The Lord Is Holy

19 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them, ^(A)You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.

^15 (A)“You shall do no injustice in court. You shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great, but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor. ^16 (B)You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not ^(C)stand up against the life^[a] of your neighbor: I am the Lord.

^17 (D)“You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but ^(E)you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you ^(F)incur sin because of him. ^18 (G)You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but ^(H)you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.

Paul's Ministry to the Thessalonians

2 For you yourselves know, brothers,^[a] that our ^(A)coming to you ^(B)was not in vain. ² But though we had already suffered and been shamefully treated ^(C)at Philippi, as you know, ^(D)we had boldness in our God ^(E)to declare to you the gospel of God in the midst of much ^(F)conflict. ³ For ^(G)our appeal does not spring from ^(H)error or ^(I)impurity or ^(J)any attempt to deceive, ⁴ but just as we have been approved by God ^(K)to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not ^(L)to please man, but to please God ^(M)who tests our hearts. ^5 (N)For we never came with words of flattery,^[b] as you know, nor with a pretext for greed—^(O)God is witness. ^6 (P)Nor did we seek glory from people, whether from you or from others, ^(Q)though we could have made ^(R)demands as ^(S)apostles of Christ. ⁷ But we were ^(T)gentle^[c] among you, ^(U)like a nursing mother taking care of her own children. ⁸ So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God ^(V)but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us.

The Great Commandment

^34 (A)But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced ^(B)the Sadducees, they gathered together. ^35 (C)And one of them, ^(D)a lawyer, asked him a question ^(E)to test him. ³⁶ “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” ³⁷ And he said to him, ^(F)“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. ³⁸ This is the great and first commandment. ³⁹ And ^(G)a second is like it: ^(H)You shall love your neighbor as yourself. ^40 (I)On these two commandments depend ^(J)all the Law and the Prophets.”

Whose Son Is the Christ?

^41 (K)Now while the Pharisees ^(L)were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question, ⁴² saying, “What do you think about ^(M)the Christ? Whose son is he?” They said to him, ^(N)“The son of David.” ⁴³ He said to them, “How is it then that David, ^(O)in the Spirit, calls him Lord, saying,

⁴⁵ If then David calls him Lord, ^(Q)how is he his son?” ^46 (R)And no one was able to answer him a word, ^(S)nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions.

Peace with God Through Faith

5 ^(A)Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, ^(B)we^[a] have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Ruth and Boaz at the Threshing Floor

3 Then Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, “My daughter, should I not seek ^(A)rest for you, that it may be well with you? ² Is not Boaz ^(B)our relative, ^(C)with whose young women you were? See, he is winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor. ^3 (D)Wash therefore and anoint yourself, and put on your cloak and go down to the threshing floor, but do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking. ⁴ But when he lies down, observe the place where he lies. Then go and uncover his feet and lie down, and he will tell you what to do.” ⁵ And she replied, “All that you say I will do.”

⁶ So she went down to the threshing floor and did just as her mother-in-law had commanded her. ⁷ And when Boaz had eaten and drunk, and ^(E)his heart was merry, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain. Then she came softly and uncovered his feet and lay down. ⁸ At midnight the man was startled and turned over, and behold, a woman lay at his feet! ⁹ He said, “Who are you?” And she answered, “I am Ruth, your servant. ^(F)Spread your wings^[a] over your servant, for you are ^(G)a redeemer.” ¹⁰ And he said, ^(H)“May you be blessed by the Lord, my daughter. You have made this last kindness greater than ^(I)the first in that you have not gone after young men, whether poor or rich. ¹¹ And now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you all that you ask, for all my fellow townsmen know that you are ^(J)a worthy woman. ¹² And now it is true that I am ^(K)a redeemer. Yet there is a redeemer nearer than I. ¹³ Remain tonight, and in the morning, if he will ^(L)redeem you, good; let him do it. But if he is not willing to redeem you, then, ^(M)as the Lord lives, I will redeem you. Lie down until the morning.”

¹⁴ So she lay at his feet until the morning, but arose before one could recognize another. And he said, “Let it not be known that the woman came to the threshing floor.” ¹⁵ And he said, “Bring the garment you are wearing and hold it out.” So she held it, and he measured out six measures of barley and put it on her. Then she went into the city. ¹⁶ And when she came to her mother-in-law, she said, “How did you fare, my daughter?” Then she told her all that the man had done for her, ¹⁷ saying, “These six measures of barley he gave to me, for he said to me, ‘You must not go back empty-handed to your mother-in-law.’” ¹⁸ She replied, “Wait, my daughter, until you learn how the matter turns out, for the man will not rest but will settle the matter today.”