Ruth 4

New King James Version

Boaz Redeems Ruth

4 Now Boaz went up to the gate and sat down there; and behold, ^(A)the close relative of whom Boaz had spoken came by. So Boaz said, “Come aside, ^[a]friend, sit down here.” So he came aside and sat down. ²And he took ten men of ^(B)the elders of the city, and said, “Sit down here.” So they sat down. ³Then he said to the close relative, “Naomi, who has come back from the country of Moab, sold the piece of land ^(C)which belonged to our brother Elimelech. ⁴And I thought to ^[b]inform you, saying, ^(D)‘Buy it back ^(E)in the presence of the inhabitants and the elders of my people. If you will redeem it, redeem it; but if ^[c]you will not redeem it, then tell me, that I may know; ^(F)for there is no one but you to redeem it, and I am next after you.’ ”

And he said, “I will redeem it.”

⁵Then Boaz said, “On the day you buy the field from the hand of Naomi, you must also buy it from Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of the dead, ^(G)to ^[d]perpetuate the name of the dead through his inheritance.”

⁶^(H)And the close relative said, “I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I ruin my own inheritance. You redeem my right of redemption for yourself, for I cannot redeem it.”

⁷^(I)Now this was the custom in former times in Israel concerning redeeming and exchanging, to confirm anything: one man took off his sandal and gave it to the other, and this was a confirmation in Israel.

⁸Therefore the close relative said to Boaz, “Buy it for yourself.” So he took off his sandal. ⁹And Boaz said to the elders and all the people, “You are witnesses this day that I have bought all that was Elimelech’s, and all that was Chilion’s and Mahlon’s, from the hand of Naomi. ¹⁰Moreover, Ruth the Moabitess, the widow of Mahlon, I have acquired as my wife, to perpetuate the name of the dead through his inheritance, ^(J)that the name of the dead may not be cut off from among his brethren and from ^[e]his position at the gate. You are witnesses this day.”

¹¹And all the people who were at the gate, and the elders, said, “We are witnesses. ^(K)The Lord make the woman who is coming to your house like Rachel and Leah, the two who ^(L)built the house of Israel; and may you prosper in ^(M)Ephrathah and be famous in ^(N)Bethlehem. ¹²May your house be like the house of ^(O)Perez, ^(P)whom Tamar bore to Judah, because of ^(Q)the offspring which the Lord will give you from this young woman.”

Descendants of Boaz and Ruth^(R)

¹³So Boaz ^(S)took Ruth and she became his wife; and when he went in to her, ^(T)the Lord gave her conception, and she bore a son. ¹⁴Then ^(U)the women said to Naomi, “Blessed be the Lord, who has not left you this day without a ^[f]close relative; and may his name be famous in Israel! ¹⁵And may he be to you a restorer of life and a ^[g]nourisher of your old age; for your daughter-in-law, who loves you, who is ^(V)better to you than seven sons, has borne him.” ¹⁶Then Naomi took the child and laid him on her bosom, and became a nurse to him. ¹⁷^(W)Also the neighbor women gave him a name, saying, “There is a son born to Naomi.” And they called his name Obed. He is the father of Jesse, the father of David.

¹⁸^(X)Now this is the genealogy of Perez: ^(Y)Perez begot Hezron; ¹⁹Hezron begot Ram, and Ram begot Amminadab; ²⁰Amminadab begot ^(Z)Nahshon, and Nahshon begot ^(AA)Salmon;^[h] ²¹Salmon begot Boaz, and Boaz begot Obed; ²²Obed begot Jesse, and Jesse begot ^(AB)David.

Footnotes

Ruth 4:1 Heb. peloni almoni, lit. so and so
Ruth 4:4 Lit. uncover your ear
Ruth 4:4 So with many Heb. mss., LXX, Syr., Tg., Vg.; MT he
Ruth 4:5 Lit. raise up
Ruth 4:10 Probably his civic office
Ruth 4:14 redeemer, Heb. goel
Ruth 4:15 sustainer
Ruth 4:20 Heb. Salmah

Job 17

New King James Version

Job Prays for Relief

17 “My spirit is broken,
My days are extinguished,
^(A)The grave is ready for me.
²Are not mockers with me?
And does not my eye ^[a]dwell on their ^(B)provocation?

³“Now put down a pledge for me with Yourself.
Who is he who ^(C)will shake hands with me?
⁴For You have hidden their heart from ^(D)understanding;
Therefore You will not exalt them.
⁵He who speaks flattery to his friends,
Even the eyes of his children will ^(E)fail.

