| ZABCD|
UNCLE JOHN'S Study Bible
BIBLE STORIES &
BIBLICAL POEMS
UNCLE JOHN'S Study Bible
Jesus loves company.
It was the prostitutes and the players, the people of the street, the humble
ones that surrounded Jesus.
Mary Magdalene, a beautiful, vain and lustful young woman, freed from her demons
by Jesus, became a close friend of Jesus. Mary lay at the feet of Jesus at home
listening to him.
Mary
Magdalene had such a special relationship with Jesus
She is the one who could hold on to him
She is the first one He appeared with and spoke to
When He rose from the dead
Mary was crying
She was standing outside the grave where the dead Jesus lay
When she looked in the grave she saw two angels.
And without a corpse
They asked
"Woman, why are you crying?"
"They have taken my Lord and I don't know where he is"
She turns around and sees Jesus standing there.
But she didn't recognize him
"Lord," she said, "do you know where they took my love?
Tell me and I'll catch
him."
Jesus calls her "Mary"
and instantly she recognizes him.
She turns around and shouts
"Teacher!"
Calling her name moves her heart with such a joyful feeling.
Jesus tells her
“Do not hold on to me now, because I have not yet returned to the Father.
Instead, go with my brothers and tell them
You have seen me
He is alive, with a mission to accomplish."
THE GIFTED
The Ark of Bulrushes
Pharaoh gave the order for every newborn Israelite male to die. The mother of Moses hid him for three months. And when that was no longer safe she got a papyrus basket and placed the child inside and put it in the reeds along the bank of the Nile River.
Here comes Moses riding down the river and the Princess daughter finds him. Miriam, the baby´s sister is watching and sees that the Pharaoh’s daughter has discovered the child. She wants to keep the Hebrew boy and adopt him, and names the baby, Moses, saying
“I drew him from the water”.
Miriam is gifted with intuitive prompting, and courageously approaches the Princess, and takes the initiative to suggest a nurse without revealing her relationship, and the Princess listens with approval,
and Miriam fetches her Mom.
The greatness of the emancipation of the Hebrews from slavery has its origin in female intelligence. They are reunited as a family preserving the spirit of youth. Miriam is instinctive and blessed. Her strength and resilience are poetic inspiration, her qualities shine, protective of her siblings.
Miriam is the first prophetess in the Bible.
She is artistic, a poetess, musician, singer & dancer.
Her gift is poetic and powerful, an embodiment of inspiration.
Her songs bring out the aesthetic
and speaks from an inward nature
to the souls of her people.
She brings songs of cheer and her poetry is
consecrated to the heavenly life.
She led a chorus of singers who dance
while she plays the timbrel & cymbals
crossing the Red Sea,
praising God for their deliverance.
She sang the Song of Moses
as the Song of the Lamb.
Let her songs rise for others
with bright hope!
Miriam's Well is named in honor of Moses´ sister.
This well miraculously provided water
to the Israelites in the desert wilderness
for forty years.
This Well followed them in their travels
through the wilderness,
a source of water flowing constantly.
This Well is a gift given as a blessing to the Israelites,
its miracle of abundance merited to Miriam,
a prophetess and righteous woman of faith.
