David and Bathsheba

11 In the spring,^(A) at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab^(B) out with the king’s men and the whole Israelite army.^(C) They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah.^(D) But David remained in Jerusalem.

² One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof^(E) of the palace. From the roof he saw^(F) a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful, ³ and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, “She is Bathsheba,^(G) the daughter of Eliam^(H) and the wife of Uriah^(I) the Hittite.” ⁴ Then David sent messengers to get her.^(J) She came to him, and he slept^(K) with her. (Now she was purifying herself from her monthly uncleanness.)^(L) Then she went back home. ⁵ The woman conceived and sent word to David, saying, “I am pregnant.”

⁶ So David sent this word to Joab: “Send me Uriah^(M) the Hittite.” And Joab sent him to David. ⁷ When Uriah came to him, David asked him how Joab was, how the soldiers were and how the war was going. ⁸ Then David said to Uriah, “Go down to your house and wash your feet.”^(N) So Uriah left the palace, and a gift from the king was sent after him. ⁹ But Uriah slept at the entrance to the palace with all his master’s servants and did not go down to his house.

¹⁰ David was told, “Uriah did not go home.” So he asked Uriah, “Haven’t you just come from a military campaign? Why didn’t you go home?”

¹¹ Uriah said to David, “The ark^(O) and Israel and Judah are staying in tents,^[a] and my commander Joab and my lord’s men are camped in the open country. How could I go to my house to eat and drink and make love^(P) to my wife? As surely as you live, I will not do such a thing!”

¹² Then David said to him, “Stay here one more day, and tomorrow I will send you back.” So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day and the next. ¹³ At David’s invitation, he ate and drank with him, and David made him drunk. But in the evening Uriah went out to sleep on his mat among his master’s servants; he did not go home.

¹⁴ In the morning David wrote a letter^(Q) to Joab and sent it with Uriah. ¹⁵ In it he wrote, “Put Uriah out in front where the fighting is fiercest. Then withdraw from him so he will be struck down^(R) and die.^(S)”

¹⁶ So while Joab had the city under siege, he put Uriah at a place where he knew the strongest defenders were. ¹⁷ When the men of the city came out and fought against Joab, some of the men in David’s army fell; moreover, Uriah the Hittite died.

¹⁸ Joab sent David a full account of the battle. ¹⁹ He instructed the messenger: “When you have finished giving the king this account of the battle, ²⁰ the king’s anger may flare up, and he may ask you, ‘Why did you get so close to the city to fight? Didn’t you know they would shoot arrows from the wall? ²¹ Who killed Abimelek^(T) son of Jerub-Besheth^[b]? Didn’t a woman drop an upper millstone on him from the wall,^(U) so that he died in Thebez? Why did you get so close to the wall?’ If he asks you this, then say to him, ‘Moreover, your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead.’”

²² The messenger set out, and when he arrived he told David everything Joab had sent him to say. ²³ The messenger said to David, “The men overpowered us and came out against us in the open, but we drove them back to the entrance of the city gate. ²⁴ Then the archers shot arrows at your servants from the wall, and some of the king’s men died. Moreover, your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead.”

²⁵ David told the messenger, “Say this to Joab: ‘Don’t let this upset you; the sword devours one as well as another. Press the attack against the city and destroy it.’ Say this to encourage Joab.”

²⁶ When Uriah’s wife heard that her husband was dead, she mourned for him. ²⁷ After the time of mourning^(V) was over, David had her brought to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing David had done displeased^(W) the Lord.

Rahab and the Spies

2 Then Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two spies^(A) from Shittim.^(B) “Go, look over^(C) the land,” he said, “especially Jericho.^(D)” So they went and entered the house of a prostitute named Rahab^(E) and stayed there.

² The king of Jericho was told, “Look, some of the Israelites have come here tonight to spy out the land.” ³ So the king of Jericho sent this message to Rahab:^(F) “Bring out the men who came to you and entered your house, because they have come to spy out the whole land.”