⁶“But He has made me ^(F)a byword of the people,
And I have become one in whose face men spit.
⁷^(G)My eye has also grown dim because of sorrow,
And all my members are like shadows.
⁸Upright men are astonished at this,
And the innocent stirs himself up against the hypocrite.
⁹Yet the righteous will hold to his ^(H)way,
And he who has ^(I)clean hands will be stronger and stronger.

¹⁰“But please, ^(J)come back again, ^[b]all of you,
For I shall not find one wise man among you.
¹¹^(K)My days are past,
My purposes are broken off,
Even the ^[c]thoughts of my heart.
¹²They change the night into day;
‘The light is near,’ they say, in the face of darkness.
¹³If I wait for the grave as my house,
If I make my bed in the darkness,
¹⁴If I say to corruption, ‘You are my father,’
And to the worm, ‘You are my mother and my sister,’
¹⁵Where then is my ^(L)hope?
As for my hope, who can see it?
¹⁶Will they go down ^(M)to the gates of ^[d]Sheol?
Shall we have ^(N)rest together in the dust?”

Footnotes

Job 17:2 Lit. lodge
Job 17:10 So with some Heb. mss., LXX, Syr., Vg.; MT, Tg. all of them
Job 17:11 desires
Job 17:16 The abode of the dead

1 John 2

New King James Version

The Test of Knowing Christ

2 My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, ^(A)we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. ²And ^(B)He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but ^(C)also for the whole world.

The Test of Knowing Him

³Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. ⁴He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a ^(D)liar, and the truth is not in him. ⁵But ^(E)whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God ^[a]is perfected ^(F)in him. By this we know that we are in Him. ⁶^(G)He who says he abides in Him ^(H)ought himself also to walk just as He walked.

⁷^[b]Brethren, I write no new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had ^(I)from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which you heard ^[c]from the beginning. ⁸Again, ^(J)a new commandment I write to you, which thing is true in Him and in you, ^(K)because the darkness is passing away, and ^(L)the true light is already shining.

⁹^(M)He who says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in darkness until now. ¹⁰^(N)He who loves his brother abides in the light, and ^(O)there is no cause for stumbling in him. ¹¹But he who ^(P)hates his brother is in darkness and ^(Q)walks in darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.

Their Spiritual State

¹²I write to you, little children,
Because ^(R)your sins are forgiven you for His name’s sake.
¹³I write to you, fathers,
Because you have known Him who is ^(S)from the beginning.
I write to you, young men,
Because you have overcome the wicked one.
I write to you, little children,
Because you have ^(T)known the Father.
¹⁴I have written to you, fathers,
Because you have known Him who is from the beginning.
I have written to you, young men,
Because ^(U)you are strong, and the word of God abides in you,
And you have overcome the wicked one.

Do Not Love the World

¹⁵^(V)Do not love the world or the things in the world. ^(W)If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. ¹⁶For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, ^(X)the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. ¹⁷And ^(Y)the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.

Deceptions of the Last Hour

¹⁸^(Z)Little children, ^(AA)it is the last hour; and as you have heard that ^(AB)the^[d] Antichrist is coming, ^(AC)even now many antichrists have come, by which we know ^(AD)that it is the last hour. ¹⁹^(AE)They went out from us, but they were not of us; for ^(AF)if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out ^(AG)that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us.

²⁰But ^(AH)you have an anointing ^(AI)from the Holy One, and ^(AJ)you^[e] know all things. ²¹I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and that no lie is of the truth.

²²^(AK)Who is a liar but he who denies that ^(AL)Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son. ²³^(AM)Whoever denies the Son does not have the ^(AN)Father either; ^(AO)he who acknowledges the Son has the Father also.

Let Truth Abide in You

²⁴Therefore let that abide in you ^(AP)which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, ^(AQ)you also will abide in the Son and in the Father. ²⁵^(AR)And this is the promise that He has promised us—eternal life.

²⁶These things I have written to you concerning those who try to ^[f]deceive you. ²⁷But the ^(AS)anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and ^(AT)you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing ^(AU)teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you ^[g]will abide in Him.

The Children of God

²⁸And now, little children, abide in Him, that ^[h]when He appears, we may have ^(AV)confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming. ²⁹^(AW)If you know that He is righteous, you know that ^(AX)everyone who practices righteousness is born of Him.