JACOB´S WELL
Rebekah got married
& had a favorite son
The twins she carried
with a different identity for each one
Jacob grew up to get married
You see him working at the well
For the babe his love carries
Love deep as his well
Jacob's well is the deepest well
in all of Israel
The Lord is the lid on this well
Transforming to an inner well
The Samaritan saw the man at Jacob's well
who knew everything about her
He interacts to rescue her from hell
He shows he cares about her
He comes to save every sinner like her
Jacob's well is the deepest well
in all of Israel
Word living in us expresses trust
in the otherworldly and visionary
His faith bewildering and mystifying
Like his grandfather spiritual and not ordinary
Jacob was not satisfied with earthly things
This country who's foundation is heavenly
who's builder and maker is God
was blessed and led by the spirit
from the sanctuary
to the well of living water of life
transformed into a river of light
to be satisfied with all we hear & see in our sight
Jacob's well is the deepest well
in all of Israel
The Lord is the lid on this well
Transforming to an inner well
The Samaritan saw the man at Jacob's well
who knew everything about her
He interacts to rescue her from hell
He shows he cares about her
He comes to save every sinner like her
Jacob's well is the deepest well
in all of Israel
The woman went into the city & shouted
Come and see a man who told me
all the things I ever did
even the things I kept hid
She recognizes him as he really is
He answers her outcry she's the outcast
There's real prejudice between Samaritans & Jews
Some make Jesus whatever they want him to be
Jewish he is & comes to bring the good news
but the Jews chased him to the hill's edge
to try to kick him out but instead
He walked right through the crowd & on his way
Now she is shocked this Jew speaks to her
with love on this day
Humbly asking her for a drink
He gets involved and got her attention
He's sitting on Jacob's well
your propitiation
Going to the well for more and more
She can't get no satisfaction
She had five husbands before
Now she's amazed at his reaction
Maybe you have only one husband
and thought about five
and they're all alive
The man at the well
at the sixth hour on the day of the Lord
is thirsting too and
waiting for you
He can save you when you're weeping
or in a place of blessing
Jacob you know as a kid
Well tested blessed regardless of what he did
Just as you call the place Jacob's well
The living fountain can foretell
On the spring of life Christ rises from the dead
for the everlasting unending ahead
Jacob's well is the deepest well
in all of Israel
The Lord is the lid on this well
Transforming to an inner well
The Samaritan saw the man at Jacob's well
who knew everything about her
He interacts to rescue her from hell
He shows he cares about her
He comes to save every sinner like her
Jacob's well is the deepest well
in all of Israel
.jpg)
THE COURTSHIP
Before God changed Jacob´s name to Israel
Jacob´s courtship built the house imperial
Jacob flees from his brother
Esau´s rancor
To his Uncle Laban´s place
To find his domestic anchor
Jacob sees a well in the field
Behold there are three flocks of sheep
He looks at Rachel then he says Look
It is still high day as written in the Book
Rachel is a shepherdess radiant and unique
Jacob rolls away the stone to water and feed the sheep
Jacob fearlessly kisses his cousin
Lifting his voice to weep
Jacob loves Rachel
But Leah´s delicate eyes are on him while he sleeps
Rachel is gracious
She does not argue
She is calm in the storm and true
A light to Israel
In the circumstance from which they grew
Jacob is devoted to Rachel
They are true friends
Jacob serves seven years of labor to marry Rachel
Now his days are fulfilled
The courtship transforms at a feast
Where he is deceived
He takes a hand in marriage and Leah´s he receives
Jacob acquires a bargain he deserves
And seven more years for Rachel he serves
This lifestyle led to jealousy envy and strife
The romance of love spoiled led to rivalry to be his wife
Jacob and Rachel have something in common
Living together in the house of Laban
Their courtship teaches them how love waits
Israel forms the tribes of the great pearl gates
Leah and her sister Rachel
Built the house of Israel
Leah and her sister Rachel
Built the house of Israel
Leah takes to heart her love for children to keep
Rachel´s unruffled considerate blameless
As her sister is deep
Israel´s a poet of visions and dreams
Of angels ascending and descending
Of living streams
Rachel is like the inland lake a calm sea
Patient not making waves full of life and liberty
The fruit of their love lasts in a strong relationship
They cherish rich appreciation because of the courtship
Part 1
Samson, the strongest man to ever have lived on Earth, became a Judge in Israel for twenty years, but Gaza was controlled by the Philistines. One day Samson went to Gaza where he saw a prostitute. He went in to spend the night with her. When the people were told "Samson is here!" they surrounded the place and layed in wait all night long at the city gate, and planned to kill him at dawn. But he escaped at midnight and took hold of the doors of the locked city gate, together with the two posts, tore them loose and lifted them to his shoulders, and carried them to the top of the hill.