⁴ But the woman had taken the two men^(G) and hidden them.^(H) She said, “Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they had come from. ⁵ At dusk, when it was time to close the city gate,^(I) they left. I don’t know which way they went. Go after them quickly. You may catch up with them.”^{(J) 6} (But she had taken them up to the roof and hidden them under the stalks of flax^(K) she had laid out on the roof.)^{(L) 7} So the men set out in pursuit of the spies on the road that leads to the fords of the Jordan,^(M) and as soon as the pursuers^(N) had gone out, the gate was shut.

⁸ Before the spies lay down for the night, she went up on the roof^{(O) 9} and said to them, “I know that the Lord has given you this land and that a great fear^(P) of you has fallen on us, so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you. ¹⁰ We have heard how the Lord dried up^(Q) the water of the Red Sea^[a] for you when you came out of Egypt,^(R) and what you did to Sihon and Og,^(S) the two kings of the Amorites^(T) east of the Jordan,^(U) whom you completely destroyed.^{[b](V) 11} When we heard of it, our hearts melted in fear^(W) and everyone’s courage failed^(X) because of you,^(Y) for the Lord your God^(Z) is God in heaven above and on the earth^(AA) below.

¹² “Now then, please swear to me^(AB) by the Lord that you will show kindness^(AC) to my family, because I have shown kindness to you. Give me a sure sign^{(AD) 13} that you will spare the lives of my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them^(AE)—and that you will save us from death.”

¹⁴ “Our lives for your lives!”^(AF) the men assured her. “If you don’t tell what we are doing, we will treat you kindly and faithfully^(AG) when the Lord gives us the land.”

¹⁵ So she let them down by a rope^(AH) through the window,^(AI) for the house she lived in was part of the city wall. ¹⁶ She said to them, “Go to the hills^(AJ) so the pursuers^(AK) will not find you. Hide yourselves there three days^(AL) until they return, and then go on your way.”^(AM)

¹⁷ Now the men had said to her, “This oath^(AN) you made us swear will not be binding on us ¹⁸ unless, when we enter the land, you have tied this scarlet cord^(AO) in the window^(AP) through which you let us down, and unless you have brought your father and mother, your brothers and all your family^(AQ) into your house. ¹⁹ If any of them go outside your house into the street, their blood will be on their own heads;^(AR) we will not be responsible. As for those who are in the house with you, their blood will be on our head^(AS) if a hand is laid on them. ²⁰ But if you tell what we are doing, we will be released from the oath you made us swear.^(AT)”

²¹ “Agreed,” she replied. “Let it be as you say.”

So she sent them away, and they departed. And she tied the scarlet cord^(AU) in the window.^(AV)

²² When they left, they went into the hills and stayed there three days,^(AW) until the pursuers^(AX) had searched all along the road and returned without finding them. ²³ Then the two men started back. They went down out of the hills, forded the river and came to Joshua son of Nun and told him everything that had happened to them. ²⁴ They said to Joshua, “The Lord has surely given the whole land into our hands;^(AY) all the people are melting in fear^(AZ) because of us.”

¹² Joshua got up early the next morning and the priests took up the ark of the Lord. ¹³ The seven priests carrying the seven trumpets went forward, marching before the ark of the Lord and blowing the trumpets. The armed men went ahead of them and the rear guard followed the ark of the Lord, while the trumpets kept sounding. ¹⁴ So on the second day they marched around the city once and returned to the camp. They did this for six days.

¹⁵ On the seventh day, they got up at daybreak and marched around the city seven times in the same manner, except that on that day they circled the city seven times.^{(A) 16} The seventh time around, when the priests sounded the trumpet blast, Joshua commanded the army, “Shout! For the Lord has given you the city!^{(B) 17} The city and all that is in it are to be devoted^[a](C) to the Lord. Only Rahab the prostitute^(D) and all who are with her in her house shall be spared, because she hid^(E) the spies we sent. ¹⁸ But keep away from the devoted things,^(F) so that you will not bring about your own destruction by taking any of them. Otherwise you will make the camp of Israel liable to destruction^(G) and bring trouble^(H) on it. ¹⁹ All the silver and gold and the articles of bronze and iron^(I) are sacred to the Lord and must go into his treasury.”

