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. ² And he took ten men of ^(B)the elders of the city, and said, “Sit down here.” So they sat down. ³ Then 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. ⁴ And 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.”

⁵ Then 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.

⁸ Therefore the close relative said to Boaz, “Buy it for yourself.” So he took off his sandal. ⁹ And 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. ¹⁰ Moreover, 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.”

¹¹ And 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. ¹² May 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)

¹³ So 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. ¹⁴ Then ^(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! ¹⁵ And 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.” ¹⁶ Then 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; ¹⁹ Hezron begot Ram, and Ram begot Amminadab; ²⁰ Amminadab begot ^(Z)Nahshon, and Nahshon begot ^(AA)Salmon;^{[h] 21} Salmon begot Boaz, and Boaz begot Obed; ²² Obed begot Jesse, and Jesse begot ^(AB)David.

Paul’s Roman Citizenship

²² And they listened to him until this word, and then they raised their voices and said, ^(A)“Away with such a fellow from the earth, for ^(B)he is not fit to live!” ²³ Then, as they cried out and ^[a]tore off their clothes and threw dust into the air, ²⁴ the commander ordered him to be brought into the barracks, and said that he should be examined under scourging, so that he might know why they shouted so against him. ²⁵ And as they bound him with thongs, Paul said to the centurion who stood by, ^(C)“Is it lawful for you to scourge a man who is a Roman, and uncondemned?”

²⁶ When the centurion heard that, he went and told the commander, saying, “Take care what you do, for this man is a Roman.”

²⁷ Then the commander came and said to him, “Tell me, are you a Roman?”

He said, “Yes.”

²⁸ The commander answered, “With a large sum I obtained this citizenship.”

And Paul said, “But I was born a citizen.”

²⁹ Then immediately those who were about to examine him withdrew from him; and the commander was also afraid after he found out that he was a Roman, and because he had bound him.

The Sanhedrin Divided

³⁰ The next day, because he wanted to know for certain why he was accused by the Jews, he released him from his bonds, and commanded the chief priests and all their council to appear, and brought Paul down and set him before them.

The Jerusalem Jews Plot to Kill Paul

23 Then Paul, looking earnestly at the council, said, “Men and brethren, ^(A)I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day.” ² And the high priest Ananias commanded those who stood by him ^(B)to strike him on the mouth. ³ Then Paul said to him, “God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! For you sit to judge me according to the law, and ^(C)do you command me to be struck contrary to the law?”

⁴ And those who stood by said, “Do you revile God’s high priest?”

⁵ Then Paul said, ^(D)“I did not know, brethren, that he was the high priest; for it is written, ^(E)‘You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people.’ ”

⁶ But when Paul perceived that one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, “Men and brethren, ^(F)I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee; ^(G)concerning the hope and resurrection of the dead I am being judged!”

⁷ And when he had said this, a dissension arose between the Pharisees and the Sadducees; and the assembly was divided. ^8 (H)For Sadducees say that there is no resurrection—and no angel or spirit; but the Pharisees confess both. ⁹ Then there arose a loud outcry. And the scribes of the Pharisees’ party arose and protested, saying, ^(I)“We find no evil in this man; ^[a]but ^(J)if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him, ^(K)let us not fight against God.”

¹⁰ Now when there arose a great dissension, the commander, fearing lest Paul might be pulled to pieces by them, commanded the soldiers to go down and take him by force from among them, and bring him into the barracks.

The Plot Against Paul

¹¹ But ^(L)the following night the Lord stood by him and said, ^[b]“Be of good cheer, Paul; for as you have testified for Me in ^(M)Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness at ^(N)Rome.”