Philip & the Ethiopian Meet on the Desert Road in Gaza
In the Bible, in Acts 8, there is a story about Philip, commanded by the angel of the Lord, to go south to the road - the desert road from Jerusalem to Gaza, where he meets an Ethiopian who was in charge of the treasury of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. This man was coming from Jerusalem where he had gone to worship, and on his way home sitting in his chariot, he was reading from the Testament, the prophet Isaiah, Chapter 53, but he did not understand it.
"He was oppressed and afflicted,
led like a lamb to the slaughter,
and as a sheep before the shearer is silent,
so he did not open his mouth..."
The Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.” The African had an eagerness for truth and invites Philip to come up and sit with him. “The Ethiopian asks, “tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?” Philip tells him the good news about Jesus, saying he fulfills the prophecy of this Scripture on the cross, to see our salvation. No greater grace there is than his love. The African is spiritually receptive, with a hunger in his heart to be baptized. They come upon water, and acknowledging the Divinity of God, with his whole heart believing, Philip baptizes him as they are both dunked into the water. The African comes up alone and goes down the road rejoicing. Philip comes up caught in the Spirit of the Lord, and finds himself in Azotus, about 25 miles away. He's here then suddenly there. Rapture speed, faster than motion in love.
A Child Shall Guide Them
A child shall guide
them
There is light at the end of the tunnel
To love a child who is kind
A miracle to find
Heaven in my mind
A kingdom where a child shall guide them
The spirit of all goodness in him
Light like stars in the sky that shine
A child shall guide them
They come to a stable
To find a child to guide them
Some say it is the moving star
Some say it is angels
Some say it is supernatural from afar
He is a child born for all nations
To bring everyone to the good news
To give hope in a difficult and dark time
We are approaching the day
When the wolf and the lamb play
Where cows and lions roam together
A child shall guide them
There is light at the end of the tunnel
To love a child who is kind
A miracle to find
Heaven in my mind
A kingdom where a child shall guide them
The spirit of all goodness in him
Light like stars in the sky that shine
A child shall guide them
Poesía
Inspirado por la Biblia que enriquece nuestro corazón
y satisface nuestra alma
Escrito por Uncle John
Redactor: Tania Carrasco
Poema bíblico
Dios nos dio
los diez mandamientos y lo llama Ley
A la gente de este planeta en el tiempo transcurrido desde la caída
Y las cenizas en el barro negro serán rastrilladas
Para que podamos beber de la fuente de la copa de oro de la vida
Dios dijo ante todo honrar a Dios
Ante él no hay mayor fama
Segundo honra su nombre
Tercera solicitud de un día libre
Y para tu padre y tu madre haz tu mejor esfuerzo
No depende de ti juzgar si son buenos o malos
Dios dice que es crucial que respetes a mamá y a papá
Dios entonces dijo que no robara
La vida de otras personas
Esposas de otras personas
Cosas de otras personas
Dios dijo: basta de mentiras
No codicies la codicia en tu corazón
No pienses en perder el tiempo, no dejes que empiece
¿Puedes oír lo que está diciendo?
"Gente, les advierto que no se entrometa
En sus vida matrimonial
No te metas con esta joya
¿O pagarás un precio?