²⁰ When the trumpets sounded,^(J) the army shouted, and at the sound of the trumpet, when the men gave a loud shout,^(K) the wall collapsed; so everyone charged straight in, and they took the city.^{(L) 21} They devoted^(M) the city to the Lord and destroyed^(N) with the sword every living thing in it—men and women, young and old, cattle, sheep and donkeys.

²² Joshua said to the two men^(O) who had spied out^(P) the land, “Go into the prostitute’s house and bring her out and all who belong to her, in accordance with your oath to her.^(Q)” ²³ So the young men who had done the spying went in and brought out Rahab, her father and mother, her brothers and sisters and all who belonged to her.^(R) They brought out her entire family and put them in a place outside the camp of Israel.

²⁴ Then they burned the whole city^(S) and everything in it, but they put the silver and gold and the articles of bronze and iron^(T) into the treasury of the Lord’s house.^{(U) 25} But Joshua spared^(V) Rahab the prostitute,^(W) with her family and all who belonged to her, because she hid the men Joshua had sent as spies to Jericho^(X)—and she lives among the Israelites to this day.

The Birth of Jesus Foretold

²⁶ In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel^(A) to Nazareth,^(B) a town in Galilee, ²⁷ to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph,^(C) a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. ²⁸ The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

²⁹ Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. ³⁰ But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid,^(D) Mary; you have found favor with God.^{(E) 31} You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus.^{(F) 32} He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High.^(G) The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David,^{(H) 33} and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom^(I) will never end.”^(J)

³⁴ “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”

³⁵ The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you,^(K) and the power of the Most High^(L) will overshadow you. So the holy one^(M) to be born will be called^[a] the Son of God.^{(N) 36} Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child^(O) in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. ³⁷ For no word from God will ever fail.”^(P)

³⁸ “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.

The Birth of Jesus

2 In those days Caesar Augustus^(A) issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world.^{(B) 2} (This was the first census that took place while^[a] Quirinius was governor of Syria.)^{(C) 3} And everyone went to their own town to register.

⁴ So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem^(D) the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. ⁵ He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him^(E) and was expecting a child. ⁶ While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, ⁷ and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

²¹ On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise the child,^(A) he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he was conceived.^(B)

Jesus Presented in the Temple

²² When the time came for the purification rites required by the Law of Moses,^(C) Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord ²³ (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord”^[a]),^{(D) 24} and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: “a pair of doves or two young pigeons.”^[b](E)

³⁹ When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth.^{(A) 40} And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was on him.^(B)

Naomi Loses Her Husband and Sons

1 In the days when the judges ruled,^[a](A) there was a famine in the land.^(B) So a man from Bethlehem in Judah,^(C) together with his wife and two sons, went to live for a while^(D) in the country of Moab.^{(E) 2} The man’s name was Elimelek,^(F) his wife’s name was Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Kilion.^(G) They were Ephrathites^(H) from Bethlehem,^(I) Judah. And they went to Moab and lived there.

³ Now Elimelek, Naomi’s husband, died, and she was left with her two sons. ⁴ They married Moabite women,^(J) one named Orpah and the other Ruth.^(K) After they had lived there about ten years, ⁵ both Mahlon and Kilion^(L) also died,^(M) and Naomi was left without her two sons and her husband.

Naomi and Ruth Return to Bethlehem

⁶ When Naomi heard in Moab^(N) that the Lord had come to the aid of his people^(O) by providing food^(P) for them, she and her daughters-in-law^(Q) prepared to return home from there. ⁷ With her two daughters-in-law she left the place where she had been living and set out on the road that would take them back to the land of Judah.

