Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

The Lord Will Not Forsake His People

^7 (A)Now this was the custom in former times in Israel concerning redeeming and exchanging: to confirm a transaction, one drew off his sandal and gave it to the other, and this was the manner of attesting in Israel. ⁸ So when the redeemer said to Boaz, “Buy it for yourself,” he drew off his sandal. ⁹ Then Boaz said to the elders and all the people, “You are witnesses this day that I have bought from the hand of Naomi all that belonged to Elimelech and all that belonged to ^(B)Chilion and to Mahlon. ¹⁰ Also Ruth the Moabite, the widow of Mahlon, I have bought to be my wife, ^(C)to perpetuate the name of the dead in his inheritance, that the name of the dead may not be cut off from among his brothers and from the gate of his native place. You are witnesses this day.” ¹¹ Then all the people who were ^(D)at the gate and the elders said, “We are witnesses. May the Lord make the woman, who is coming into your house, like Rachel and Leah, ^(E)who together ^(F)built up the house of Israel. May you act worthily in ^(G)Ephrathah and ^(H)be renowned in Bethlehem, ¹² and may your house be like the house of Perez, ^(I)whom Tamar bore to Judah, because ^(J)of the offspring that the Lord will give you by this young woman.”

Ruth and Boaz Marry

¹³ So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife. And he went in to her, ^(K)and the Lord gave her conception, and she bore a son. ^14 (L)Then the women said to Naomi, “Blessed be the Lord, who has not left you this day without ^(M)a redeemer, and may his name ^(N)be renowned in Israel! ¹⁵ He shall be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age, for your daughter-in-law who loves you, ^(O)who is more to you than seven sons, has given birth to him.” ¹⁶ Then Naomi took the child and laid him on her lap and became his nurse. ^17 (P)And the women of the neighbourhood gave him a name, saying, “A son has been born to Naomi.” They named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.

The Genealogy of David

¹⁸ Now these are the generations of Perez: ^(Q)Perez fathered Hezron, ¹⁹ Hezron fathered Ram, Ram fathered Amminadab, ^20 (R)Amminadab fathered Nahshon, Nahshon fathered Salmon, ²¹ Salmon fathered Boaz, Boaz fathered Obed, ²² Obed fathered Jesse, and Jesse fathered David.

Jesus Rejected at Nazareth

^16 (A)And he came to ^(B)Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And ^(C)as was his custom, ^(D)he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up ^(E)to read. ¹⁷ And ^(F)the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,

²⁰ And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and ^(N)sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were ^(O)fixed on him. ²¹ And he began to say to them, “Today ^(P)this Scripture ^(Q)has been fulfilled in your hearing.” ²² And all spoke well of him and marvelled at ^(R)the gracious words that were coming from his mouth. And they said, ^(S)“Is not this ^(T)Joseph's son?” ²³ And he said to them, “Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, ^(U)‘Physician, heal yourself.’ What we have heard you did ^(V)at Capernaum, do here in your home town as well.” ²⁴ And he said, “Truly, I say to you, ^(W)no prophet is acceptable in his home town. ²⁵ But in truth, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when ^(X)the heavens were shut up three years and six months, and a great famine came over all the land, ²⁶ and Elijah was sent to none of them ^(Y)but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. ²⁷ And ^(Z)there were many lepers^[a] in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed, ^(AA)but only Naaman the Syrian.” ²⁸ When they heard these things, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath. ²⁹ And they rose up and ^(AB)drove him out of the town and brought him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they could throw him down the cliff. ³⁰ But ^(AC)passing through their midst, he went away.