Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

⁶ While Naomi was in Moab, she heard that the Lord had taken care of his people. He had given food to them in Judah. So Naomi got ready to leave Moab and go back home. The wives of Naomi’s sons also got ready to go with her. ⁷ So they left the place where they had lived. And they started back on the way to the land of Judah. ⁸ But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go back home. Each of you go to your own mother’s house. You have been very kind to me and to my sons who are now dead. I hope the Lord will also be kind to you in the same way. ⁹ I hope the Lord will give you another home and a new husband.”

Then Naomi kissed the women. And they began to cry out loud. ¹⁰ Her daughters-in-law said to her, “No. We will go with you to your people.”

¹¹ But Naomi said, “My daughters, go back to your own homes. Why do you want to go with me? I cannot give birth to more sons to give you new husbands. ¹² So go back to your own homes. I am too old to have another husband. But even if I had another husband tonight and if I had more sons, it wouldn’t help! ¹³ Would you wait until the babies were grown into men? Would you live for so many years without husbands? Don’t do this thing. My life is much too sad for you to share. This is because the Lord is against me!”

¹⁴ The women cried together again. Then Orpah kissed Naomi good-bye, but Ruth held on to her.

¹⁵ Naomi said, “Look, your sister-in-law is going back to her own people and her own gods. Go back with her.”

Ruth Stays with Naomi

¹⁶ But Ruth said, “Don’t ask me to leave you! Don’t beg me not to follow you! Every place you go, I will go. Every place you live, I will live. Your people will be my people. Your God will be my God. ¹⁷ And where you die, I will die. And there I will be buried. I ask the Lord to punish me terribly if I do not keep this promise: Only death will separate us.”

¹⁸ Naomi saw that Ruth had made up her mind to go with her. So Naomi stopped arguing with her.

Jesus Will Come Again

3 My friends, this is the second letter I have written to you. I wrote both letters to you to help your honest minds remember something. ² I want you to remember the words that the holy prophets spoke in the past. And remember the command that our Lord and Savior gave us through your apostles. ³ It is important for you to understand what will happen in the last days. People will laugh at you. They will live doing the evil things they want to do. ⁴ They will say, “Jesus promised to come again. Where is he? Our fathers have died. But the world continues the way it has been since it was made.” ⁵ But they do not want to remember what happened long ago. God spoke and made heaven and earth. He made the earth from water and with water. ⁶ Then the world was flooded and destroyed with water. ⁷ And that same word of God is keeping heaven and earth that we have now. They are being kept to be destroyed by fire. They are being kept for the Judgment Day and the destruction of all who are against God.

⁸ But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: To the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years is like one day. ⁹ The Lord is not slow in doing what he promised—the way some people understand slowness. But God is being patient with you. He does not want anyone to be lost. He wants everyone to change his heart and life.

¹⁰ But the day the Lord comes again will be a surprise, like a thief. The skies will disappear with a loud noise. Everything in the skies will be destroyed by fire. And the earth and everything in it will be exposed.^[a]