ק QOPH

ר RESH

ש SHIN

ת TAU

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.”

²³ Moreover ^(A)I call God as witness against my soul, ^(B)that to spare you I came no more to Corinth. ²⁴ Not ^(C)that we ^[a]have dominion over your faith, but are fellow workers for your joy; for ^(D)by faith you stand.

Paul Urges Forgiveness

2 But I determined this within myself, ^(E)that I would not come again to you in sorrow. ² For if I make you ^(F)sorrowful, then who is he who makes me glad but the one who is made sorrowful by me?

Forgive the Offender

³ And I wrote this very thing to you, lest, when I came, ^(G)I should have sorrow over those from whom I ought to have joy, ^(H)having confidence in you all that my joy is the joy of you all. ⁴ For out of much ^[b]affliction and anguish of heart I wrote to you, with many tears, ^(I)not that you should be grieved, but that you might know the love which I have so abundantly for you.

⁵ But ^(J)if anyone has caused grief, he has not ^(K)grieved me, but all of you to some extent—not to be too severe. ⁶ This punishment which was inflicted ^(L)by the majority is sufficient for such a man, ^7 (M)so that, on the contrary, you ought rather to forgive and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one be swallowed up with too much sorrow. ⁸ Therefore I urge you to reaffirm your love to him. ⁹ For to this end I also wrote, that I might put you to the test, whether you are ^(N)obedient in all things. ¹⁰ Now whom you forgive anything, I also forgive. For ^[c]if indeed I have forgiven anything, I have forgiven that one for your sakes in the presence of Christ, ¹¹ lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices.

Triumph in Christ

¹² Furthermore, ^(O)when I came to Troas to preach Christ’s gospel, and ^(P)a ^[d]door was opened to me by the Lord, ^13 (Q)I had no rest in my spirit, because I did not find Titus my brother; but taking my leave of them, I departed for Macedonia.

¹⁴ Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us ^[e]diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place. ¹⁵ For we are to God the fragrance of Christ ^(R)among those who are being saved and ^(S)among those who are perishing. ^16 (T)To the one we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life. And ^(U)who is sufficient for these things? ¹⁷ For we are not, as ^[f]so many, ^(V)peddling^[g] the word of God; but as ^(W)of sincerity, but as from God, we speak in the sight of God in Christ.

Murder Begins in the Heart^(A)

²¹ “You have heard that it was said to those ^[a]of old, ^(B)‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’ ²² But I say to you that ^(C)whoever is angry with his brother ^[b]without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ^(D)‘Raca!’^[c] shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ^[d]‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of ^[e]hell fire. ²³ Therefore ^(E)if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, ^24 (F)leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. ^25 (G)Agree with your adversary quickly, ^(H)while you are on the way with him, lest your adversary deliver you to the judge, the judge hand you over to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. ²⁶ Assuredly, I say to you, you will by no means get out of there till you have paid the last penny.