Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 146
The God of Compassion
1 Hallelujah!
My soul, praise the Lord.(A)
2 I will praise the Lord all my life;
I will sing to my God as long as I live.(B)
3 Do not trust in nobles,
in man, who cannot save.(C)
4 When his breath[a] leaves him,
he returns to the ground;
on that day his plans die.(D)
5 Happy is the one whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the Lord his God,(E)
6 the Maker of heaven and earth,
the sea and everything in them.(F)
He remains faithful forever,(G)
7 executing justice for the exploited
and giving food to the hungry.(H)
The Lord frees prisoners.(I)
8 The Lord opens the eyes of the blind.(J)
The Lord raises up those who are oppressed.[b](K)
The Lord loves the righteous.(L)
9 The Lord protects foreigners
and helps the fatherless and the widow,(M)
but He frustrates the ways of the wicked.(N)
10 The Lord reigns forever;
Zion, your God reigns for all generations.(O)
Hallelujah!
Ruth and Boaz Meet
2 Now Naomi had a relative on her husband’s side named Boaz. He was a prominent man of noble character(A) from Elimelech’s family.
2 Ruth the Moabitess asked Naomi, “Will you let me go into the fields and gather fallen grain(B) behind someone who allows me to?”
Naomi answered her, “Go ahead, my daughter.” 3 So Ruth left and entered the field to gather grain behind the harvesters. She happened(C) to be in the portion of land belonging to Boaz, who was from Elimelech’s family.
4 Later, when Boaz arrived from Bethlehem, he said to the harvesters, “The Lord be with you.”(D)
“The Lord bless you,”(E) they replied.
5 Boaz asked his servant who was in charge of the harvesters, “Whose young woman is this?”
6 The servant answered, “She is the young Moabite woman who returned with Naomi from the land of Moab. 7 She asked, ‘Will you let me gather fallen grain among the bundles behind the harvesters?’ She came and has remained from early morning until now, except that she rested a little in the shelter.”[a]
8 Then Boaz said to Ruth, “Listen, my daughter.[b] Don’t go and gather grain in another field, and don’t leave this one, but stay here close to my female servants. 9 See which field they are harvesting, and follow them. Haven’t I ordered the young men not to touch you?[c] When you are thirsty, go and drink from the jars the young men have filled.”
God’s Righteousness through Faith
21 But now, apart from the law, God’s righteousness has been revealed(A)—attested by the Law and the Prophets[a](B) 22 —that is, God’s righteousness through faith(C) in Jesus Christ,[b](D) to all who believe,(E) since there is no distinction.(F) 23 For all have sinned(G) and fall short of the[c] glory of God. 24 They are justified freely by His grace(H) through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.(I) 25 God presented Him as a propitiation[d](J) through faith in His blood,(K) to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His restraint God(L) passed over the sins previously committed.(M) 26 God presented Him to demonstrate His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be righteous and declare righteous[e] the one who has faith in Jesus.
Boasting Excluded
27 Where then is boasting?(N) It is excluded. By what kind of law?[f](O) By one of works? No, on the contrary, by a law[g] of faith. 28 For we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the works of the law.(P) 29 Or is God for Jews only?(Q) Is He not also for Gentiles? Yes, for Gentiles too, 30 since there is one God(R) who will justify the circumcised by faith(S) and the uncircumcised through faith. 31 Do we then cancel the law through faith? Absolutely not!(T) On the contrary, we uphold the law.(U)
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