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Deuteronomy 24:17-22
New International Version
Deuteronomy 24:17-22
New International Version
17 Do not deprive the foreigner or the fatherless(A) of justice,(B) or take the cloak of the widow as a pledge. 18 Remember that you were slaves in Egypt(C) and the Lord your God redeemed you from there. That is why I command you to do this.
19 When you are harvesting in your field and you overlook a sheaf, do not go back to get it.(D) Leave it for the foreigner,(E) the fatherless and the widow,(F) so that the Lord your God may bless(G) you in all the work of your hands. 20 When you beat the olives from your trees, do not go over the branches a second time.(H) Leave what remains for the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow. 21 When you harvest the grapes in your vineyard, do not go over the vines again. Leave what remains for the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow. 22 Remember that you were slaves in Egypt. That is why I command you to do this.(I)
Deuteronomy 24:17-22
The Message
Deuteronomy 24:17-22
The Message
17-18 Make sure foreigners and orphans get their just rights. Don’t take the cloak of a widow as security for a loan. Don’t ever forget that you were once slaves in Egypt and God, your God, got you out of there. I command you: Do what I’m telling you.
19-22 When you harvest your grain and forget a sheaf back in the field, don’t go back and get it; leave it for the foreigner, the orphan, and the widow so that God, your God, will bless you in all your work. When you shake the olives off your trees, don’t go back over the branches and strip them bare—what’s left is for the foreigner, the orphan, and the widow. And when you cut the grapes in your vineyard, don’t take every last grape—leave a few for the foreigner, the orphan, and the widow. Don’t ever forget that you were a slave in Egypt. I command you: Do what I’m telling you.
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Deuteronomy 25:5-10
New International Version
Deuteronomy 25:5-10
New International Version
5 If brothers are living together and one of them dies without a son, his widow must not marry outside the family. Her husband’s brother shall take her and marry her and fulfill the duty of a brother-in-law to her.(A) 6 The first son she bears shall carry on the name of the dead brother so that his name will not be blotted out from Israel.(B)
7 However, if a man does not want to marry his brother’s wife,(C) she shall go to the elders at the town gate(D) and say, “My husband’s brother refuses to carry on his brother’s name in Israel. He will not fulfill the duty of a brother-in-law to me.”(E) 8 Then the elders of his town shall summon him and talk to him. If he persists in saying, “I do not want to marry her,” 9 his brother’s widow shall go up to him in the presence of the elders, take off one of his sandals,(F) spit in his face(G) and say, “This is what is done to the man who will not build up his brother’s family line.” 10 That man’s line shall be known in Israel as The Family of the Unsandaled.
Deuteronomy 25:5-10
The Message
Deuteronomy 25:5-10
The Message
5-6 When brothers are living together and one of them dies without having had a son, the widow of the dead brother shall not marry a stranger from outside the family; her husband’s brother is to come to her and marry her and do the brother-in-law’s duty by her. The first son that she bears shall be named after her dead husband so his name won’t die out in Israel.
7-10 But if the brother doesn’t want to marry his sister-in-law, she is to go to the leaders at the city gate and say, “My brother-in-law refuses to keep his brother’s name alive in Israel; he won’t agree to do the brother-in-law’s duty by me.” Then the leaders will call for the brother and confront him. If he stands there defiant and says, “I don’t want her,” his sister-in-law is to pull his sandal off his foot, spit in his face, and say, “This is what happens to the man who refuses to build up the family of his brother—his name in Israel will be Family-No-Sandal.”
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Ruth 1:2-6
New International Version
Ruth 1:2-6
New International Version
2 The man’s name was Elimelek,(A) his wife’s name was Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Kilion.(B) They were Ephrathites(C) from Bethlehem,(D) Judah. And they went to Moab and lived there.
3 Now Elimelek, Naomi’s husband, died, and she was left with her two sons. 4 They married Moabite women,(E) one named Orpah and the other Ruth.(F) After they had lived there about ten years, 5 both Mahlon and Kilion(G) also died,(H) and Naomi was left without her two sons and her husband.
Naomi and Ruth Return to Bethlehem
6 When Naomi heard in Moab(I) that the Lord had come to the aid of his people(J) by providing food(K) for them, she and her daughters-in-law(L) prepared to return home from there.
Ruth 1:2-7
The Message
Ruth 1:2-7
The Message
1 1-2 Once upon a time—it was back in the days when judges led Israel—there was a famine in the land. A man from Bethlehem in Judah left home to live in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons. The man’s name was Elimelech; his wife’s name was Naomi; his sons were named Mahlon and Kilion—all Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They all went to the country of Moab and settled there.
3-5 Elimelech died and Naomi was left, she and her two sons. The sons took Moabite wives; the name of the first was Orpah, the second Ruth. They lived there in Moab for the next ten years. But then the two brothers, Mahlon and Kilion, died. Now the woman was left without either her young men or her husband.
* * *
6-7 One day she got herself together, she and her two daughters-in-law, to leave the country of Moab and set out for home; she had heard that God had been pleased to visit his people and give them food. And so she started out from the place she had been living, she and her two daughters-in-law with her, on the road back to the land of Judah.
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Ruth 1:16
New International Version
Ruth 1:16
New International Version
16 But Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to leave you(A) or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go,(B) and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people(C) and your God my God.(D)
Ruth 1:16-17
The Message
Ruth 1:16-17
The Message
16-17 But Ruth said, “Don’t force me to leave you; don’t make me go home. Where you go, I go; and where you live, I’ll live. Your people are my people, your God is my god; where you die, I’ll die, and that’s where I’ll be buried, so help me God—not even death itself is going to come between us!”
