Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 94[a]
94 O Lord, the God who avenges!
O God who avenges, reveal your splendor.[b]
2 Rise up, O judge of the earth.
Pay back the proud.
3 O Lord, how long will the wicked,
how long will the wicked celebrate?[c]
4 They spew out threats[d] and speak defiantly;
all the evildoers boast.[e]
5 O Lord, they crush your people;
they oppress the nation that belongs to you.[f]
6 They kill the widow and the resident foreigner,
and they murder the fatherless.[g]
7 Then they say, “The Lord does not see this;
the God of Jacob does not take notice of it.”[h]
8 Take notice of this,[i] you ignorant people.[j]
You fools, when will you ever understand?
9 Does the one who makes the human ear not hear?
Does the one who forms the human eye not see?[k]
10 Does the one who disciplines the nations not punish?
He is the one who imparts knowledge to human beings!
11 The Lord knows that peoples’ thoughts
are morally bankrupt.[l]
12 How blessed is the one[m] whom you instruct, O Lord,
the one whom you teach from your law,
13 in order to protect him from times of trouble,[n]
until the wicked are destroyed.[o]
14 Certainly[p] the Lord does not forsake his people;
he does not abandon the nation that belongs to him.[q]
15 For justice will prevail,[r]
and all the morally upright[s] will be vindicated.[t]
16 Who will rise up to defend me[u] against the wicked?
Who will stand up for me against the evildoers?[v]
17 If the Lord had not helped me,
I would soon have dwelt in the silence of death.[w]
18 If I say, “My foot is slipping,”
your loyal love, O Lord, supports me.
19 When worries threaten to overwhelm me,[x]
your soothing touch makes me happy.[y]
20 Cruel rulers[z] are not your allies,
those who make oppressive laws.[aa]
21 They conspire against[ab] the blameless,[ac]
and condemn to death the innocent.[ad]
22 But the Lord will protect me,[ae]
and my God will shelter me.[af]
23 He will pay them back for their sin.[ag]
He will destroy them because of[ah] their evil;
the Lord our God will destroy them.
14 So she slept beside him[a] until morning. She woke up while it was still dark.[b] Boaz thought,[c] “No one must know that a woman visited the threshing floor.”[d] 15 Then he said, “Hold out the shawl[e] you are wearing[f] and grip it tightly.” As she held it tightly, he measured out about sixty pounds[g] of barley into the shawl[h] and put it on her shoulders. Then he[i] went into town, 16 and she returned to her mother-in-law.
Ruth Returns to Naomi
When Ruth returned to her mother-in-law, Naomi[j] asked,[k] “How did things turn out for you,[l] my daughter?” Ruth[m] told her about all the man had done for her. 17 She said, “He gave me these sixty pounds of barley, for he said to me,[n] ‘Do not go to your mother-in-law empty-handed.’”[o] 18 Then Naomi[p] said, “Stay put,[q] my daughter, until you know how the matter turns out. For the man will not rest until he has taken care of the matter today.”
Boaz Settles the Matter
4 Now Boaz went up[r] to the village gate and sat there. Then along came the guardian[s] whom Boaz had mentioned to Ruth.[t] Boaz said, “Come[u] here, what’s-your-name,[v] and sit down.” So he came[w] and sat down. 2 Boaz chose ten of the village leaders[x] and said, “Sit down here!” So they sat down. 3 Then Boaz said to the guardian,[y] “Naomi, who has returned from the region of Moab, is selling[z] the portion of land that belongs to our relative Elimelech. 4 So I am legally informing you:[aa] Acquire it before those sitting here and before the leaders of my people.[ab] If you want to exercise your right to redeem it, then do so.[ac] But if not, then tell me[ad] so I will know.[ae] For you possess the first option to redeem it; I am next in line after you.”[af] He replied, “I will redeem it.” 5 Then Boaz said, “When[ag] you acquire the field[ah] from Naomi,[ai] you must also[aj] acquire Ruth the Moabite,[ak] the wife of our deceased relative,[al] in order to preserve his family name by raising up a descendant who will inherit his property.”[am] 6 The guardian said, “Then I am unable to redeem it, for I would ruin my own inheritance[an] in that case. You may exercise my redemption option, for I am unable to redeem it.”[ao]
9 No widow should be put on the list[a] unless[b] she is at least sixty years old, was the wife of one husband,[c] 10 and has a reputation for good works: as one who has raised children,[d] practiced hospitality, washed the feet of the saints, helped those in distress—as one who has exhibited all kinds of good works.[e] 11 But do not accept younger widows on the list,[f] because their passions may lead them away from Christ[g] and they will desire to marry, 12 and so incur judgment for breaking their former pledge.[h] 13 And besides that, going around[i] from house to house they learn to be lazy,[j] and they are not only lazy, but also gossips and busybodies, talking about things they should not.[k] 14 So I want younger women to marry, raise children, and manage a household, in order to give the adversary no opportunity to vilify us.[l] 15 For some have already wandered away to follow Satan.[m] 16 If a believing woman[n] has widows in her family,[o] let her help them. The church should not be burdened, so that it may help the widows who are truly in need.[p]
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