⁴ For it is he who is our peace. Through his mortality he made both groups one by tearing down the wall of hostility that divided them. ¹⁵ He rendered the Law inoperative, along with its commandments and regulations, thus creating in himself one new humanity from the two, thereby making peace, ¹⁶ and reconciling both groups to God in one body through the cross, on which he eliminated the hostility. ¹⁷ He came and proclaimed peace for you who were far away and for you who were near.

¹⁰ Putting on the Whole Armor of GodFinally, be strong in the Lord, relying on his mighty strength. ¹¹ Put on the whole armor of God so that you may be able to stand firm against the devil’s strategies. ¹² For our struggle is not against human opponents, but against rulers, authorities, cosmic powers in the darkness around us, and evil spiritual forces in the heavenly realm. ¹³ For this reason, take up the whole armor of God so that you may be able to take a stand whenever evil comes. And when you have done everything you could, you will be able to stand firm.
¹⁴ Stand firm, therefore, having fastened the belt of truth around your waist, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, ¹⁵ and being firm-footed in the gospel of peace. ¹⁶ In addition to having clothed yourselves with these things, having taken up the shield of faith, with which you will be able to put out all the flaming arrows of the evil one, ¹⁷ also take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. ¹⁸ Pray in the Spirit at all times with every kind of prayer and request. Likewise, be alert with your most diligent efforts and pray for all the saints. ¹⁹ Pray also for me, so that, when I begin to speak, the right words will come to me. Then I will boldly make known the secret of the gospel,

² Abraham gave Melchizedek a tenth of everything. In the first place, his name means “king of righteousness,” and then he is also king of Salem, that is, “king of peace.”