Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 37
Instruction in Wisdom
Davidic.
1 Do[a] not be agitated by evildoers;
do not envy those who do wrong.(A)
2 For they wither quickly like grass
and wilt like tender green plants.(B)
3 Trust in the Lord and do what is good;(C)
dwell in the land and live securely.[b](D)
4 Take delight in the Lord,
and He will give you your heart’s desires.(E)
5 Commit your way to the Lord;
trust in Him, and He will act,(F)
6 making your righteousness shine like the dawn,
your justice like the noonday.(G)
7 Be silent before the Lord and wait expectantly for Him;(H)
do not be agitated by one who prospers in his way,
by the man who carries out evil plans.(I)
8 Refrain from anger and give up your rage;
do not be agitated—it can only bring harm.(J)
9 For evildoers will be destroyed,
but those who put their hope in the Lord
will inherit the land.[c](K)
10 A little while, and the wicked person will be no more;
though you look for him, he will not be there.(L)
11 But the humble will inherit the land[d](M)
and will enjoy abundant prosperity.(N)
12 The wicked person schemes against the righteous
and gnashes his teeth at him.(O)
13 The Lord laughs at him(P)
because He sees that his day is coming.(Q)
Naomi’s Family in Moab
1 During the time[a] of the judges,(A) there was a famine in the land.(B) A man left Bethlehem[b](C) in Judah with his wife and two sons to live in the land of Moab for a while. 2 The man’s name was Elimelech,[c] and his wife’s name was Naomi.[d] The names of his two sons were Mahlon[e] and Chilion.[f] They were Ephrathites(D) from Bethlehem in Judah. They entered the land of Moab and settled there. 3 Naomi’s husband Elimelech died, and she was left with her two sons. 4 Her sons took Moabite women as their wives: one was named Orpah and the second was named Ruth. After they lived in Moab about 10 years, 5 both Mahlon and Chilion also died, and Naomi was left without her two children and without her husband.
Ruth’s Loyalty to Naomi
6 She and her daughters-in-law prepared to leave the land of Moab, because she had heard in Moab that the Lord had paid attention to His people’s need by providing them food.(E) 7 She left the place where she had been living, accompanied by her two daughters-in-law, and traveled along the road leading back to the land of Judah.
8 She said to them, “Each of you go back to your mother’s home.(F) May the Lord show faithful love to you as you have shown to the dead and to me. 9 May the Lord enable each of you to find security(G) in the house of your new husband.” She kissed them, and they wept loudly.
10 “No,” they said to her. “We will go with you to your people.”
11 But Naomi replied, “Return home, my daughters. Why do you want to go with me? Am I able to have any more sons[g] who could become your husbands?(H) 12 Return home, my daughters. Go on, for I am too old to have another husband. Even if I thought there was still hope for me to have a husband tonight and to bear sons, 13 would you be willing to wait for them to grow up? Would you restrain yourselves from remarrying?[h] No, my daughters, my life is much too bitter for you to share,[i] because the Lord’s hand has turned against me.”(I) 14 Again they wept loudly, and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her. 15 Naomi said, “Look, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her god.[j](J) Follow your sister-in-law.”
16 But Ruth replied:
Do not persuade me to leave you
or go back and not follow you.
For wherever you go, I will go,
and wherever you live, I will live;
your people will be my people,
and your God will be my God.
17 Where you die, I will die,
and there I will be buried.
May Yahweh punish me,[k](K)
and do so severely,
if anything but death separates you and me.
18 When Naomi saw that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped trying to persuade her.
Greeting
Paul,(A) a prisoner(B) of Christ Jesus,(C) and Timothy(D) our brother:
To Philemon our dear friend and coworker, 2 to Apphia our sister,[a] to Archippus(E) our fellow soldier,(F) and to the church that meets in your home.(G)
3 Grace to you and peace 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 of your love(H) and faith toward[b] the Lord Jesus and for all the saints. 6 I pray that your participation in the faith may become effective(I) through knowing every good thing(J) that is in us[c] for the glory of Christ. 7 For I have great joy and encouragement from your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed(K) through you, brother.
An Appeal for Onesimus
8 For this reason, although I have great boldness in Christ to command you to do what is right, 9 I appeal to you, instead, on the basis of love. I, Paul, as an elderly man[d] and now also as a prisoner(L) of Christ Jesus, 10 appeal to you for my son,(M) Onesimus.[e](N) I fathered[f](O) him while I was in chains. 11 Once he was useless to you, but now he is useful both to you and to me. 12 I am sending him back to you as a part of myself.[g][h] 13 I wanted to keep him with me, so that in my imprisonment for the gospel he might serve me in your place. 14 But I didn’t want to do anything without your consent, so that your good deed might not be out of obligation, but of your own free will. 15 For perhaps this is why he was separated from you for a brief time, so that you might get him back permanently, 16 no longer as a slave, but more than a slave—as a dearly loved brother. He is especially so to me, but even more to you, both in the flesh(P) and in the Lord.[i](Q)
17 So if you consider me a partner, accept(R) him as you would me. 18 And if he has wronged you in any way, or owes you anything, charge that to my account.(S) 19 I, Paul, write this with my own hand:(T) I will repay it—not to mention to you that you owe me even your own self. 20 Yes, brother, may I have joy from you in the Lord; refresh my heart in Christ. 21 Since I am confident of your obedience, I am writing to you, knowing that you will do even more than I say. 22 But meanwhile, also prepare a guest room for me, for I hope that through your prayers I will be restored to you.
Final Greetings
23 Epaphras,(U) my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, greets you, and so do 24 Mark,(V) Aristarchus,(W) Demas, and Luke,(X) my coworkers.
25 The grace of the Lord[j](Y) Jesus Christ be with your spirit.(Z)
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