Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
David wrote this song.
Trust the Lord[a]
37 Do not become upset
because of what wicked people do.
Do not be jealous of people that do bad things.
2 Remember that they are soon gone!
They are like grass that quickly becomes dry.
They will soon die like green plants in hot weather.
3 Trust in the Lord and do good things.
Then you will live safely in the land.
4 Be happy that the Lord is your friend.
He will give you what you most want.
5 Let the Lord be your guide into the future.
Trust in him and he will help you.
6 He will show everyone that you are righteous.
People will know that you are a good person,
as clearly as the sun shines at noon.
7 Be patient as you wait for the Lord to help you.
Trust him to bring help.
Do not become upset when bad people seem to do well,
when their wicked ideas really happen.
8 Do not become angry or upset!
It will only bring trouble for you.
9 Wicked people will disappear one day!
But people who trust the Lord for help
will live safely in the land that he has given to them.
10 Evil people will soon be gone.
You may look for them,
but you will not find them.
11 Humble people will live safely in the land.
They will live in peace and they will enjoy good things.
12 Wicked people think about how to hurt righteous people.
They show their teeth to frighten good people.
13 But my Lord laughs at those wicked people,
because he knows that their day of punishment will come.
14 Wicked people get out their swords,
and they prepare to shoot their arrows.
They try to make poor and helpless people fall down.
They try to destroy people who do what is right.
15 But their swords will go into their own hearts.
Their bows will break in pieces.
16 It is better to do what is right and only have a few things,
than to be wicked and have many things.
17 The Lord keeps righteous people safe,
but he will destroy the power of wicked people.
Naomi and Ruth
1 1-2 There was a time when judges ruled Israel. During that time there was a famine in Judah. A man who lived in Bethlehem, in Judah, had a wife and two sons. His name was Elimelech. Elimelech's wife was called Naomi, and his sons were called Mahlon and Kilion. They were from Ephrathah's clan. Because there was not enough food in Judah, Elimelech and his family left Bethlehem. They went to live as strangers in Moab.[a]
3 Elimelech died while they were living in Moab. Naomi and her two sons remained there alone. 4 Then Naomi's sons married women from Moab. Mahlon married a woman called Ruth. Kilion married a woman called Orpah. 5 After they had all lived in Moab for about ten years, both Mahlon and Kilion died. Now Naomi was completely alone, without her husband or her sons.[b]
6 Naomi received news from Judah that the Lord had helped his people.[c] There was now enough food in Judah again. So Naomi decided to leave Moab and return to Judah with Ruth and Orpah.
7 Naomi and her sons' wives left their home in Moab. They began to travel together on the way back to Judah. 8 On the way, Naomi said to Ruth and Orpah, ‘Listen! You should return to your mothers' homes in Moab and stay there. Your husbands are dead now. You have been kind to them and to me. I pray that the Lord will be as kind to you. 9 I also pray that God will give to each of you another husband and a new home.’ Naomi kissed them and said ‘goodbye’. Ruth and Orpah began to weep loudly. 10 They said to Naomi, ‘No! We will go with you to live with your people.’
11 But Naomi said, ‘My daughters, you should return to your own country. You should not choose to come back to Judah with me. I will not give birth to any more sons for you to marry them. 12 Return to your own country, my daughters. I am too old to marry another husband. Even if I did marry a man immediately, when might I give birth to sons? 13 I am sure that you do not want to wait until they are old enough for you to marry them! Would you wait all that time and not marry anyone else? So, my daughters, you must not return to Judah with me. You should not have to share my pain. The Lord has turned against me.’
14 Ruth and Orpah wept loudly again. Orpah kissed Naomi and she said ‘goodbye’. But Ruth would not leave Naomi. She held on to her. 15 Naomi said to Ruth, ‘Look! Orpah has returned to her family. She has returned to serve the gods of Moab. Go back home with her.’
16 Ruth said to Naomi, ‘Do not say that I must leave you. I will go with you, wherever you go. I will live wherever you live. You belong to Israel's people. I will belong to them too. Your God will be my God. 17 I will die in the same place that you die. That is where people will bury me. I will stay beside you until death makes us separate. If I ever leave you, the Lord should punish me.’
18 Then Naomi understood that Ruth would not agree to return to her own country. So she stopped saying that Ruth should leave her.
Paul says ‘Hello’ to Philemon
1 This letter is from me, Paul. I am in prison because I serve Christ Jesus. Our Christian friend Timothy is here with me.
We are writing to you, Philemon. You are our friend, and we love you. You work on behalf of Christ, as we do. 2 We say ‘hello’ also to Apphia, who is like a sister to us. And we say ‘hello’ to Archippus, who serves Christ like a soldier, as we do. We also say ‘hello’ to the group of Christians who meet in your home.
3 I pray that God, our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ will continue to help you. I pray that they will give you peace in your minds.
Paul thanks God because of Philemon
4 When I pray for you, I always thank my God when I think about you. 5 I thank God because people tell me good things about you. You love all God's people and you trust in the Lord Jesus. 6 We each have the same faith in Christ as we serve him. So I pray that, as a result, you will become strong. I pray that you will understand more about every good thing that is ours because of Christ. 7 My friend, you have helped God's people to feel stronger. Your love for them has made me very happy. It makes me feel stronger too.
Paul asks Philemon to help Onesimus
8 I want to ask you to do something. I am sure that Christ has given me authority. So I could tell you strongly what you should do. 9 But instead, because of love, I will ask you, ‘Please do it.’ I, Paul, am an old man. Also, I am in prison now because I serve Christ Jesus. 10 So I am asking you to help Onesimus, who is like my own child. I taught him about Jesus while I was in prison. Because of that, he now has life with God. I am like his father. 11 Before he trusted Jesus, Onesimus did not really help you. But now he can help both you and me.[a]
12 So I am now sending him back to you. Because I love him, it is like I am sending you my own heart. 13 I wanted to keep him here with me, to help me on your behalf. I am in prison here because I taught people the good news about Jesus. 14 But I did not want to do anything unless you agreed. I wanted you to help me because you really want to help. I did not want to make you do it.
15 When Onesimus ran away from you, perhaps God let that happen. Onesimus left you for a short time so that you could now have him back for ever. 16 You can have him back again not only as your slave. He will be something much better than a slave for you. He will be like a brother that you love. I love him very much. But now you will love him even more. He will serve you as a slave, but he will also serve the Lord, as you do.
17 I am your friend. Together we serve God. If you agree with that, please be kind to Onesimus. Accept him in the same way that you would accept me. 18 If Onesimus has done anything wrong to you, I will make it right again. If he took money from you, I will pay it back. 19 I, Paul, am writing this myself: ‘I will pay the money back to you.’ But you should remember what I have given to you already. You have life with God because I told you the good news about Jesus.
20 Yes, my friend, please help me now, because we both belong to the Lord. As a Christian friend, help me to feel happier. 21 I am sure that you will do what I ask. That is why I have written this letter to you. I know that you will do even more than this to help me.
22 I want to ask you one more thing. Please prepare a room in your home where I can stay. I know that all of you are praying for God to let me go free. As a result, I hope that I will be able to visit you again.
Paul finishes his letter
23 Epaphras is also here in prison with me because he serves Christ Jesus. He says ‘hello’ to you. 24 Mark, Aristarchus, Demas and Luke, who work with me here, also say ‘hello’ to you.
25 I pray that the Lord Jesus Christ will continue to be very kind to all of you.
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