Book of Common Prayer

Prayer for Protection from the Wicked.

For the choir director; for ^[a]flute accompaniment. A Psalm of David.

Prayer for Mercy in Time of Trouble.

For the choir director; with stringed instruments, ^[m]upon an eight-string lyre. A Psalm of David.

A Prayer for the Overthrow of the Wicked.

The Lord a Refuge and Defense.

For the choir director. A Psalm of David.

¹⁹ So they both went until they came to Bethlehem. And when they had come to Bethlehem, ^(A)all the city was stirred because of them, and ^[a]the women said, “Is this Naomi?” ²⁰ She said to them, “Do not call me ^[b]Naomi; call me ^[c]Mara, for ^[d](B)the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. ²¹ I went out full, but ^(C)the Lord has brought me back empty. Why do you call me Naomi, since the Lord has witnessed against me and ^[e]the Almighty has afflicted me?”

²² So Naomi returned, and with her Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter-in-law, who returned from the land of Moab. And they came to Bethlehem at ^(D)the beginning of barley harvest.

Ruth Gleans in Boaz’ Field

2 Now Naomi had ^[f]a kinsman of her husband, a ^[g]man of great wealth, of the family of ^(E)Elimelech, whose name was Boaz. ² And Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, “Please let me go to the field and ^(F)glean among the ears of grain after one in whose sight I may find favor.” And she said to her, “Go, my daughter.” ³ So she departed and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers; and ^[h]she happened to come to the portion of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech. ⁴ Now behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem and said to the reapers, “^(G)May the Lord be with you.” And they said to him, “May the Lord bless you.” ⁵ Then Boaz said to his servant who was ^[i]in charge of the reapers, “Whose young woman is this?” ⁶ The servant ^[j]in charge of the reapers replied, “She is the young Moabite woman who returned with Naomi from the land of Moab. ⁷ And she said, ‘Please let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves.’ Thus she came and has remained from the morning until now; she has been sitting in the house for a little while.”

⁸ Then Boaz said to Ruth, “^[k]Listen carefully, my daughter. Do not go to glean in another field; furthermore, do not go on from this one, but stay here with my maids. ⁹ Let your eyes be on the field which they reap, and go after them. Indeed, I have commanded the servants not to touch you. When you are thirsty, go to the ^[l]water jars and drink from what the servants draw.” ¹⁰ Then she ^(H)fell on her face, bowing to the ground and said to him, “Why have I found favor in your sight that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?” ¹¹ Boaz replied to her, “All that you have done for your mother-in-law after the death of your husband has been fully reported to me, and how you left your father and your mother and the land of your birth, and came to a people that you did not previously know. ^12 (I)May the Lord reward your work, and your wages be full from the Lord, the God of Israel, ^(J)under whose wings you have come to seek refuge.” ¹³ Then she said, “I have found favor in your sight, my lord, for you have comforted me and indeed have spoken ^[m]kindly to your maidservant, though I am not like one of your maidservants.”

¹⁸ This ^(A)command I entrust to you, Timothy, ^(B)my ^[a]son, in accordance with the ^(C)prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you ^(D)fight the good fight, ¹⁹ keeping ^(E)faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and suffered shipwreck in regard to ^[b](F)their faith. ^20 [c]Among these are ^(G)Hymenaeus and ^(H)Alexander, whom I have ^(I)handed over to Satan, so that they will be ^(J)taught not to blaspheme.

A Call to Prayer

2 First of all, then, I urge that ^(K)entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, ^2 (L)for kings and all who are in ^[d]authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and ^[e]dignity. ³ This is good and acceptable in the sight of ^(M)God our Savior, ^4 (N)who desires all men to be ^(O)saved and to ^(P)come to the ^[f]knowledge of the truth. ⁵ For there is ^(Q)one God, and ^(R)one mediator also between God and men, the ^(S)man Christ Jesus, ⁶ who ^(T)gave Himself as a ransom for all, the ^(U)testimony ^[g]given at ^[h](V)the proper time. ^7 (W)For this I was appointed a ^[i]preacher and ^(X)an apostle (^(Y)I am telling the truth, I am not lying) as a teacher of ^(Z)the Gentiles in faith and truth.

⁸ Therefore ^(AA)I want the men ^(AB)in every place to pray, ^(AC)lifting up ^(AD)holy hands, without wrath and dissension.

Healing on the Sabbath

¹⁰ And He was ^(A)teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. ¹¹ And there was a woman who for eighteen years had had ^(B)a sickness caused by a spirit; and she was bent double, and could not straighten up at all. ¹² When Jesus saw her, He called her over and said to her, “Woman, you are freed from your sickness.” ¹³ And He ^(C)laid His hands on her; and immediately she was made erect again and began ^(D)glorifying God. ¹⁴ But ^(E)the synagogue official, indignant because Jesus ^(F)had healed on the Sabbath, began saying to the crowd in response, “^(G)There are six days in which work should be done; so come during them and get healed, and not on the Sabbath day.” ¹⁵ But ^(H)the Lord answered him and said, “You hypocrites, ^(I)does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the stall and lead him away to water him? ¹⁶ And this woman, ^(J)a daughter of Abraham as she is, whom ^(K)Satan has bound for eighteen long years, should she not have been released from this bond on the Sabbath day?” ¹⁷ As He said this, all His opponents were being humiliated; and ^(L)the entire crowd was rejoicing over all the glorious things being done by Him.