Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Praise to God the Help of Israel

¹⁸ When Naomi^[a] observed Ruth’s^[b] determination to travel with her, she ended the conversation. ¹⁹ So they continued on until they reached Bethlehem.

Naomi and Ruth Arrive in Bethlehem

Now when the two of them arrived in Bethlehem, the entire town got excited at the news of their arrival^[c] and they asked one another, “Can this be Naomi?”

²⁰ But Naomi replied, “Don’t call me ‘Naomi’!^[d] Call me ‘Mara’!^[e] That’s because the Almighty has dealt bitterly with me. ²¹ I left here full, but the Lord brought me back empty. So why call me ‘Naomi’? After all, the Lord is against me, and the Almighty has broken^[f] me.”

²² So Naomi returned to Bethlehem^[g] from the country of Moab, along with her daughter-in-law Ruth the Moabite woman. And they arrived in Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest.

The Earthly Sanctuary and Its Ritual

9 Now even the first covenant^[a] had regulations for worship and an earthly sanctuary. ² For a tent was set up, and in the first part were the lamp stand, the table, and the bread of the Presence.^[b] This was called the Holy Place. ³ Behind the second curtain was the part of the tent called the Most Holy Place, ⁴ which had the gold altar for incense and the Ark of the Covenant completely covered with gold. In it were the gold jar holding the manna, Aaron’s staff that had budded, and the Tablets of the Covenant. ⁵ Above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the place of atonement. (We cannot discuss these things in detail now.)

⁶ When everything had been arranged like this, the priests always went into the first part of the tent to perform their duties. ⁷ But only the high priest went^[c] into the second part, and then only once a year, and never without blood, which he offered for himself and for the sins committed by the people in ignorance. ⁸ The Holy Spirit was indicating by this that the way into the Most Holy Place had not yet been disclosed as long as the first part of the tent was still standing. ⁹ This illustration for today indicates that the gifts and sacrifices being offered could not clear the conscience of a worshiper, ¹⁰ since they deal only with food, drink, and various washings, which are required for the body until the time when things would be set right.

The Messiah Has Offered a Superior Sacrifice

¹¹ But when the Messiah^[d] came as a high priest of the good things that have come,^[e] he went^[f] through the greater and more perfect tent that was not made by human^[g] hands and that is not a part of this creation. ¹² Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with his own blood he went into the Most Holy Place once for all and secured our eternal redemption.