Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
God Will Reward Fairly
Of David.
37 Don’t be upset because of evil people.
Don’t be jealous of those who do wrong,
2 because like the grass, they will soon dry up.
Like green plants, they will soon die away.
3 Trust the Lord and do good.
Live in the land and feed on truth.
4 Enjoy serving the Lord,
and he will give you what you want.
5 Depend on the Lord;
trust him, and he will take care of you.
6 Then your goodness will shine like the sun,
and your fairness like the noonday sun.
7 Wait and trust the Lord.
Don’t be upset when others get rich
or when someone else’s plans succeed.
8 Don’t get angry.
Don’t be upset; it only leads to trouble.
9 Evil people will be sent away,
but those who trust the Lord will inherit the land.
10 In a little while the wicked will be no more.
You may look for them, but they will be gone.
11 People who are not proud will inherit the land
and will enjoy complete peace.
12 The wicked make evil plans against good people.
They grind their teeth at them in anger.
13 But the Lord laughs at the wicked,
because he sees that their day is coming.
14 The wicked draw their swords
and bend their bows
to kill the poor and helpless,
to kill those who are honest.
15 But their swords will stab their own hearts,
and their bows will break.
16 It is better to have little and be right
than to have much and be wrong.
17 The power of the wicked will be broken,
but the Lord supports those who do right.
1 Long ago when the judges[a] ruled Israel, there was a shortage of food in the land. 2 So a man named Elimelech left the town of Bethlehem in Judah to live in the country of Moab with his wife and his two sons. His wife was named Naomi, and his two sons were named Mahlon and Kilion. They were Ephrathahites from Bethlehem in Judah. When they came to Moab, they settled there.
3 Then Naomi’s husband, Elimelech, died, and she was left with her two sons. 4 These sons married women from Moab. One was named Orpah, and the other was named Ruth. Naomi and her sons had lived in Moab about ten years 5 when Mahlon and Kilion also died. So Naomi was left alone without her husband or her two sons.
6 While Naomi was in Moab, she heard that the Lord had come to help his people and had given them food again. So she and her daughters-in-law got ready to leave Moab and return home. 7 Naomi and her daughters-in-law left the place where they had lived and started back to the land of Judah. 8 But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go back home, each of you to your own mother’s house. May the Lord be as kind to you as you have been to me and my sons who are now dead. 9 May the Lord give you another happy home and a new husband.”
When Naomi kissed the women good-bye, they began to cry out loud. 10 They said to her, “No, we want to go with you to your people.”
11 But Naomi said, “My daughters, return to your own homes. Why do you want to go with me? I cannot give birth to more sons to give you new husbands; 12 go back, my daughters, to your own homes. I am too old to have another husband. Even if I told myself, ‘I still have hope’ and had another husband tonight, and even if I had more sons, 13 should you wait until they were grown into men? Should you live for so many years without husbands? Don’t do that, my daughters. My life is much too sad for you to share, because the Lord has been against me!”
14 The women cried together out loud again. Then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law Naomi good-bye, but Ruth held on to her tightly.
15 Naomi said to Ruth, “Look, your sister-in-law is going back to her own people and her own gods. Go back with her.”
Ruth Stays with Naomi
16 But Ruth said, “Don’t beg me to leave you or to stop following you. Where you go, I will go. Where you live, I will live. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God. 17 And where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. I ask the Lord to punish me terribly if I do not keep this promise: Not even death will separate us.”
18 When Naomi saw that Ruth had firmly made up her mind to go with her, she stopped arguing with her.
1 From Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and from Timothy, our brother.
To Philemon, our dear friend and worker with us; 2 to Apphia, our sister; to Archippus, a worker with us; and to the church that meets in your home:
3 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Philemon’s Love and Faith
4 I always thank my God when I mention you in my prayers, 5 because I hear about the love you have for all God’s holy people and the faith you have in the Lord Jesus. 6 I pray that the faith you share may make you understand every blessing we have in Christ. 7 I have great joy and comfort, my brother, because the love you have shown to God’s people has refreshed them.
Accept Onesimus as a Brother
8 So, in Christ, I could be bold and order you to do what is right. 9 But because I love you, I am pleading with you instead. I, Paul, an old man now and also a prisoner for Christ Jesus, 10 am pleading with you for my child Onesimus, who became my child while I was in prison. 11 In the past he was useless to you, but now he has become useful for both you and me.
12 I am sending him back to you, and with him I am sending my own heart. 13 I wanted to keep him with me so that in your place he might help me while I am in prison for the Good News. 14 But I did not want to do anything without asking you first so that any good you do for me will be because you want to do it, not because I forced you. 15 Maybe Onesimus was separated from you for a short time so you could have him back forever— 16 no longer as a slave, but better than a slave, as a loved brother. I love him very much, but you will love him even more, both as a person and as a believer in the Lord.
17 So if you consider me your partner, welcome Onesimus as you would welcome me. 18 If he has done anything wrong to you or if he owes you anything, charge that to me. 19 I, Paul, am writing this with my own hand. I will pay it back, and I will say nothing about what you owe me for your own life. 20 So, my brother, I ask that you do this for me in the Lord: Refresh my heart in Christ. 21 I write this letter, knowing that you will do what I ask you and even more.
22 One more thing—prepare a room for me in which to stay, because I hope God will answer your prayers and I will be able to come to you.
Final Greetings
23 Epaphras, a prisoner with me for Christ Jesus, sends greetings to you. 24 And also Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, workers together with me, send greetings.
25 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.