Ruth and Naomi Come to Bethlehem

1 During the days of the judges,^[a] a famine occurred in the land. So a man left Bethlehem in Judah to stay awhile^[b] in the territory^[c] of Moab—he, his wife, and his two sons. ² The man’s name was Elimelek, his wife’s name was Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Kilion. They were from the clan of Ephrath from Bethlehem in Judah. They entered the territory of Moab and remained there.

³ But Elimelek, Naomi’s husband, died, so she was left with her two sons. ⁴ They then married Moabite wives. The name of the first was Orpah, and the name of the second was Ruth. They lived there for about ten years. ⁵ But Naomi’s sons, Mahlon and Kilion, also died. So the woman was left without her two children and without her husband.

⁶ Then Naomi set out with her daughters-in-law to return from the territory of Moab, because while she was in the territory of Moab, she had heard that the Lord had graciously visited^[d] his people by providing them with food. ⁷ So she left the place where she had been, and her two daughters-in-law left with her. They set out on the road to return to the land of Judah.

⁸ But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go back. Both of you return to your mother’s house. May the Lord show you kindness^[e] as you have shown kindness to the dead and to me. ⁹ May the Lord grant that each of you finds security^[f] in the house of a husband.” Then she kissed them, and they wept loudly.

¹⁰ But they said to her, “No, we will return with you to your people.”

¹¹ Then Naomi said, “Turn back, my daughters. Why should you go with me? Am I going to give birth to any more sons^[g] who could become your husbands? ¹² Turn back, my daughters. Go! For I am too old to be married to another husband. Suppose I say, ‘I have hope, and I will be married to another husband tonight, and I will even give birth to sons.’ ¹³ Would you wait for them until they grow up? On the basis of that hope would you give up the chance to marry another husband? No, my daughters. It is much more bitter for me than for you, because the hand of the Lord has reached out against me.”

¹⁴ They once again wept loudly. Then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth would not let her go.

¹⁵ Naomi said, “Look, your sister-in-law has returned to her people and to her gods. Go back! Follow your sister-in-law.”

¹⁶ But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to abandon you or to turn back from following you. Because wherever you go, I will go, and wherever you make your home, I will make my home. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God. ¹⁷ Wherever you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord punish me severely and double it^[h] if anything but death^[i] separates me from you.”

¹⁸ When Naomi saw that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped urging her.

¹⁹ Then the two of them traveled until they arrived at Bethlehem. When they entered Bethlehem, the whole town became excited over them. The women said, “Is this Naomi?”

The Good Samaritan

²⁵ Just then, an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus, saying, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

²⁶ “What is written in the law?” he asked him. “What do you read there?”

²⁷ He replied, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind;^[a] and, love your neighbor as yourself.”^[b]

²⁸ He said to him, “You have answered correctly. Do this, and you will live.”

²⁹ But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

³⁰ Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho. He fell among robbers who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. ³¹ It just so happened that a priest was going down that way. But when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. ³² In the same way, a Levite also happened to go there, but when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. ³³ A Samaritan, as he traveled, came to where the man was. When he saw him, he felt sorry for the man. ³⁴ He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them. He put him on his own animal, took him to an inn, and took care of him. ³⁵ The next day, when he left, he took out two denarii,^[c] gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him. Whatever extra you spend, I will repay you when I return.’ ³⁶ Which of these three do you think acted like a neighbor to the man who fell among robbers?”

³⁷ “The one who showed mercy to him,” he replied.

Then Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”