Rhyming Song of Songs, as a preview to our upcoming Rhyming Solomon!!

Rhyming Redsong: Matthew 4:17-20 (Jesus preaches repentance and calls disciples)

From then on, Jesus, he began to preach,
“Repent, for heaven’s kingdom has come near.”
As Jesus, walking, was, beside the Sea
of Galilee, two brothers, he, them, peered,
at, Simon, Peter, called, and, brother, his,
named Andrew. To the lake, a net, they threw,
for they were fisherman, they, out, it cast.
Then Jesus said, “Come, follow me, and, you,
I will send out, for people, you, to fish.”
At once they left their nets and, him, pursued.

Rhyming Redsong: Matthew 4.1-11 (Jesus faces temptation alone in the desert)

Then, by the Spirit, to the desert, lead,
was Jesus, so that Satan, him, could tempt.
For forty days and nights, after his fast,
he felt great hunger. This the tempter said,

“If who you really are is God, his Son,
then tell them all to turn to loaves, these stones.”

Then Jesus answers, “This, the scripture says,
‘Man shall not live by only eating bread,
but by each word that from God’s mouth proceeds’.”

The devil, to the holy city, then
took Jesus, and upon the highest ledge,
the Temple’s, there, the place where he, him, set.

“If you are really him, the Son of God,”
he said, “then you should throw yourself downwards.
For as the scripture says, ‘What he shall give:
his angels charge concerning you,’ and this:
‘They’ll bear you up in their angelic hands
lest you would dash your foot, a stone, against.’”

Retorted Jesus, “Yes, and too it says,
the scripture, also, this, as its command:
‘The LORD your God, him you shall never tempt.’”

Then once again, a mountain, high, was where
the devil took him and from there he showed
him all the kingdoms of the earth and their
magnificence. “On you I will bestow
all things you see,” the words the devil plied,
“if you would fall down and would worship me.”

“Away with you now, Satan!” he replied,
did Jesus. “This is how the scripture reads,
‘You worship, only, him, the LORD your God,
and him whom you shall serve exclusively.’”

The devil then left him alone and they
took care of him, the angels, to him, came.

Rhyming Redsong: Matthew 3.13-17 (John baptises Jesus)

Then to the Jordan river, Jesus came
from Galilee, to be baptised by John.
But John tried to, him, from such act, restrain.
“I need you to baptise me,” he responds.
“For surely not to me whom you would come?”
But Jesus, this, to John, how he replied,
“To meet the Law’s demands, it’s right for us,
let it be so done now, as it requires.”

To his baptism, then, what John agreed.
Straight from the water, Jesus afterwards
came out, and then, they opened suddenly,
the heavens, and he saw the Spirit, God’s
descending, dove-like, resting, him, upon.
And out of Heaven came a voice that said:
“Him whom I dearly love, this is my son,
my son, the one in whom I am well-pleased.”

Rhyming Song of Songs: Chapter 1

She:

Let him kiss me with mouth-to-mouth aligned,
your love is more delightful than is wine.
Most pleasing fragrances, perfumes of yours.
Your name is like, poured from a vial, perfume.
No wonder the young women all love you!
Take me away with you–let us make haste!
Let the king take me to his chamber place.

Friends:

We both rejoice, as well, in you, delight,
we’ll praise your love more than we will the wine.

She:

They’re right to make you adoration’s mark!
Yes, daughters of Jerusalem, I’m dark
yet lovely, just like Kedar’s tents undone,
like curtains of the tent of Solomon.
Do not stare at me for I am so dark,
because the sunlight left its dark’ning marks.
With me, my mother’s sons, they, angry, felt,
and made me take care of the vineyards well;
and my own vineyard, I had to neglect.
Tell me, you whom I love, where you, your flock
will graze, where you rest your sheep at midday.
Why should I be a woman with a veil
beside the flocks of your friends, put away?

