Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
5 ·Happy [Blessed] are those who are helped by the God of Jacob [C another name for Israel].
Their hope is in the Lord their God.
6 He made heaven and earth,
the sea and everything in it [Gen. 1].
He ·remains [keeps; observes; guards] ·loyal [faithfulness; truth] forever.
7 He does ·what is fair [justice] for those who have been ·wronged [oppressed; exploited].
He gives food to the hungry.
The Lord sets the prisoners free.
8 The Lord ·gives sight to [opens the eyes of] the blind.
The Lord lifts up people who are ·in trouble [bowed down; 145:14].
The Lord loves ·those who do right [the righteous].
9 The Lord ·protects [guards] the ·foreigners [sojourners].
He ·defends [supports] the orphans and widows [C the socially vulnerable],
but he ·blocks [frustrates] the way of the wicked.
10 The Lord will ·be King [reign] forever [47:2; 93:1; 96:10; 97:1; 98:6; 99:1; Rev. 19:6].
·Jerusalem [L Zion; C the location of the Temple], your God is everlasting.
Praise the Lord!
13 So Boaz took Ruth home as his wife and ·had sexual relations with [L went in to] her. The Lord let her become pregnant, and she gave birth to a son. 14 The women told Naomi, “·Praise [Blessed be] the Lord who ·gave you this grandson [L has not left you today without a guardian/kinsman-redeemer]. May ·he [L his name] become ·famous [renowned] in Israel. 15 He will ·give you new [restore/renew your] life and will take care of you in your old age because of your daughter-in-law who loves you. She is better for you than seven sons, because she has given birth to ·your grandson [L him].”
16 Naomi took the boy, ·held him in her arms [or put him on her lap; or took him to her breast], and ·cared for him [or became his nurse/caregiver]. 17 The neighbors gave the boy his name, saying, “·This boy was [L A son has been] born for Naomi.” They named him Obed [C “servant”]. Obed was the father of Jesse, and Jesse was the father of David [C Israel’s greatest king, through whom the Messiah would come; 2 Sam. 7:11–17; Matt. 1:1, 5–6; Luke 3:32].
11 In that way everything will be ·destroyed [or dissolved]. So what kind of people should you be? You should live holy lives and ·serve God [be godly/pious], 12 as you wait for and ·look forward to [strive for; or hurry; hasten] the coming of the day of God. When that day comes, the ·skies [or heavens] will be ·destroyed [or dissolved] with fire, and ·everything in them [the elements; 3:10] will melt with ·heat [fire; burning]. 13 But God made a promise to us [Is. 65:17; 66:22], and we are waiting for a new heaven and a new earth where ·goodness [righteousness] ·lives [makes its home].
14 [L Therefore] ·Dear friends [L Beloved], ·since [or while] you are waiting for this to happen, ·do your best [make every effort; strive] to be [L found] without ·sin [L spot] and without ·fault [L blemish; C the characteristics of the false teachers in 2:13]. ·Try [Make every effort; Strive] to be at peace with God. 15 ·Remember [Consider; Bear in mind] that ·we are saved because our Lord is patient [L our Lord’s patience is our salvation; C his delay in coming allows more to be saved]. Our ·dear [L beloved] brother Paul told you the same thing when he wrote to you with the wisdom that God gave him. 16 He writes about ·this [L these things] in all his letters. Some things in Paul’s letters are hard to understand, and people who are ·ignorant [untaught] and ·weak in faith [unstable] ·explain these things falsely [L twist/distort them]. They also ·falsely explain [L twist; distort] the other Scriptures, ·but they are destroying themselves by doing this [or which will lead to their destruction].
17 [L Therefore] ·Dear friends [L Beloved], since you already ·know [are forewarned] about this, be ·careful [on guard]. Do not let those ·evil [lawless; unprincipled] people lead you away ·by the wrong they do [or by their deception; or into error]. Be ·careful [on guard] so you will not fall from your own ·strong faith [stability; firm position]. 18 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Glory be to him now and ·forever [L to the day of eternity]! ·Amen [So be it].
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