Gente te advierto
No interfieras en sus vida matrimonial "
No se pierda la palabra de Dios como advertencia
Te juzgará
Te pide que guardes estos mandamientos
El amor y la honestidad son todo lo que te pide
Dios nos dio los diez mandamientos y lo llama Ley
Para la gente de este planeta en el tiempo transcurrido desde la caída
Y las cenizas en el barro negro serán rastrilladas
Para que podamos beber de la fuente de la copa de oro de la vida
Un Niño Los Guiará
Él es ligero al final del túnel
De amar a un niño que es amable
Un milagro para encontrar
El cielo en mi mente
Un reino donde un niño los guiará
El espíritu de toda bondad en él
Luz como estrellas en el cielo que brillan
Un niño los guiará
Vienen a un establo
Para encontrar un niño que los guíe
Algunos dicen que fue la estrella en movimiento
Algunos dicen que fueron los ángeles
Algunos dicen que fue sobrenatural desde lejos
Fue un niño nacido para todas las naciones
Para llevar a todos a las buenas noticias
Para dar esperanza en un tiempo difícil y oscuro
Nos acercamos al dia
Cuando el lobo y el cordero juegan
Donde las vacas y los leones deambulan juntos
Un niño guiará ellos
Él es ligero al final del túnel
De amar a un niño que es amable
Un milagro para encontrar
El cielo en mi mente
Un reino donde un niño los guiará
El espíritu de toda bondad en él
Luz como estrellas en el cielo que brillan
Un niño los guiará
King Solomon
"There was never a king like Solomon
Not since the world began
Yet Solomon talked to a butterfly
As a man would talk to a man"
--Rudyard Kipling
King Solomon, son of David and Bathsheba, lived in a palace of gold. He had the power to move nations. He had great wealth, good health, unbelievable abundance, riches and fame, but these were not the things Solomon sought the most. He wanted wisdom and understanding, and God grants his wish and his mind is transformed with knowledge, common compassion and sense, spiritual insight, a keen mind, heart to God, and in tune with all of nature. He is calm in the sight of bees, learned to build with trees, watches the caterpillar change and approaches the butterfly with "Thank you" and "Please!", and sets his sights on the birds' flight and stars at night.
Book Of Daniel
PRAYING IN THE DEN
This story takes place in the sixth century B.C. Daniel was a smart kid with a bright future, but as a young adult he was part of the exile of the Jewish people taken captive to Babylonia. Daniel was a man without fear, who believed his prayers were for a hearing God and found great grace among his captors. First, he got them to change the menu and serve them healthier foods. He served in the king's court and was elevated to prominence when he interpreted the king's dreams and was put in charge of all the wise men in the land. Daniel's visions and prophecies and stories stood the test of time. He was put in charge of the court and called the president of the land. He was preferred above the princes and presidents because there was an excellent spirit in him. They could find no fault in him; he is trustworthy, not corrupt nor negligent, so they assembled together to trap him with a decree the king would sign and issue stating no man can petition God in prayer for thirty days. Daniel left his windows open and continued to pray giving thanks before God. Because of his rank and office they sought to bring Daniel down. Daniel fell into royal disfavor when he disobeyed the order King Darius decreed for all not to pray or be tossed to the lions. They locked Daniel in the cave, a lion's den, overnight with ferocious hungry beasts, but Daniel continued to pray and was not afraid. He persevered in prayer. God sent an angel to shut the mouths of the beasts and protected Daniel who survived the night, the lions laying down like purring kittens, and Daniel released into the dawn of the morning to the king, elevated again, really as a witness to the truth and the power of God, and the triumph of prayer, faith, and love over fear. And King Darius issued a new decree to all the people, nations and men of every language throughout the land that they must now revere the God of Daniel: "May you prosper greatly! I issue this decree in every part of my kingdom people must honor the God of Daniel. For he is the living God and he endures forever; His kingdom will not be destroyed, his dominion will never end. He rescues and he saves; He performs signs and wonders in the heavens and on the earth. He has rescued Daniel from the power of the lions." And Daniel prospered because he believes in God!
Ezekiel: Lesson 7
The Book of Ezekiel is one of the most difficult books in the Bible to understand. Ezekiel communicated messages from God many he received through visions while he lived in Babylon among the captive exiles. Like St. Francis of Assisi, Ezekiel met with God among nature. He is thirty years old, by the river when he sees the heavens open, and he experiences great visions of spiritual astronomy and a call to be a prophet with a commission to be a watchman on a mission. He is in exile among 10,000 captives in a time when Daniel is in the court of the king, Nebuchadnezzar.
