Wisdom Warns

Naomi Widowed

1 Now it came about in the days ^(A)when the judges ^[a]governed, that there was ^(B)a famine in the land. And a man ^(C)of Bethlehem in Judah went to reside in the land of Moab ^[b]with his wife and his two sons. ² The name of the man was Elimelech, and the name of his wife, Naomi; and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion, Ephrathites of Bethlehem in Judah. So they ^(D)entered the land of Moab and remained there. ³ Then Elimelech, Naomi’s husband, died; and she was left with her two sons. ⁴ And they took for themselves Moabite women as wives; the name of the one was Orpah, and the name of the other, Ruth. And they lived there about ten years. ⁵ Then ^[c]both Mahlon and Chilion also died, and the woman was left without her two sons and her husband.

⁶ Then she arose with her daughters-in-law to return from the land of Moab, because she had heard in the land of Moab that the Lord had ^(E)visited His people by ^(F)giving them food. ⁷ So she departed from the place where she was, and her two daughters-in-law with her; and they went on the way to return to the land of Judah. ⁸ But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go, return each of you to ^[d]your mother’s house. ^(G)May the Lord deal kindly with you as you have dealt with the dead and with me. ⁹ May the Lord grant that you may find a place of rest, each one in the house of her husband.” Then she kissed them, and they raised their voices and wept. ¹⁰ However, they said to her, “No, but we will return with you to your people.” ¹¹ But Naomi said, “Return, my daughters. Why should you go with me? Do I still have sons in my womb, that ^(H)they may be your husbands? ¹² Return, my daughters! Go, for I am too old to have a husband. If I said I have hope, if I were even to have a husband tonight and also give birth to sons, ¹³ would you therefore wait until they were grown? Would you therefore refrain from marrying? No, my daughters; for it is much more bitter for me than for you, because ^(I)the hand of the Lord has come out against me.”

Ruth’s Loyalty

¹⁴ And they raised their voices and wept again; and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her.

¹⁵ Then she said, “Behold, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and her ^(J)gods; return after your sister-in-law.” ¹⁶ But Ruth said, “Do not plead with me to leave you or to turn back from following you; for where you go, I will go, and where you sleep, I will sleep. Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God. ¹⁷ Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May ^(K)the Lord do so to me, and worse, if anything but death separates ^[e]me from you.” ¹⁸ When ^(L)she saw that she was determined to go with her, she stopped speaking to her about it.

¹⁹ So they both went on until they came to Bethlehem. And when they had come to Bethlehem, ^(M)all the city was stirred because of them, and ^[f]the women said, “Is this Naomi?” ²⁰ But she said to them, “Do not call me ^[g]Naomi; call me ^[h]Mara, for ^[i](N)the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. ²¹ I went away full, but ^(O)the Lord has brought me back empty. Why do you call me Naomi, since the Lord has testified against me and ^[j]the Almighty has afflicted me?”

²² So Naomi returned, and with her Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter-in-law, who returned from the land of Moab. And they came to Bethlehem at ^(P)the beginning of barley harvest.

^2 (A)Now while in prison, ^(B)John heard about the works of Christ, and he sent word by his disciples, ³ and said to Him, “Are You ^(C)the Coming One, or are we to ^[a]look for someone else?” ⁴ Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and report to John what you hear and see: ^5 (D)those who are blind receive sight and those who limp walk, those with leprosy are cleansed and those who are deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the ^(E)poor have the ^[b]gospel preached to them. ⁶ And blessed is ^[c]any person who ^(F)does not ^[d]take offense at Me.”

Jesus’ Tribute to John

⁷ As these disciples of John were going away, Jesus began speaking to the crowds about John: “What did you go out into ^(G)the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? ^8 [e]But what did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ ^[f]palaces! ^9 [g]But what did you go out to see? ^(H)A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and one who is more than a prophet. ¹⁰ This is the one about whom it ^[h]is written:

¹¹ Truly I say to you, among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist! Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. ¹² And ^(J)from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has been treated violently, and violent men take it by force. ¹³ For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John. ¹⁴ And if you are willing to accept it, John himself is ^(K)Elijah who ^[j]was to come. ^15 (L)The one who has ears to hear, ^[k]let him hear.

¹⁶ “But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces, who call out to the other children, ¹⁷ and say, ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a song of mourning, and you did not ^[l]mourn.’ ¹⁸ For John came neither ^(M)eating nor ^(N)drinking, and they say, ‘^(O)He has a demon!’ ¹⁹ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Behold, a gluttonous man and a ^[m]heavy drinker, ^(P)a friend of tax collectors and ^[n]sinners!’ And yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.”

The Gospel Is Preached

¹² Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that my circumstances ^(A)have turned out for the greater progress of the ^(B)gospel, ¹³ so that my ^[a](C)imprisonment in the cause of Christ has become well known throughout the ^[b]praetorian guard and to ^(D)everyone else, ¹⁴ and that most of the brothers and sisters, ^[c]trusting in the Lord because of my ^[d](E)imprisonment, have ^(F)far more courage to speak the word of God without fear. ^15 (G)Some, to be sure, are preaching Christ even ^[e]from envy and strife, but some also ^[f]from goodwill; ¹⁶ the latter do it out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the ^(H)gospel; ¹⁷ the former proclaim Christ ^(I)out of selfish ambition ^[g]rather than from pure motives, thinking that they are causing me distress in my ^[h](J)imprisonment. ¹⁸ What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in this I rejoice.

But not only that, I also will rejoice, ¹⁹ for I know that this will turn out for my ^[i]deliverance ^(K)through your ^[j]prayers and the provision of ^(L)the Spirit of Jesus Christ, ²⁰ according to my ^(M)eager expectation and ^(N)hope, that I will not be put to shame in anything, but that with ^(O)all boldness, Christ will even now, as always, be ^(P)exalted in my body, ^(Q)whether by life or by death.

To Live Is Christ

²¹ For to me, ^(R)to live is Christ, and to die is gain. ^22 [k]But if I am to live on in the flesh, this will mean ^(S)fruitful labor for me; and I do not know ^[l]which to choose. ²³ But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the ^(T)desire to depart and ^(U)be with Christ, for that is very much better; ²⁴ yet to remain on in the flesh is more necessary for your sakes. ^25 (V)Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy ^[m]in the faith, ²⁶ so that your ^(W)pride in Christ Jesus may be abundant because of me by my coming to you again.

²⁷ Only conduct yourselves in a manner ^(X)worthy of the ^(Y)gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear about you that you are ^(Z)standing firm in ^(AA)one spirit, with one ^[n]mind ^(AB)striving together for the faith of the gospel; ²⁸ and in no way alarmed by your opponents—which is a ^(AC)sign of destruction for them, but of salvation for you, and this too, from God. ²⁹ For to you ^(AD)it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to ^(AE)suffer on His behalf, ³⁰ experiencing the same ^(AF)conflict which ^(AG)you saw in me, and now hear to be in me.