⁸ Then Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go back, each of you, to your mother’s home.^(R) May the Lord show you kindness,^(S) as you have shown kindness to your dead husbands^(T) and to me. ⁹ May the Lord grant that each of you will find rest^(U) in the home of another husband.”

Then she kissed^(V) them goodbye and they wept aloud^{(W) 10} and said to her, “We will go back with you to your people.”

¹¹ But Naomi said, “Return home, my daughters. Why would you come with me? Am I going to have any more sons, who could become your husbands?^{(X) 12} Return home, my daughters; I am too old to have another husband. Even if I thought there was still hope for me—even if I had a husband tonight and then gave birth to sons— ¹³ would you wait until they grew up?^(Y) Would you remain unmarried for them? No, my daughters. It is more bitter^(Z) for me than for you, because the Lord’s hand has turned against me!^(AA)”

¹⁴ At this they wept^(AB) aloud again. Then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law^(AC) goodbye,^(AD) but Ruth clung to her.^(AE)

¹⁵ “Look,” said Naomi, “your sister-in-law^(AF) is going back to her people and her gods.^(AG) Go back with her.”

¹⁶ But Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to leave you^(AH) or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go,^(AI) and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people^(AJ) and your God my God.^{(AK) 17} Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely,^(AL) if even death separates you and me.”^{(AM) 18} When Naomi realized that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped urging her.^(AN)

¹⁹ So the two women went on until they came to Bethlehem.^(AO) When they arrived in Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred^(AP) because of them, and the women exclaimed, “Can this be Naomi?”

²⁰ “Don’t call me Naomi,^[b]” she told them. “Call me Mara,^[c] because the Almighty^[d](AQ) has made my life very bitter.^{(AR) 21} I went away full, but the Lord has brought me back empty.^(AS) Why call me Naomi? The Lord has afflicted^[e] me;^(AT) the Almighty has brought misfortune upon me.”

²² So Naomi returned from Moab accompanied by Ruth the Moabite,^(AU) her daughter-in-law,^(AV) arriving in Bethlehem as the barley harvest^(AW) was beginning.^(AX)

Ruth Meets Boaz in the Grain Field

2 Now Naomi had a relative^(AY) on her husband’s side, a man of standing^(AZ) from the clan of Elimelek,^(BA) whose name was Boaz.^(BB)

² And Ruth the Moabite^(BC) said to Naomi, “Let me go to the fields and pick up the leftover grain^(BD) behind anyone in whose eyes I find favor.^(BE)”

Naomi said to her, “Go ahead, my daughter.” ³ So she went out, entered a field and began to glean behind the harvesters.^(BF) As it turned out, she was working in a field belonging to Boaz, who was from the clan of Elimelek.^(BG)

⁴ Just then Boaz arrived from Bethlehem and greeted the harvesters, “The Lord be with you!^(BH)”

“The Lord bless you!^(BI)” they answered.

⁵ Boaz asked the overseer of his harvesters, “Who does that young woman belong to?”

⁶ The overseer replied, “She is the Moabite^(BJ) who came back from Moab with Naomi. ⁷ She said, ‘Please let me glean and gather among the sheaves^(BK) behind the harvesters.’ She came into the field and has remained here from morning till now, except for a short rest^(BL) in the shelter.”

⁸ So Boaz said to Ruth, “My daughter, listen to me. Don’t go and glean in another field and don’t go away from here. Stay here with the women who work for me. ⁹ Watch the field where the men are harvesting, and follow along after the women. I have told the men not to lay a hand on you. And whenever you are thirsty, go and get a drink from the water jars the men have filled.”

¹⁰ At this, she bowed down with her face to the ground.^(BM) She asked him, “Why have I found such favor in your eyes that you notice me^(BN)—a foreigner?^(BO)”

¹¹ Boaz replied, “I’ve been told all about what you have done for your mother-in-law^(BP) since the death of your husband^(BQ)—how you left your father and mother and your homeland and came to live with a people you did not know^(BR) before.^{(BS) 12} May the Lord repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the Lord,^(BT) the God of Israel,^(BU) under whose wings^(BV) you have come to take refuge.^(BW)”

¹³ “May I continue to find favor in your eyes,^(BX) my lord,” she said. “You have put me at ease by speaking kindly to your servant—though I do not have the standing of one of your servants.”

