Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
God of Vengeance, Shine Forth
94 O Yahweh, God of [a](A)vengeance,
God of [b]vengeance, [c](B)shine forth!
2 (C)Be lifted up, O (D)Judge of the earth,
Render recompense (E)to the proud.
3 How long shall the wicked, O Yahweh,
How long shall the (F)wicked exult?
4 They pour forth words, they (G)speak arrogantly;
All workers of iniquity (H)vaunt themselves.
5 They (I)crush Your people, O Yahweh,
And (J)afflict Your inheritance.
6 They (K)slay the widow and the sojourner
And murder the orphans.
7 (L)They have said, “Yah does not see,
Nor does the God of Jacob discern.”
8 Discern, you (M)senseless among the people;
And when will you have insight, (N)you fools?
9 He who (O)planted the ear, [d]does He not hear?
He who formed the eye, [e]does He not see?
10 He who [f](P)disciplines the nations, will He not rebuke,
Even He who (Q)teaches man knowledge?
11 Yahweh (R)knows the thoughts of man,
[g]That they are vanity.
12 Blessed is the man whom (S)You discipline, O Yah,
And (T)whom You teach out of Your law;
13 That You may grant him (U)calm from the (V)days of calamity,
Until (W)a pit is dug for the wicked.
14 For (X)Yahweh will not abandon His people,
Nor will He (Y)forsake His inheritance.
15 For [h](Z)judgment will [i]again be righteous,
And all the upright in heart will [j]follow it.
16 Who will (AA)arise for me against evildoers?
Who will take his stand for me (AB)against workers of iniquity?
17 If (AC)Yahweh had not been my help,
My soul would soon have dwelt in the abode of silence.
18 If I should say, “(AD)My foot has stumbled,”
Your lovingkindness, O Yahweh, will hold me up.
19 When my anxious thoughts [k]multiply within me,
Your (AE)consolations delight my soul.
20 Can a [l](AF)throne of destruction be allied with You,
One (AG)which forms [m]trouble by statute?
21 They (AH)band themselves together against the [n]life of the righteous
And (AI)condemn [o]the innocent to death.
22 But Yahweh has been my (AJ)stronghold,
And my God the (AK)rock of my refuge.
23 He has (AL)brought back their [p]iniquity upon them
And will [q](AM)destroy them in their evil;
Yahweh our God will [r]destroy them.
Naomi’s Husband and Sons Die
1 Now it happened in the days (A)when the judges judged, that there was (B)a famine in the land. And a certain man (C)of Bethlehem in Judah went to sojourn in the fields of Moab [a]with his wife and his two sons. 2 The name of the man was Elimelech, and the name of his wife, Naomi; and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion, Ephrathites of Bethlehem in Judah. Now they (D)came to the fields of Moab and remained there. 3 Then Elimelech, Naomi’s husband, died; and she was left with her two sons. 4 They took for themselves Moabite women as wives; the name of the one was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth. And they lived there about ten years. 5 Then [b]both Mahlon and Chilion also died, and the woman was left without her two children and her husband.
Ruth Is Determined to Go with Naomi
6 Then she arose with her daughters-in-law and returned from the fields of Moab, for she had heard in the fields of Moab that [c]Yahweh had (E)visited His people to (F)give them [d]food. 7 So she went forth from the place where she was, and her two daughters-in-law with her; and they went on the way to return to the land of Judah. 8 And Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go, return each of you to her mother’s house. (G)May Yahweh [e]show lovingkindness with you as you have [f]shown with the dead and with me. 9 May Yahweh grant that you may find rest, each in the house of her husband.” Then she kissed them, and they lifted up their voices and wept. 10 And they said to her, “No, but we will return with you to your people.” 11 But Naomi said, “Return, my daughters. Why should you go with me? Have I yet sons in my womb, that (H)they may be your husbands? 12 Return, my daughters! Go, for I am too old to have a husband. If I said I have hope, if I should even have a husband tonight and also bear sons, 13 would you therefore wait until they were grown? Would you therefore refrain from marrying? No, my daughters; for it is more bitter for me than for you, for (I)the hand of Yahweh has gone forth against me.” 14 And they lifted up their voices and wept again; and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her.
15 Then she said, “Behold, your sister-in-law has returned to her people and her (J)gods; return after your sister-in-law.” 16 But Ruth said, “Do not press me to forsake you in turning back from following you; for where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God. 17 Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. Thus may (K)Yahweh do to me, and more, if anything but death separates you and me.” 18 So (L)she saw that she was determined to go with her, and she [g]said no more to her.
19 Then they both went until they came to Bethlehem. Now it happened, when they had come to Bethlehem, (M)all the city was stirred because of them, and [h]the women said, “Is this Naomi?” 20 She said to them, “Do not call me [i]Naomi; call me [j]Mara, for [k](N)the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. 21 I went out full, but (O)Yahweh has caused me to return empty. Why do you call me Naomi? Yahweh has answered against me, and [l]the Almighty has brought calamity against me.”
22 So Naomi returned, and with her Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter-in-law, who returned from the fields of Moab. Now they came to Bethlehem at (P)the beginning of barley harvest.
Honor Widows
5 (A)Do not sharply rebuke an (B)older man, but rather plead with him as a father, to (C)the younger men as brothers, 2 the older women as mothers, and the younger women as sisters, in all purity.
3 Honor widows who are (D)widows indeed, 4 but if any widow has children or grandchildren, (E)they must first learn to practice piety in regard to their own family and to [a]make some return to their parents; for this is (F)acceptable in the sight of God. 5 Now she who is a (G)widow indeed and who has been left alone, (H)has fixed her hope on God and continues in (I)petitions and prayers night and day. 6 But she who (J)lives in self-indulgence is (K)dead even while she lives. 7 (L)And command these things as well, so that they may be above reproach. 8 But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has (M)denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.
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