Friends:

Most beautiful of women if you don’t
know where, the sheep’s tracks, you should follow, go,
and by the shepherd’s tents, graze your young goats.

He:

I liken you, may darling, to a mare
‘mongst Pharaoh’s horses, chariots, they’re paired.
Your cheeks are beautiful, with earrings, graced,
your neck with strings of jewels. For you, we’ll make
some golden earrings, silver studs, inlaid.

She:

The king while he was at his table’s feast,
its fragrance spread, was my perfume, so sweet.
A myrrh sachet is my beloved to me,
my breasts is where he’s resting, there, between.
A henna blossom cluster, him, to me,
is my beloved, from vineyards, En Gedi’s.

He:

How beautiful you are, my darling one!
Oh yes, how beautiful, your eyes are doves.

She:

How handsome you are to me, my beloved!
How charming, oh, our bed’s a verdant grove.

He:

Our house’s beams are made from cedars, strong;
our rafters, firs, their planks are thick and long.

Rhyming Ecclesiastes: Chapter 12

Remember your Creator in the days
when you are young, for certain, trouble’s days
will come, the years approach, when you will say:
“No pleasure in them, no more, they convey”–
before the sun and light, and stars and moon
grow dark, and after rain, the clouds return;
when they will tremble, those, the house, who keep,
and strong men stoop, when grinders’ work, they cease
for they are few, those who, through windows, peer,
grow dim; when they’re closed, to the street, the doors,
and sounds of grinding fades; when people rise
up at the sound of birds, but all their songs
grow faint; when people are afraid of heights
and of uncertain dangers in the streets;
the almond tree, when it is blossoming,
and the grasshopper drags itself along,
desire is gone, no longer is it stirred.
To their eternal home, are men interred,
and mourners wailing, in the streets, their dirge.

Remember him–before the silver cord
is severed, broken, is the golden bowl;
before the pitcher’s shattered at the spring,
and at the well, the wheel won’t pull the string,
and down back to the ground where it came from,
the dust returns, so too, to God, to him,
who gave it, you, the spirit will return.

“All meaningless! All meaningless!”, he says,
the Teacher. “Everything is meaningless!”

The Conclusion of the Matter

Not only was the Teacher wise, but too,
the people, he imparted knowledge to.
He pondered, searched out and in order, set
the many proverbs. To find just the right
words, searched, the Teacher, and whate’er he wrote
was upright, true. Their words are just like goads,
those of the wise, like nails, embedded, drove,
their sayings, all collected, firmly, those–
by just a single shepherd they’re bestowed.
Be warned, my son, to them, of anything,
that’s in addition. Many books, to make,
there is no end to that activity
much study makes the body, weary, feel.
Now all’s been heard; conclude, here’s where, can we,
the matter: Fear God, his commandments, keep,
for this is mankind’s duty. For God brings
each deed to judgment, ev’ry hidden thing,
and whether good or evil, balancing.

Rhyming Ecclesiastes: Chapter 11

Invest in Many Ventures

Your grain, you ship across the sea that churns;
and after many days, receive returns.
Invest in seven ventures, yes, in eight;
you don’t know what disasters, how they may
descend upon the land. If clouds are full
of water, rain, upon the earth, they pour.
A tree falls, whether, to the south or north,
where’er it falls, in that place, it will lie.
Whoever watches wind with frightened eyes
will never plant, who looks up to the sky
and sees the clouds, no reaping when it’s time.

As you don’t know the path the wind will take,
how, in a mother’s womb, a body’s made,
so you can’t understand the work of God,
the Maker of all things. So sow your seed
in morning time, when it is in the eve’,
don’t let your hands, to idleness, concede,
for you don’t know what venture will succeed,
if this or that, or both well, equally.

Remember Your Creator While Young

Light’s sweet, to see the sun, the eyes are pleased.
How many years a man’s not yet deceased,
let him enjoy them all. But let him keep
the days of darkness in his memory
for certain, of those, many he will see.
For everything to come is meaningless.

