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Abraham

¹⁹ Abraham was the great father of a multitude of nations,
   and no one has been found like him in glory.
²⁰ He kept the law of the Most High,
   and entered into a covenant with him;
he certified the covenant in his flesh,
   and when he was tested he proved faithful.
²¹ Therefore the Lord^* assured him with an oath
   that the nations would be blessed through his offspring;
that he would make him as numerous as the dust of the earth,
   and exalt his offspring like the stars,
and give them an inheritance from sea to sea
   and from the Euphrates^* to the ends of the earth.

Isaac and Jacob

²² To Isaac also he gave the same assurance
   for the sake of his father Abraham.
The blessing of all people and the covenant
²³   he made to rest on the head of Jacob;
he acknowledged him with his blessings,
   and gave him his inheritance;
he divided his portions,
   and distributed them among twelve tribes.

Moses

From his descendants the Lord^* brought forth a godly man,
   who found favour in the sight of all

45¹and was beloved by God and people,
   Moses, whose memory is blessed.
² He made him equal in glory to the holy ones,
   and made him great, to the terror of his enemies.
³ By his words he performed swift miracles;^*
   the Lord^* glorified him in the presence of kings.
He gave him commandments for his people,
   and revealed to him his glory.
⁴ For his faithfulness and meekness he consecrated him,
   choosing him out of all humankind.
⁵ He allowed him to hear his voice,
   and led him into the dark cloud,
and gave him the commandments face to face,
   the law of life and knowledge,
so that he might teach Jacob the covenant,
   and Israel his decrees.

Springtime Rhapsody

⁸ The voice of my beloved!
   Look, he comes,
leaping upon the mountains,
   bounding over the hills.
⁹ My beloved is like a gazelle
   or a young stag.
Look, there he stands
   behind our wall,
gazing in at the windows,
   looking through the lattice.
¹⁰ My beloved speaks and says to me:
‘Arise, my love, my fair one,
   and come away;
¹¹ for now the winter is past,
   the rain is over and gone.
¹² The flowers appear on the earth;
   the time of singing has come,
and the voice of the turtle-dove
   is heard in our land.
¹³ The fig tree puts forth its figs,
   and the vines are in blossom;
   they give forth fragrance.
Arise, my love, my fair one,
   and come away.
¹⁴ O my dove, in the clefts of the rock,
   in the covert of the cliff,
let me see your face,
   let me hear your voice;
for your voice is sweet,
   and your face is lovely.
¹⁵ Catch us the foxes,
   the little foxes,
that ruin the vineyards—
   for our vineyards are in blossom.’

¹⁶ My beloved is mine and I am his;
   he pastures his flock among the lilies.
¹⁷ Until the day breathes
   and the shadows flee,
turn, my beloved, be like a gazelle
   or a young stag on the cleft mountains.^*