10 lesson study in the Book of Ezekiel Lesson 7
EZEKIEL Chapter 37:1-14
VII
MAY THE FOUR WINDS BLOW YOU SAFELY HOME
What was once the great nation was now in exile, creation in captivity, bondage to corruption. The hand of the Lord touches Ezekiel and he's drawn out by the Spirit of the Lord who "set me in the middle of a valley full of bones". The Lord leads him back and forth among these many dry bones on the floor of this valley and asks Ezekiel “Son of man, can these bones live?” “You alone know, O Sovereign Lord” he replies and listens to the Lord who instructs him “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! I will make breath (in the Hebrew translation also meaning air, wind or spirit) enter you and you will come to life. I will attach tendons and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin: I will put breath in you and you will come to life.’” So he prophesies as commanded and he hears a noise, a rattling sound like an earthquake shaking as the skeletons are formed into a body as the bones come together bone to bone. He watches as flesh covers the bones with skin but there is no breath in them. The Lord says to Ezekiel: “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe into these slain, that they may live,’ He prophesies as commanded, to the north wind and its convincing power, to the south wind bringing the Comforter. “Awake, north wind, and come, south wind! Blow on my garden that its fragrance may spread abroad,” Solomon’s lover sings to him. He prophesies to the east wind, its trials and tests, and to the west wind and its blessings which brings understanding in the present time. Zeke prophesies to the bones a creative word and prophesies to the winds of the Spirit for God to supernaturally move on these bones and for the winds to breathe life and restoration into these bones, and breath enters them and they come to life and stand up on their feet as a vast invincible army.
“Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up, our hope is gone, we are cut off.’ Therefore prophesy and say to them ‘O my people, I an going to open your graves and bring you up from them. I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land.’”
The fulfillment of Ezekiel’s vision some 2500 years later are the bones of six million Jews killed in the Holocaust in 1945 and Israel scattered without a homeland is given new life when they are recognized as a sovereign nation in 1948 and the four winds of Earth carry the exiled home.
In God’s supernatural ability is the power for the dead to be raised and revived. Lost hope will find new faith. What is written as inspiration in the Bible brings vision to the spiritual dead to find new purpose in the manifestation of life. We come to the four winds that enable breath in air to blow on the Spirit of the mind that entitle and transform us and will carry us in song safely home. The same Lord who formed human flesh and bones from dust and breathe air into our nostrils to make us living beings shall open our graves and bring us up from them and put his Spirit in us that we may live again. Then we will know the Lord has spoken and done this and we will know God.
Uncle John graduated with high honors from Christian Life International Bible College in Novato, California
King Solomon & The Queen of Sheba
"There was never a king like Solomon
Not since the world began
Yet Solomon talked to a butterfly
As a man would talk to a man"
--Rudyard Kipling
King Solomon, son of David and Bathsheba, lived in a palace of gold. He had the power to move nations. He had great wealth, good health, unbelievable abundance, riches and fame, but these were not the things Solomon sought the most. He wanted wisdom and understanding, and God grants his wish and his mind is transformed with knowledge, common compassion and sense, spiritual insight, a keen mind, heart to God, and in tune with all of nature. He is calm in the sight of bees, learned to build with trees, watches the caterpillar change and approaches the butterfly with "Thank you" and "Please!", and sets his sights on the birds' flight and stars at night.
"When the queen of Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon and his relation to the name of the Lord, she came to test him with hard questions. Arriving at Jerusalem with a very great caravan-with camels carrying spices, large quantities of gold and precious stones-she came to Solomon and talked with him about all she had on her mind. Solomon answered all her questions; nothing was too hard for the king to explain to her....She said to the king, 'This report I heard in my own country about your achievements and your wisdom is true. But I did not believe these things until I came and saw with my own eyes. Indeed, not even half was told me; in wisdom and wealth you have far exceeded the report I heard.' "
--1Kings10: 1-7
Solomon is in his young thirties, famous for his wisdom and wit, his lavish wealth, his songs and wives. Much has been written about Balkis the Queen of Sheba, Queen of the South. They believed she came from the southernmost point of the then known world. She came to Jerusalem and hung out with Solomon. He's the wealthiest in the extreme sense, good-looking, who had the best of the best and most of the gold yet these were not the things he had sought. When God offered him a gift of his choosing he chose knowledge and wisdom and he was transformed into the wisest of all and these other blessings followed him. How many of you, given a wish for anything in the world, would ask for wisdom? Solomon's fame traveled the commercial world and the Queen of Sheba arrives in Jerusalem with gifts and caravans of followers and is greeted by a cart of Solomon's wives. Some of what's written about the Queen of Sheba is man's speculation but the truth of who she is can be found in the Bible and she is drawn to Solomon spiritually like a story from the Bible, and it would be an awesome study listening to Solomon's commentary. Balkis is different from his other visitors. She brings him gifts of things he has never seen, spices he is smelling for the first time; she is royalty seeking true wisdom and in awe of the magnified magnificent Solomon.
