The Transfiguration of Christ^(A)

9 And He said to them, ^(B)“Assuredly, I say to you that there are some standing here who will not taste death till they see ^(C)the kingdom of God ^[a]present with power.”

Jesus Transfigured on the Mount

^2 (D)Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John, and led them up on a high mountain apart by themselves; and He was transfigured before them. ³ His clothes became shining, exceedingly ^(E)white, like snow, such as no launderer on earth can whiten them. ⁴ And Elijah appeared to them with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus. ⁵ Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah”— ⁶ because he did not know what to say, for they were greatly afraid.

⁷ And a ^(F)cloud came and overshadowed them; and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is ^(G)My beloved Son. ^(H)Hear Him!” ⁸ Suddenly, when they had looked around, they saw no one anymore, but only Jesus with themselves.

^9 (I)Now as they came down from the mountain, He commanded them that they should tell no one the things they had seen, till the Son of Man had risen from the dead. ¹⁰ So they kept this word to themselves, questioning ^(J)what the rising from the dead meant.

¹¹ And they asked Him, saying, “Why do the scribes say ^(K)that Elijah must come first?”

¹² Then He answered and told them, “Indeed, Elijah is coming first and restores all things. And ^(L)how is it written concerning the Son of Man, that He must suffer many things and ^(M)be treated with contempt? ¹³ But I say to you that ^(N)Elijah has also come, and they did to him whatever they wished, as it is written of him.”

Effects of Denying the Resurrection

²⁹ Otherwise, what will they do who are baptized for the dead, if the dead do not rise at all? Why then are they baptized for the dead? ³⁰ And ^(A)why do we stand in ^[a]jeopardy every hour? ³¹ I affirm, by ^(B)the boasting in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, ^(C)I die daily. ³² If, in the manner of men, ^(D)I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantage is it to me? If the dead do not rise, ^(E)“Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!”

³³ Do not be deceived: ^(F)“Evil company corrupts good habits.” ^34 (G)Awake to righteousness, and do not sin; ^(H)for some do not have the knowledge of God. ^(I)I speak this to your shame.

A Glorious Body

³⁵ But someone will say, ^(J)“How are the dead raised up? And with what body do they come?” ³⁶ Foolish one, ^(K)what you sow is not made alive unless it dies. ³⁷ And what you sow, you do not sow that body that shall be, but mere grain—perhaps wheat or some other grain. ³⁸ But God gives it a body as He pleases, and to each seed its own body.

³⁹ All flesh is not the same flesh, but there is one kind ^[b]of flesh of men, another flesh of animals, another of fish, and another of birds.

⁴⁰ There are also ^[c]celestial bodies and ^[d]terrestrial bodies; but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. ⁴¹ There is one glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for one star differs from another star in glory.

^42 (L)So also is the resurrection of the dead. The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption. ^43 (M)It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. ⁴⁴ It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. ⁴⁵ And so it is written, ^(N)“The first man Adam became a living being.” ^(O)The last Adam became ^(P)a life-giving spirit.

⁴⁶ However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual. ^47 (Q)The first man was of the earth, ^(R)made^[e] of dust; the second Man is ^[f]the Lord ^(S)from heaven. ⁴⁸ As was the ^[g]man of dust, so also are those who are made of dust; ^(T)and as is the heavenly Man, so also are those who are heavenly. ⁴⁹ And ^(U)as we have borne the image of the man of dust, ^(V)we^[h] shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man.

Our Final Victory

⁵⁰ Now this I say, brethren, that ^(W)flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption. ⁵¹ Behold, I tell you a ^[i]mystery: ^(X)We shall not all sleep, ^(Y)but we shall all be changed— ⁵² in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. ^(Z)For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. ⁵³ For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and ^(AA)this mortal must put on immortality. ⁵⁴ So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: ^(AB)“Death is swallowed up in victory.”

⁵⁶ The sting of death is sin, and ^(AD)the strength of sin is the law. ^57 (AE)But thanks be to God, who gives us ^(AF)the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

^58 (AG)Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing ^(AH)that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

The Eternal Reign of the Lord

Ruth Meets Boaz

2 There was a ^(A)relative of Naomi’s husband, a man of great wealth, of the family of ^(B)Elimelech. His name was ^(C)Boaz. ² So Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, “Please let me go to the ^(D)field, and glean heads of grain after him in whose sight I may find favor.”

And she said to her, “Go, my daughter.”

³ Then she left, and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers. And she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech.

⁴ Now behold, Boaz came from ^(E)Bethlehem, and said to the reapers, ^(F)“The Lord be with you!”

And they answered him, “The Lord bless you!”

⁵ Then Boaz said to his servant who was in charge of the reapers, “Whose young woman is this?”

⁶ So the servant who was in charge of the reapers answered and said, “It is the young Moabite woman ^(G)who came back with Naomi from the country of Moab. ⁷ And she said, ‘Please let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves.’ So she came and has continued from morning until now, though she rested a little in the house.”

