Book of Common Prayer

Qoph.

Resh.

Shin.

Tav.

Blessedness of the Fear of the Lord.

A Song of ^[a]Ascents.

Prayer for the Overthrow of Zion’s Enemies.

A Song of ^[b]Ascents.

Hope in the Lord’s Forgiving Love.

A Song of ^[c]Ascents.

Ruth Gleans in Boaz’ Field

2 Now Naomi had a relative of her husband, a man of great wealth and influence, from the family of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz. ² And Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, “Please let me go to the field and ^[a]glean among the ears of grain after one [of the reapers] in whose sight I may find favor.” Naomi said to her, “Go, my daughter.” ³ So Ruth went and picked up the leftover grain in a field after the reapers; and she happened to stop at the plot of land belonging to Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech. ⁴ It was then that Boaz came back from Bethlehem and said to the reapers, “The Lord be with you!” And they answered him, “The Lord bless you!” ⁵ Then Boaz said to his servant who was in charge of the reapers, “Whose young woman is this?” ⁶ The servant in charge of the reapers answered, “She is the young Moabite woman who came back with Naomi from the country of Moab. ⁷ And she said, ‘Please let me glean and gather after the reapers among the ^[b]sheaves.’ So she came and has continued [gathering grain] from early morning until now, except when she sat [resting] for a little while in the [field] house.”

⁸ Then Boaz said to Ruth, “Listen carefully, my daughter. Do not go to glean in another field or leave this one, but stay here close by my maids. ⁹ Watch which field they reap, and follow behind them. I have commanded the servants not to touch you. And when you are thirsty, go to the [water] jars and drink from what the servants draw.” ¹⁰ Then she kneeled face downward, bowing to the ground, and said to him, “Why have I found favor in your eyes that you should notice me, when I am a foreigner?” ¹¹ Boaz answered her, “I have been made fully aware of everything that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband, and how you have left your father and mother and the land of your birth, and have come to a people that you did not know before. ¹² May the Lord repay you for your kindness, and may your reward be full from the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge.” ¹³ Then she said, “Let me find favor in your sight, my lord, for you have comforted me and have spoken kindly to your maidservant, though I am not as one of your maidservants.”

²³ But I call on God as my soul’s witness, that it was to spare you [pain and discouragement] that I did not come again to Corinth— ²⁴ not that we rule [like dictators] over your faith, but rather we work with you for [the increase of] your joy; for in your faith you stand firm [in your strong conviction that Jesus of Nazareth—the Messiah—is the Son of God, through whom we obtain eternal salvation].

Reaffirm Your Love

2 But I made up my mind not to grieve you with another painful visit. ² For if I cause you grief [by a well-deserved rebuke], who then provides me enjoyment but the very one whom I have made sad? ³ And I ^[a]wrote this same thing to you, so that when I came, I would not be filled with sorrow by those who ought to make me glad, for I trusted in you and felt confident that my joy would be shared by all of you. ⁴ For I wrote to you out of great distress and with an anguished heart, and with many tears, not to cause you sorrow but to make you realize the [overflowing] love which I have especially for you.

⁵ But if ^[b]someone has caused [all this] sorrow, he has caused it not to me, but in some degree—not to put it too severely—[he has distressed and grieved] all of you. ⁶ For such a one this punishment by the majority is sufficient, ⁷ so instead [of further rebuke, now] you should rather [graciously] forgive and comfort and encourage him, to keep him from being overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. ⁸ Therefore I urge you to reinstate him in your affections and reaffirm your ^[c]love for him. ⁹ For this was my purpose in writing, to see if you would stand the test, whether you are obedient and committed to following my instruction in all things. ¹⁰ If you forgive anyone anything, I too forgive [that one]; and what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, has been for your sake in the presence of [and with the approval of] Christ, ¹¹ to keep Satan from taking advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his schemes.

¹² Now when I arrived at Troas to preach the good news of Christ, even though a door [of opportunity] opened for me in the Lord, ¹³ my spirit could not rest because I did not find my brother Titus there; so saying goodbye to them, I left for Macedonia.

¹⁴ But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us spreads and makes evident everywhere the sweet fragrance of the knowledge of Him. ¹⁵ For we are the sweet fragrance of Christ [which ascends] to God, [discernible both] among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing; ¹⁶ to the latter one an aroma from death to death [a fatal, offensive odor], but to the other an aroma from life to life [a vital fragrance, living and fresh]. And who is adequate and sufficiently qualified for these things? ¹⁷ For we are not like many, [acting like merchants] peddling God’s word [shortchanging and adulterating God’s message]; but from pure [uncompromised] motives, as [commissioned and sent] from God, we speak [His message] in Christ in the sight of God.

Personal Relationships

²¹ “You have heard that it was said to the men of old, ‘You shall not murder,’ and ‘Whoever murders shall be ^[a]guilty before the court.’^{(A) 22} But I say to you that everyone who continues to be angry with his brother or harbors malice against him shall be guilty before the court; and whoever speaks [contemptuously and insultingly] to his brother, ^[b]‘Raca (You empty-headed idiot)!’ shall be guilty before the supreme court (Sanhedrin); and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of the ^[c]fiery hell. ²³ So if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and while there you remember that your brother has something [such as a grievance or legitimate complaint] against you, ²⁴ leave your offering there at the altar and go. First make peace with your brother, and then come and present your offering. ²⁵ Come to terms quickly [at the earliest opportunity] with your opponent at law while you are with him on the way [to court], so that your opponent does not hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you are thrown into prison.^{(B) 26} I assure you and most solemnly say to you, you will not come out of there until you have paid the last ^[d]cent.