¹⁴ At mealtime Boaz said to her, “Come over here. Have some bread^(BY) and dip it in the wine vinegar.”

When she sat down with the harvesters,^(BZ) he offered her some roasted grain.^(CA) She ate all she wanted and had some left over.^{(CB) 15} As she got up to glean, Boaz gave orders to his men, “Let her gather among the sheaves^(CC) and don’t reprimand her. ¹⁶ Even pull out some stalks for her from the bundles and leave them for her to pick up, and don’t rebuke^(CD) her.”

¹⁷ So Ruth gleaned in the field until evening. Then she threshed^(CE) the barley she had gathered, and it amounted to about an ephah.^{[f](CF) 18} She carried it back to town, and her mother-in-law saw how much she had gathered. Ruth also brought out and gave her what she had left over^(CG) after she had eaten enough.

¹⁹ Her mother-in-law asked her, “Where did you glean today? Where did you work? Blessed be the man who took notice of you!^(CH)”

Then Ruth told her mother-in-law about the one at whose place she had been working. “The name of the man I worked with today is Boaz,” she said.

²⁰ “The Lord bless him!^(CI)” Naomi said to her daughter-in-law.^(CJ) “He has not stopped showing his kindness^(CK) to the living and the dead.” She added, “That man is our close relative;^(CL) he is one of our guardian-redeemers.^[g](CM)”

²¹ Then Ruth the Moabite^(CN) said, “He even said to me, ‘Stay with my workers until they finish harvesting all my grain.’”

²² Naomi said to Ruth her daughter-in-law, “It will be good for you, my daughter, to go with the women who work for him, because in someone else’s field you might be harmed.”

²³ So Ruth stayed close to the women of Boaz to glean until the barley^(CO) and wheat harvests^(CP) were finished. And she lived with her mother-in-law.

Ruth and Boaz at the Threshing Floor

3 One day Ruth’s mother-in-law Naomi^(CQ) said to her, “My daughter, I must find a home^[h](CR) for you, where you will be well provided for. ² Now Boaz, with whose women you have worked, is a relative^(CS) of ours. Tonight he will be winnowing barley on the threshing floor.^{(CT) 3} Wash,^(CU) put on perfume,^(CV) and get dressed in your best clothes.^(CW) Then go down to the threshing floor, but don’t let him know you are there until he has finished eating and drinking.^{(CX) 4} When he lies down, note the place where he is lying. Then go and uncover his feet and lie down. He will tell you what to do.”

⁵ “I will do whatever you say,”^(CY) Ruth answered. ⁶ So she went down to the threshing floor^(CZ) and did everything her mother-in-law told her to do.

⁷ When Boaz had finished eating and drinking and was in good spirits,^(DA) he went over to lie down at the far end of the grain pile.^(DB) Ruth approached quietly, uncovered his feet and lay down. ⁸ In the middle of the night something startled the man; he turned—and there was a woman lying at his feet!

⁹ “Who are you?” he asked.

“I am your servant Ruth,” she said. “Spread the corner of your garment^(DC) over me, since you are a guardian-redeemer^[i](DD) of our family.”

¹⁰ “The Lord bless you,^(DE) my daughter,” he replied. “This kindness is greater than that which you showed earlier:^(DF) You have not run after the younger men, whether rich or poor. ¹¹ And now, my daughter, don’t be afraid. I will do for you all you ask. All the people of my town know that you are a woman of noble character.^{(DG) 12} Although it is true that I am a guardian-redeemer of our family,^(DH) there is another who is more closely related than^(DI) I. ¹³ Stay here for the night, and in the morning if he wants to do his duty as your guardian-redeemer,^(DJ) good; let him redeem you. But if he is not willing, as surely as the Lord lives^(DK) I will do it.^(DL) Lie here until morning.”

