Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
II
5 Blessed the one whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the Lord, his God,
6 The maker of heaven and earth,
the seas and all that is in them,(A)
Who keeps faith forever,
7 secures justice for the oppressed,(B)
who gives bread to the hungry.
The Lord sets prisoners free;(C)
8 the Lord gives sight to the blind.
The Lord raises up those who are bowed down;(D)
the Lord loves the righteous.
9 The Lord protects the resident alien,
comes to the aid of the orphan and the widow,(E)
but thwarts the way of the wicked.
10 The Lord shall reign forever,
your God, Zion, through all generations!(F)
Hallelujah!
6 She and her daughters-in-law then prepared to go back from the plateau of Moab because word had reached her there that the Lord had seen to his people’s needs[a] and given them food. 7 She and her two daughters-in-law left the place where they had been living. On the road back to the land of Judah, 8 Naomi said to her daughters-in-law, “Go back, each of you to your mother’s house.[b] May the Lord show you the same kindness as you have shown to the deceased and to me. 9 (A)May the Lord guide each of you to find a husband and a home in which you will be at rest.” She kissed them good-bye, but they wept aloud, 10 crying, “No! We will go back with you, to your people.” 11 Naomi replied, “Go back, my daughters. Why come with me? Have I other sons in my womb who could become your husbands?[c] 12 Go, my daughters, for I am too old to marry again. Even if I had any such hope, or if tonight I had a husband and were to bear sons, 13 would you wait for them and deprive yourselves of husbands until those sons grew up? No, my daughters, my lot is too bitter for you, because the Lord has extended his hand against me.” 14 Again they wept aloud; then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law good-bye, but Ruth clung to her.
15 “See now,” she said, “your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and her god. Go back after your sister-in-law!” 16 [d]But Ruth said, “Do not press me to go back and abandon you!
Wherever you go I will go,
wherever you lodge I will lodge.
Your people shall be my people
and your God, my God.
17 Where you die I will die,
and there be buried.
May the Lord do thus to me, and more, if even death separates me from you!” 18 Naomi then ceased to urge her, for she saw she was determined to go with her.
IV. The Delay of the Second Coming
Chapter 3
Denial of the Parousia. 1 [a]This is now, beloved, the second letter I am writing to you; through them by way of reminder I am trying to stir up your sincere disposition, 2 to recall the words previously spoken by the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and savior through your apostles.(A) 3 Know this first of all, that in the last days scoffers[b] will come [to] scoff, living according to their own desires(B) 4 and saying, “Where is the promise of his coming?[c] From the time when our ancestors fell asleep, everything has remained as it was from the beginning of creation.”(C) 5 They deliberately ignore the fact that the heavens existed of old and earth was formed out of water and through water[d] by the word of God;(D) 6 through these the world that then existed was destroyed,(E) deluged with water.[e] 7 The present heavens and earth have been reserved by the same word for fire, kept for the day of judgment and of destruction of the godless.(F)
8 [f]But do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years[g] and a thousand years like one day.(G) 9 The Lord does not delay his promise, as some regard “delay,” but he is patient with you, not wishing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.(H) 10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief,[h] and then the heavens will pass away with a mighty roar and the elements will be dissolved by fire, and the earth and everything done on it will be found out.(I)
Exhortation to Preparedness.[i]
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.