Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Ruth and Boaz at the Threshing Floor

3 Then Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, “My daughter, should I not seek ^(A)rest for you, that it may be well with you? ² Is not Boaz ^(B)our relative, ^(C)with whose young women you were? See, he is winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor. ^3 (D)Wash therefore and anoint yourself, and put on your cloak and go down to the threshing floor, but do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking. ⁴ But when he lies down, observe the place where he lies. Then go and uncover his feet and lie down, and he will tell you what to do.” ⁵ And she replied, “All that you say I will do.”

Ruth and Boaz Marry

¹³ So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife. And he went in to her, ^(A)and the Lord gave her conception, and she bore a son. ^14 (B)Then the women said to Naomi, “Blessed be the Lord, who has not left you this day without ^(C)a redeemer, and may his name ^(D)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, ^(E)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 (F)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.

Unless the Lord Builds the House

A Song of ^(A)Ascents. Of Solomon.

²⁴ For Christ has entered, not into holy places ^(A)made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God ^(B)on our behalf. ²⁵ Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as ^(C)the high priest enters ^(D)the holy places every year with blood not his own, ²⁶ for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, ^(E)he has appeared ^(F)once for all ^(G)at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. ²⁷ And just as ^(H)it is appointed for man to die once, and ^(I)after that comes judgement, ²⁸ so Christ, having been offered once ^(J)to bear the sins of ^(K)many, will appear ^(L)a second time, ^(M)not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly ^(N)waiting for him.

Beware of the Scribes

^38 (A)And in his teaching he said, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes and like greetings in the market-places ³⁹ and have the best seats in the synagogues and ^(B)the places of honour at feasts, ^40 (C)who devour widows' houses and ^(D)for a pretence make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.”

The Widow's Offering

^41 (E)And he sat down opposite ^(F)the treasury and watched the people ^(G)putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums. ⁴² And a poor widow came and put in two ^(H)small copper coins, which make a penny.^{[a] 43} And he called his disciples to him and said to them, “Truly, I say to you, ^(I)this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. ⁴⁴ For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her ^(J)poverty has put in everything she had, all ^(K)she had to live on.”