¹⁴ So she lay at his feet until morning, but got up before anyone could be recognized; and he said, “No one must know that a woman came to the threshing floor.^(DM)”^(DN)

¹⁵ He also said, “Bring me the shawl^(DO) you are wearing and hold it out.” When she did so, he poured into it six measures of barley and placed the bundle on her. Then he^[j] went back to town.

¹⁶ When Ruth came to her mother-in-law, Naomi asked, “How did it go, my daughter?”

Then she told her everything Boaz had done for her ¹⁷ and added, “He gave me these six measures of barley, saying, ‘Don’t go back to your mother-in-law empty-handed.’”

¹⁸ Then Naomi said, “Wait, my daughter, until you find out what happens. For the man will not rest until the matter is settled today.”^(DP)

Boaz Marries Ruth

4 Meanwhile Boaz went up to the town gate^(DQ) and sat down there just as the guardian-redeemer^[k](DR) he had mentioned^(DS) came along. Boaz said, “Come over here, my friend, and sit down.” So he went over and sat down.

² Boaz took ten of the elders^(DT) of the town and said, “Sit here,” and they did so.^{(DU) 3} Then he said to the guardian-redeemer, “Naomi, who has come back from Moab, is selling the piece of land that belonged to our relative Elimelek.^{(DV) 4} I thought I should bring the matter to your attention and suggest that you buy it in the presence of these seated here and in the presence of the elders of my people. If you will redeem it, do so. But if you^[l] will not, tell me, so I will know. For no one has the right to do it except you,^(DW) and I am next in line.”

“I will redeem it,” he said.

⁵ Then Boaz said, “On the day you buy the land from Naomi, you also acquire Ruth the Moabite,^(DX) the^[m] dead man’s widow, in order to maintain the name of the dead with his property.”^(DY)

⁶ At this, the guardian-redeemer said, “Then I cannot redeem^(DZ) it because I might endanger my own estate. You redeem it yourself. I cannot do it.”^(EA)

⁷ (Now in earlier times in Israel, for the redemption^(EB) and transfer of property to become final, one party took off his sandal^(EC) and gave it to the other. This was the method of legalizing transactions^(ED) in Israel.)^(EE)

⁸ So the guardian-redeemer said to Boaz, “Buy it yourself.” And he removed his sandal.^(EF)

⁹ Then Boaz announced to the elders and all the people, “Today you are witnesses^(EG) that I have bought from Naomi all the property of Elimelek, Kilion and Mahlon. ¹⁰ I have also acquired Ruth the Moabite,^(EH) Mahlon’s widow, as my wife,^(EI) in order to maintain the name of the dead with his property, so that his name will not disappear from among his family or from his hometown.^(EJ) Today you are witnesses!^(EK)”

¹¹ Then the elders and all the people at the gate^(EL) said, “We are witnesses.^(EM) May the Lord make the woman who is coming into your home like Rachel and Leah,^(EN) who together built up the family of Israel. May you have standing in Ephrathah^(EO) and be famous in Bethlehem.^{(EP) 12} Through the offspring the Lord gives you by this young woman, may your family be like that of Perez,^(EQ) whom Tamar^(ER) bore to Judah.”

Naomi Gains a Son

¹³ So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife. When he made love to her, the Lord enabled her to conceive,^(ES) and she gave birth to a son.^{(ET) 14} The women^(EU) said to Naomi: “Praise be to the Lord,^(EV) who this day has not left you without a guardian-redeemer.^(EW) May he become famous throughout Israel! ¹⁵ He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age. For your daughter-in-law,^(EX) who loves you and who is better to you than seven sons,^(EY) has given him birth.”

¹⁶ Then Naomi took the child in her arms and cared for him. ¹⁷ The women living there said, “Naomi has a son!” And they named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse,^(EZ) the father of David.^(FA)

The Genealogy of David^(FB)

¹⁸ This, then, is the family line of Perez^(FC):