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Ruth 1:1-5
New International Version
Ruth 1:1-5
New International Version
Naomi Loses Her Husband and Sons
1 In the days when the judges ruled,[a](A) there was a famine in the land.(B) So a man from Bethlehem in Judah,(C) together with his wife and two sons, went to live for a while(D) in the country of Moab.(E) 2 The man’s name was Elimelek,(F) his wife’s name was Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Kilion.(G) They were Ephrathites(H) from Bethlehem,(I) Judah. And they went to Moab and lived there.
3 Now Elimelek, Naomi’s husband, died, and she was left with her two sons. 4 They married Moabite women,(J) one named Orpah and the other Ruth.(K) After they had lived there about ten years, 5 both Mahlon and Kilion(L) also died,(M) and Naomi was left without her two sons and her husband.
Footnotes
- Ruth 1:1 Traditionally judged
Ruth 1:1-5
The Message
Ruth 1:1-5
The Message
1 1-2 Once upon a time—it was back in the days when judges led Israel—there was a famine in the land. A man from Bethlehem in Judah left home to live in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons. The man’s name was Elimelech; his wife’s name was Naomi; his sons were named Mahlon and Kilion—all Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They all went to the country of Moab and settled there.
3-5 Elimelech died and Naomi was left, she and her two sons. The sons took Moabite wives; the name of the first was Orpah, the second Ruth. They lived there in Moab for the next ten years. But then the two brothers, Mahlon and Kilion, died. Now the woman was left without either her young men or her husband.
* * *
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Ruth 1:19-22
New International Version
Ruth 1:19-22
New International Version
19 So the two women went on until they came to Bethlehem.(A) When they arrived in Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred(B) because of them, and the women exclaimed, “Can this be Naomi?”
20 “Don’t call me Naomi,[a]” she told them. “Call me Mara,[b] because the Almighty[c](C) has made my life very bitter.(D) 21 I went away full, but the Lord has brought me back empty.(E) Why call me Naomi? The Lord has afflicted[d] me;(F) the Almighty has brought misfortune upon me.”
22 So Naomi returned from Moab accompanied by Ruth the Moabite,(G) her daughter-in-law,(H) arriving in Bethlehem as the barley harvest(I) was beginning.(J)
Ruth 1:19-22
The Message
Ruth 1:19-22
The Message
18-19 When Naomi saw that Ruth had her heart set on going with her, she gave in. And so the two of them traveled on together to Bethlehem.
When they arrived in Bethlehem the whole town was soon buzzing: “Is this really our Naomi? And after all this time!”
20-21 But she said, “Don’t call me Naomi; call me Bitter. The Strong One has dealt me a bitter blow. I left here full of life, and God has brought me back with nothing but the clothes on my back. Why would you call me Naomi? God certainly doesn’t. The Strong One ruined me.”
22 And so Naomi was back, and Ruth the foreigner with her, back from the country of Moab. They arrived in Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest.
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Ruth 2:5-13
New International Version
Ruth 2:5-13
New International Version
5 Boaz asked the overseer of his harvesters, “Who does that young woman belong to?”
6 The overseer replied, “She is the Moabite(A) who came back from Moab with Naomi. 7 She said, ‘Please let me glean and gather among the sheaves(B) behind the harvesters.’ She came into the field and has remained here from morning till now, except for a short rest(C) in the shelter.”
8 So Boaz said to Ruth, “My daughter, listen to me. Don’t go and glean in another field and don’t go away from here. Stay here with the women who work for me. 9 Watch the field where the men are harvesting, and follow along after the women. I have told the men not to lay a hand on you. And whenever you are thirsty, go and get a drink from the water jars the men have filled.”
10 At this, she bowed down with her face to the ground.(D) She asked him, “Why have I found such favor in your eyes that you notice me(E)—a foreigner?(F)”
11 Boaz replied, “I’ve been told all about what you have done for your mother-in-law(G) since the death of your husband(H)—how you left your father and mother and your homeland and came to live with a people you did not know(I) before.(J) 12 May the Lord repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the Lord,(K) the God of Israel,(L) under whose wings(M) you have come to take refuge.(N)”
13 “May I continue to find favor in your eyes,(O) my lord,” she said. “You have put me at ease by speaking kindly to your servant—though I do not have the standing of one of your servants.”
Ruth 2:5-13
The Message
Ruth 2:5-13
The Message
5 Boaz asked his young servant who was foreman over the farm hands, “Who is this young woman? Where did she come from?”
6-7 The foreman said, “Why, that’s the Moabite girl, the one who came with Naomi from the country of Moab. She asked permission. ‘Let me glean,’ she said, ‘and gather among the sheaves following after your harvesters.’ She’s been at it steady ever since, from early morning until now, without so much as a break.”
8-9 Then Boaz spoke to Ruth: “Listen, my daughter. From now on don’t go to any other field to glean—stay right here in this one. And stay close to my young women. Watch where they are harvesting and follow them. And don’t worry about a thing; I’ve given orders to my servants not to harass you. When you get thirsty, feel free to go and drink from the water buckets that the servants have filled.”
10 She dropped to her knees, then bowed her face to the ground. “How does this happen that you should pick me out and treat me so kindly—me, a foreigner?”
11-12 Boaz answered her, “I’ve heard all about you—heard about the way you treated your mother-in-law after the death of her husband, and how you left your father and mother and the land of your birth and have come to live among a bunch of total strangers. God reward you well for what you’ve done—and with a generous bonus besides from God, to whom you’ve come seeking protection under his wings.”
13 She said, “Oh sir, such grace, such kindness—I don’t deserve it. You’ve touched my heart, treated me like one of your own. And I don’t even belong here!”
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The Message (MSG)
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson