sex

⁴May marriage be honorable in every way, and may the marriage bed be immaculate. For God will judge fornicators and adulterers.

²⁴For this reason, a man shall leave behind his father and mother, and he shall cling to his wife; and the two shall be as one flesh.

³A husband should fulfill his obligation to his wife, and a wife should also act similarly toward her husband. ⁴It is not the wife, but the husband, who has power over her body. But, similarly also, it is not the husband, but the wife, who has power over his body. ⁵So, do not fail in your obligations to one another, except perhaps by consent, for a limited time, so that you may empty yourselves for prayer. And then, return together again, lest Satan tempt you by means of your abstinence.

²⁸And God blessed them, and he said, “Increase and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and the flying creatures of the air, and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.”

¹⁸Flee from fornication. Every sin whatsoever that a man commits is outside of the body, but whoever fornicates, sins against his own body.

²But, because of fornication, let each man have his own wife, and let each woman have her own husband.

¹⁸Let your spring be blessed, and rejoice with the wife of your youth: ¹⁹a beloved doe and most pleasing fawn. Let her breasts inebriate you at all times. Be delighted continually by her love.

⁴Groom to Chorus: I bind you by oath, O daughters of Jerusalem, not to disturb or awaken the beloved, until she wills.

²⁸But I say to you, that anyone who will have looked at a woman, so as to lust after her, has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

³For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from fornication, ⁴that each one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honor, ⁵not in passions of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know God,

⁵So, do not fail in your obligations to one another, except perhaps by consent, for a limited time, so that you may empty yourselves for prayer. And then, return together again, lest Satan tempt you by means of your abstinence.

¹⁸Flee from fornication. Every sin whatsoever that a man commits is outside of the body, but whoever fornicates, sins against his own body. ¹⁹Or do you not know that your bodies are the Temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? ²⁰For you have been bought at a great price. Glorify and carry God in your body.

⁶Your head is like Carmel, and the hairs of your head are like the purple of the king, bound into pleats. ⁷Most beloved one, how beautiful you are, and how graceful in delights! ⁸Your stature is comparable to the palm tree, and your breasts to clusters of grapes. ⁹Groom: I said, I will ascend to the palm tree, and take hold of its fruit. And your breasts will be like clusters of grapes on the vine. And the fragrance of your mouth will be like apples. ¹⁰Bride: Your throat is like the finest wine: wine worthy for my beloved to drink, and for his lips and teeth to contemplate. ¹¹I am for my beloved, and his turning is to me.

¹⁶Rise up, north wind, and advance, south wind. Send a breeze through my garden, and carry its aromatic scents.

¹⁴Bride to Groom: Your friends are attentive to those who have been dwelling in the gardens. Cause me to heed your voice. Flee away, my beloved, and become like the doe and the young stag upon the mountains of aromatic plants.

¹⁶My dove in the clefts of the rock, in the hollows of the wall, reveal to me your face. Let your voice sound in my ears. For your voice is sweet, and your face is graceful. ¹⁷Chorus to Groom and Bride: Capture for us the little foxes, which are tearing down the vines; for our vineyard has flourished. Bride to Chorus: My beloved is for me, and I am for him. He pastures among the lilies, until the day rises and the shadows decline. Bride to Groom: Return, O my beloved. Be like a doe and like a young stag upon the mountains of Bether.

⁵Therefore, mortify your body, while it is upon the earth. For because of fornication, impurity, lust, evil desires, and avarice, which are a kind of service to idols,

¹⁴You shall not commit adultery.