"King Solomon was greater in riches and wisdom than all the other kings of the earth. All the kings of the earth sought audience with Solomon to hear the wisdom God had put in his heart."
--2Chronicles 9: 22-23
Solomon's wisdom is Divinely inspired. Balkis, the queen of Sheba, follows Solomon's fame seeking an audience with him to test him with hard questions and he responds with quick, versatile, innovative, natural examples, framed in light with "an understanding heart to judge the people and discern between good and evil." There is no hesitation in him for he is spiritually blessed with greater knowledge and deep understanding and insight. Wisdom is the power that discerns and utilizes the innermost truth of things, finds and practically applies whatever is essentially Divine. Solomon expresses this wisdom in many ways, including books, literary compositions, through history and science, and architectural undertakings. Proverbial is the Book of Proverbs. Poetic are his songs and psalms. Solomon is the songwriter of Song of Songs in the Bible. Socratic, by question and answer, are like riddles-"dark sayings" and the interpretation thereof. The Queen of Sheba communes with him and shares what's in her heart. She remains amazed that all she has heard about Solomon's achievements and wisdom are true, exceeding all expectations she had, and her eyes are full of wonder at the splendor she beheld. Solomon's accomplishments and tales of his wisdom spread abroad through all countries and his fame attracts kings and queens to his court to hear his oracular insight, as well as to gaze upon his grandeur.
SOLOMON'S POEMS, SONGS & PLAY
Pleasant words are a honeycomb
Sweet to the soul and health to the bones
A bit of kindness, a pleasant phrase, soothing comfort, a soft word, costs little yet means so much. The comparison with honey speaks across all cultures through every generation. As the story goes, his father watches a swarm of bees covering the infant head of Ambrose in his cradle, and when the bees lifted they left a drop of honey on his lips, foreshadowing his future persuasive eloquence.
The honeybee is a symbol for work, industrious, pleasant, busy, cooperative, creative, orderly, and diligent. The honey produces a symbol of wisdom, sweetness, wealth, eloquence, and positive changes pleasing to the soul, and the senses, with healing characteristics. The Hebrew name for bees is connected to the word "speech". The true and righteous words of our Lord are said in the Bible to be "sweeter than honey" and the pleasant words of humans compares to the health-giving honeycomb. A sweet-talking person's lips "drip as the honeycomb" with honeyed tongues. The Bible refers to the Promised Land as a land of abundance "flowing with milk and honey."
Ambrose, the Bishop of Milan, as I know of him, is the patron of beekeepers and candle-makers. He taught that church is a beehive, and the bees faithful, diligently storing up treasure or honey in heaven. The beehives represent a peaceful, cooperative community wisely ruled by one head, the Queen bee. It is like the sweetness produced by eloquence. Words can create a buzz and can sting too.
Bees represent vigilance. And because they store up honey, they are examples of thrift, banking and forethought.
Ambrose is known as the honey tongued Doctor, bestowed upon him because of his speaking and preaching abilities. He is also a teacher, and a Bible student who is a great influence on others. Born to Roman nobility, he was a wealthy man who gave it away to the poor, serving up as an example. He was part of a chanting choir and wrote many hymns. Ambrose is a great orator, and a Christian universalist, who believes that all people shall eventually achieve salvation.