⁸ Then Boaz said to Ruth, “You will listen, my daughter, will you not? Do not go to glean in another field, nor go from here, but stay close by my young women. ⁹ Let your eyes be on the field which they reap, and go after them. Have I not commanded the young men not to touch you? And when you are thirsty, go to the vessels and drink from what the young men have drawn.”

¹⁰ So she ^(H)fell on her face, bowed down to the ground, and said to him, “Why have I found ^(I)favor in your eyes, that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?”

¹¹ And Boaz answered and said to her, “It has been fully reported to me, ^(J)all that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband, and how you have left your father and your mother and the land of your birth, and have come to a people whom you did not know before. ^12 (K)The Lord repay your work, and a full reward be given you by the Lord God of Israel, ^(L)under whose wings you have come for refuge.”

¹³ Then she said, ^(M)“Let me find favor in your sight, my lord; for you have comforted me, and have spoken ^[a]kindly to your maidservant, ^(N)though I am not like one of your maidservants.”

¹⁴ Now Boaz said to her at mealtime, “Come here, and eat of the bread, and dip your piece of bread in the vinegar.” So she sat beside the reapers, and he passed parched grain to her; and she ate and ^(O)was satisfied, and kept some back. ¹⁵ And when she rose up to ^[b]glean, Boaz commanded his young men, saying, “Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not ^[c]reproach her. ¹⁶ Also let grain from the bundles fall purposely for her; leave it that she may glean, and do not rebuke her.”

¹⁷ So she gleaned in the field until evening, and beat out what she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah of ^(P)barley. ¹⁸ Then she took it up and went into the city, and her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned. So she brought out and gave to her ^(Q)what she had kept back after she had been satisfied.

¹⁹ And her mother-in-law said to her, “Where have you gleaned today? And where did you work? Blessed be the one who ^(R)took notice of you.”

So she told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked, and said, “The man’s name with whom I worked today is Boaz.”

²⁰ Then Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, ^(S)“Blessed be he of the Lord, who ^(T)has not forsaken His kindness to the living and the dead!” And Naomi said to her, “This man is a relation of ours, ^(U)one of ^[d]our close relatives.”

²¹ Ruth the Moabitess said, “He also said to me, ‘You shall stay close by my young men until they have finished all my harvest.’ ”

²² And Naomi said to Ruth her daughter-in-law, “It is good, my daughter, that you go out with his young women, and that people do not ^[e]meet you in any other field.” ²³ So she stayed close by the young women of Boaz, to glean until the end of barley harvest and wheat harvest; and she dwelt with her mother-in-law.

Ruth’s Redemption Assured

3 Then Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, “My daughter, ^(V)shall I not seek ^(W)security^[f] for you, that it may be well with you? ² Now Boaz, ^(X)whose young women you were with, is he not our relative? In fact, he is winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor. ³ Therefore wash yourself and ^(Y)anoint yourself, put on your best garment and go down to the threshing floor; but do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking. ⁴ Then it shall be, when he lies down, that you shall notice the place where he lies; and you shall go in, uncover his feet, and lie down; and he will tell you what you should do.”

⁵ And she said to her, “All that you say to me I will do.”

⁶ So she went down to the threshing floor and did according to all that her mother-in-law instructed her. ⁷ And after Boaz had eaten and drunk, and ^(Z)his heart was cheerful, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain; and she came softly, uncovered his feet, and lay down.

⁸ Now it happened at midnight that the man was startled, and turned himself; and there, a woman was lying at his feet. ⁹ And he said, “Who are you?”

So she answered, “I am Ruth, your maidservant. ^(AA)Take^[g] your maidservant under your wing, for you are ^(AB)a ^[h]close relative.”

¹⁰ Then he said, ^(AC)“Blessed are you of the Lord, my daughter! For you have shown more kindness at the end than ^(AD)at the beginning, in that you did not go after young men, whether poor or rich. ¹¹ And now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you all that you request, for all the people of my town know that you are a ^(AE)virtuous woman. ¹² Now it is true that I am a ^(AF)close relative; however, ^(AG)there is a relative closer than I. ¹³ Stay this night, and in the morning it shall be that if he will ^(AH)perform the duty of a close relative for you—good; let him do it. But if he does not want to perform the duty for you, then I will perform the duty for you, ^(AI)as the Lord lives! Lie down until morning.”

¹⁴ So she lay at his feet until morning, and she arose before one could recognize another. Then he said, ^(AJ)“Do not let it be known that the woman came to the threshing floor.” ¹⁵ Also he said, “Bring the ^[i]shawl that is on you and hold it.” And when she held it, he measured six ephahs of barley, and laid it on her. Then ^[j]she went into the city.

¹⁶ When she came to her mother-in-law, she said, ^[k]“Is that you, my daughter?”

Then she told her all that the man had done for her. ¹⁷ And she said, “These six ephahs of barley he gave me; for he said to me, ‘Do not go empty-handed to your mother-in-law.’ ”

¹⁸ Then she said, ^(AK)“Sit still, my daughter, until you know how the matter will turn out; for the man will not rest until he has concluded the matter this day.”