Book of Common Prayer

Jehovah praised for giving victory and dominion.

For the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David the servant of Jehovah, ^[a]who spake unto Jehovah the words of this song in the day that Jehovah delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul: and he said,

3 And Naomi her mother-in-law said unto her, My daughter, shall I not seek ^[a]rest for thee, that it may be well with thee? ² And now is not Boaz our kinsman, with whose maidens thou wast? Behold, he winnoweth barley to-night in the threshing-floor. ³ Wash thyself therefore, and anoint thee, and put thy raiment upon thee, and get thee down to the threshing-floor, but make not thyself known unto the man, until he shall have done eating and drinking. ⁴ And it shall be, when he lieth down, that thou shalt mark the place where he shall lie, and thou shalt go in, and uncover his feet, and lay thee down; and he will tell thee what thou shalt do. ⁵ And she said unto her, All that thou ^[b]sayest I will do.

⁶ And she went down unto the threshing-floor, and did according to all that her mother-in-law bade her. ⁷ And when Boaz had eaten and drunk, and his heart was merry, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain: and she came softly, and uncovered his feet, and laid her down. ⁸ And it came to pass at midnight, that the man was ^[c]afraid, and turned himself; and, behold, a woman lay at his feet. ⁹ And he said, Who art thou? And she answered, I am Ruth thy handmaid: spread therefore thy skirt over thy handmaid; for thou art ^[d]a near kinsman. ¹⁰ And he said, Blessed be thou of Jehovah, my daughter: thou hast showed more kindness in the latter end than at the beginning, inasmuch as thou followedst not young men, whether poor or rich. ¹¹ And now, my daughter, fear not; I will do to thee all that thou sayest; for all the ^[e]city of my people doth know that thou art a worthy woman. ¹² And now it is true that I am a near kinsman; howbeit there is a kinsman nearer than I. ¹³ Tarry this night, and it shall be in the morning, that if he will perform unto thee the part of a kinsman, well; let him do the kinsman’s part: but if he will not do the part of a kinsman to thee, then will I do the part of a kinsman to thee, as Jehovah liveth: lie down until the morning.

¹⁴ And she lay at his feet until the morning: and she rose up before one could discern another. For he said, Let it not be known that the woman came to the threshing-floor. ¹⁵ And he said, Bring the mantle that is upon thee, and hold it; and she held it; and he measured six measures of barley, and laid it on her: and ^[f]he went into the city. ¹⁶ And when she came to her mother-in-law, she said, ^[g]Who art thou, my daughter? And she told her all that the man had done to her. ¹⁷ And she said, These six measures of barley gave he me; for he ^[h]said, Go not empty unto thy mother-in-law. ¹⁸ Then said she, Sit still, my daughter, until thou know how the matter will fall; for the man will not rest, until he have finished the thing this day.

4 But the Spirit saith expressly, that in later times some shall fall away from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of demons, ² through the hypocrisy of men that speak lies, ^[a]branded in their own conscience as with a hot iron; ³ forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by them that believe and know the truth. ⁴ For every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be rejected, if it be received with thanksgiving: ⁵ for it is sanctified through the word of God and prayer.

⁶ If thou put the brethren in mind of these things, thou shalt be a good minister of Christ Jesus, nourished in the words of the faith, and of the good doctrine which thou hast followed until now: ⁷ but refuse profane and old wives’ fables. And exercise thyself unto godliness: ⁸ for bodily exercise is profitable ^[b]for a little; but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life which now is, and of that which is to come. ⁹ Faithful is the saying, and worthy of all acceptation. ¹⁰ For to this end we labor and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially of them that believe. ¹¹ These things command and teach. ¹² Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an ensample to them that believe, in word, in manner of life, in love, in faith, in purity. ¹³ Till I come, give heed to reading, to exhortation, to teaching. ¹⁴ Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery. ¹⁵ Be diligent in these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy progress may be manifest unto all. ¹⁶ Take heed to thyself, and to thy teaching. Continue in these things; for in doing this thou shalt save both thyself and them that hear thee.

³¹ In that very hour there came certain Pharisees, saying to him, Get thee out, and go hence: for Herod would fain kill thee. ³² And he said unto them, Go and say to that fox, Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures to-day and to-morrow, and the third day I ^[a]am perfected. ³³ Nevertheless I must go on my way to-day and to-morrow and the day following: for it cannot be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem. ³⁴ O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, that killeth the prophets, and stoneth them that are sent unto her! how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her own brood under her wings, and ye would not! ³⁵ Behold, your house is left unto you desolate: and I say unto you, Ye shall not see me, until ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.