When Jesus Christ, resurrected from the dead, appearing behind locked doors to his disciples, they thought they were seeing a ghost, even after Jesus spoke to them and showed them his punctured hands and feet, they still did not believe it was him, until he ate a piece of fish and honeycomb, convincing them this was not a ghost, but the same man they saw die, now return in the flesh to life, fully alive.
Love is magnanimous, and its eloquence sweet as honey. Solomon understood nature and drew wisdom from his surroundings. He wrote: "Eat honey, my son, for it is good; honey from the comb is sweet to your taste. Know also that wisdom is sweet to your soul; if you find it, there is a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off."
A positive attitude, pleasing, kind, watchful words can transform and heal us through the inner workings and power of the Spirit true.
Solomon wrote a powerful book of sweet romantic poetry in a play called the Song of Songs located in the Old Testament of the Bible. It's a song of love in a heart of hearts.
excerpt from SONG OF SONGS
by Solomon
Friends "How is your beloved better than others,
most beautiful of women?
How is your beloved better than others,
that you charge us so?
Beloved My lover is radiant and ruddy,
outstanding among ten thousand.
His head is purest gold;
his hair is wavy
and black as a raven.
His eyes are like doves
by the water streams,
washed in milk,
mounted like jewels.
His cheeks are like beds of spice
yielding perfume.
His lips are like lilies
dripping with myrrh.
His arms are rods of gold
set with chrysolite.
His body is like polished ivory
decorated with sapphires.
His legs are pillars of marble
set on bases of pure gold.
His appearance is like Lebanon
choice as its cedars.
His mouth is sweetness itself;
he is altogether lovely.
This is my lover, this is my friend,
O daughters of Jerusalem.
Friends Where has your lover gone
most beautiful of women?
Which way did your lover turn,
that we may look for him with you?
Beloved My lover has gone down to his garden,
to the bed of spices,
to browse in the gardens
and to gather lilies.
I am my lover's and my lover is mine;
he browses among the lilies.
Lover You are beautiful, my darling, as Tizrah,
lovely as Jerusalem,
majestic as troops with banners.
Turn your eyes from me;
they overwhelm me.
Your hair is like a flock of goats
descending from Gilead.
Your teeth are like a flock of sheep
coming up from the washing.
Each has its twin,
not one of them alone.
Your temples behind your veil
are like the halves of a pomegranate.
Sixty queens there may be,
and eighty concubines,
and virgins beyond number;
but my dove, my perfect one, is unique,
the only daughter of her mother,
the favorite of the one who bore her.
The maidens saw her and called her blessed;
the queens and concubines praised her.
Friends Who is this that appears like the dawn,
fair as the moon,
bright as the sun,
majestic as the stars in procession?
Lover How beautiful your sandaled feet
O prince's daughter!
Your graceful legs are like jewels,
the work of a craftsman's hands.
Your navel is a rounded goblet
that never lacks blended wine.
Your waist is a mound of wheat
encircled by lilies.
Your breasts are like two fawns,
twins of a gazelle.
Your neck is like an ivory tower,
Your eyes are the pools of Heshbon
by the gate of Bath Rabbim.
Your nose is like the tower of Lebanon
looking toward Damascus.
Your head crowns you like Mt. Carmel.
Your hair is like royal tapestry;
the king is held captive by its tresses.
How beautiful you are and how pleasing,
O love, with your delights!
Your stature is like that of the palm,
and your breasts like clusters of fruit.
I said, "I will climb the palm tree;
I will take hold of its fruit."
May your breasts be like clusters of the vine,
the fragrance of your breath like apples,
and your mouth like the best wine.
Beloved May the wine go straight to my lover,
flowing gently over lips and teeth.
I belong to my lover,
and his desire is for me.
Come, my lover, let us go to the countryside,
let us spend the night in the villages.
Let us go early to the vineyards
to see if the vines have budded,
if their blossoms have opened,
and if the pomegranates are in bloom-
there I will give you my love."
Narrow Gate Music by Bob Dylan
Robert Hunter and Jerry Garcia