You who are young, while your youth still persists,
be happy then, and let your heart give you
joy in the days when you still have your youth.
Its ways, your heart’s, you should be following,
pursuing everything your eyes might see,
but know that it will be for all these things
that God will, you, to judgment, someday bring.
So banish, from your heart, anxiety,
the troubles of your body, outwards fling,
both vigor, youth, they neither mean a thing.

Rhyming Ecclesiastes: Chapter 10

As dead flies give perfume a smell that’s brown,
a little folly, wisdom, honor, drowns.
The hearts of wise men, to the right, incline,
the fools’, the left, they’re sinister, defined.
E’en as fools walk along the road, no sense,
to everyone, stupidity’s expressed.
If ‘gainst you does a ruler’s anger rise,
don’t leave your post; your calmness, it can lay
to rest offenses that seem heavy, grave.

There is an evil I’ve seen ‘neath the sun,
the sort of error that arises from
a ruler: high positions filled with fools,
while rich men, only lower places, rule.
I have seen slaves, on horseback they will ride,
while princes go on foot, slaves, they are like.

Whoe’er will dig a pit may fall to it;
who breaks a wall, by snakes he may be bit.
Who quarries stones may, by them, injured, be;
whoe’er splits logs, they’re, him, endangering.

If dull, the axe, unsharpened is its edge,
more strength required, but skill will bring success.

If, prior to its charm, the snake will bite,
the charmer will, from that, no fee derive.

They’re gracious, words a wise man’s mouth will quip,
but fools are e’er consumed by their own lips.
At the beginning, folly, all their words;
and wicked madness, at the end, they are–
and fools, their words will always multiply.

Nobody knows what’s coming–what transpires,
whoe’er can tell, what happens after them,
somebody else? The fools’ toil: wearisome;
they do not know the way back into town.

Woe to the land whose king is but a child,
whose princes feast, but in the morning time.
Blessed land whose king, of the nobility,
whose princes’ eating times set properly–
they’re ne’er for drunkenness, but only strength.

Through laziness, the house’s rafters creak;
because of idle hands, the house will leak.

Wine makes life merry, feasts are made for laughs,
for everything, the answer, money, is.

Not even in your thoughts, revile the king,
or curse the rich, your bedroom, there, within,
your words, by air, a bird could carry them,
and also, one, a bird that’s on the wing
may tell, report what you’ve said, everything.

Rhyming Ecclesiastes: Chapter 9

A Common Destiny for All

So after I reflected on all this,
concluded, I, that both the righteous, wise,
whate’er they do, God’s hands command their fates,
but no one knows if it is love or hate,
what’s their reward, the future, them awaits.

A common destiny, all share, they would–
the righteous, wicked, both the bad and good,
the clean and unclean, off’ring sacrifice,
some will, and some think nothing with suffice.

As it is with the good, the sinful, too;
just as it is with, take their oaths, those who,
so with those who’re afraid, all oaths eschewed.

This is the evil that’s in everything
that happens ‘neath the sun: the destiny,
the same one overtakes all men on earth.
Moreover, in the people’s hearts, no dearth
of evil and there’s madness in their hearts
while they still live, and they’ll join, afterward,
the dead. Yet anyone who is among
the living, then, their hope possesed, still some–
a live dog better than a lion, dead!

The living know it ends, the life they’ve lead,
but dead men, nothing, know, no more aspire
to further gain, reward, their names forgot.
They’ve long since vanished: jealousy, love, hate,
and ne’er again will they participate
in anything that happens ‘neath the sun.
Go eat your food, with gladness, drink your wine
with joy inside your heart for God’s approved
already everything that you would do.

You e’er be clothed in white, and e’er anoint
your head with oil. Your life, you should enjoy
with her, your wife, to whom, love, you’d express,
the days God’s given you, all meaningless
ones of your life that’s ‘neath the sun–all yours,
your days are meaningless. To you, inured,
your lot in life, your labor, toilsome work
beneath the sun. Whate’er to do, its search,
your hand’s, do that will all might you’d assert,
for in the realm, the dead’s, where you’ll soon go,
there’s neither working, planning, wisdom known.

I have seen something else that’s ‘neath the sun:
The race, not always, by the swiftest, won,
nor they, in war, the strong e’er have success,
nor food is always what the wise possess,
nor to the brilliant, wealth in excess,
nor favor to the learned; but time and chance
will happen to them all. Moreso, no one
knows at the moment, when their hour has come:
As fish caught in a cruel net, that is where,
or birds are taken, trapped inside a snare,
so people, trapped, by evil times will be
that on them fall most unexpectedly.

Wisdom Better Than Folly

I, underneath the sun, saw also this,
of wisdom, an example, that impressed
me greatly: There was once a city, small
with only a few people, all in all.
And a king, powerful, against it, came,
surrounded, built huge siege works, it, against.
A poor but wise man, in that city, lived,
and by his wisdom, he, the city saved.
But nobody remembered that poor man.
So I said, “Wisdom, sure, strength, better than.”
But the poor man, his wisdom is despised,
his words, no longer heeded or admired.
The quiet words, those ones spoke by the wise,
more to be heeded than shouts that arise
from him, the king of all the fools, his cries.
Than war, its weapons, wisdom, better, is.
He can destroy much good, just one who sins.

Rhyming Ecclesiastes: Chapter 8

Who’s like the wise? Of things, whoever knows
their explanation? How it makes it glow,
will wisdom brighten someone in their face,
its hard appearance, wisdom, it will change.

Obey the King

Obey the king’s command, because, I say,
you took an oath, before God, what you made.
You find yourself, the presence of the king,
don’t hurry quickly, from his throne, to leave.
You shouldn’t ever stand for a bad cause,
for he will do whatever, him, will please.
Who can say to the king, his word’s supreme:
“What are you doing, this activity?”
Whoe’er obeys what he commands will come
to no harm, and the wise in heart, the time
they’ll know, when’s proper and proced’rally.
For every matter, proper times and ways,
e’en though by misery, they’re downwards weighed.
Since no one knows the future, who can tell
what is to come for them, for someone else?
As no one has, o’er wind, pow’r to contain,
so no one has pow’r o’er their death, its date.
As no one is discharged in time of war,
so wickedness won’t, its practitioners,
release them. How I witnessed this design

as I, to everything, applied my mind,
that’s done beneath the sun. There is a time
when, over others, to his detriment,
a man will lord it over to their hurt.
Then too, I saw the wickeds’ burials–
those who would come and go, where they’re praised well,
the holy place, the city, they did this.
This also, something that is meaningless.

Whene’er the sentence for a crime delayed,
with schemes to do wrong, people’s hearts are filled.
Although a wicked person who commits
a hundred crimes, for a long time, may live,
I know that it will go much better with
those fearing God, who’re reverent ‘fore him.
Because the wicked, yet, do not fear God,
it won’t go well with them, the paths they trod,
and days, like shadows, ne’er grow long, will theirs.

There’s something else that here on earth occurs
that’s meaningless: the righteous who receive
that, what the wicked, they instead, deserve,
and, they, the wicked, this is what they get:
the things that should be paid to righteous men.
This too, I saw, is something meaningless.
So, life’s enjoyment, that, what I commend,
because there’s nothing that is better than
a person, eating, drinking, ‘neath the sun,
and being glad. Then joy accomp’nies them
in that, their toil, all of the days, their lives
God’s given them to live ‘neath sun and sky.

When I, for wisdom’s knowledge, would, my mind
apply, and labor, done on earth, observe–
the sleepless days and nights that men endure–
the I saw all that God has done. No one
can comprehend what goes on ‘neath the sun.
To search it out, despite all efforts made,
no one, its meaning, can e’er ascertain.
E’en if the wise would claim that they know it,
to comprehend it, really, they cannot.