Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
God’s Reward to the Righteous
20 The Lord will reward me because I am righteous;
because my hands are clean he will restore me;
21 because I have kept the ways of the Lord,
and I have not wickedly departed from my God;
22 because all his judgments were always before me,
and I did not cast off his statutes.
23 I was upright[a] before him,
and I kept myself from iniquity.
24 So the Lord restored me according to my righteousness,
because my hands were clean in his sight.
25 To the holy, you show your gracious love,
to the upright, you show yourself upright;
26 to the pure, you show yourself pure,
and to the morally corrupt, you appear to be perverse.
27 Indeed, you deliver the oppressed,[b]
but you bring down those who exalt themselves
in their own eyes.
28 For you, Lord, make my lamp shine;
my God enlightens my darkness.
29 With your help[c] I will run through an army,
with help from[d] my God I leap over walls.
30 As for God, his way is upright;[e]
the word of God is pure;
he is a shield to all those who take refuge in him.
8 In the middle of the night, Boaz[a] was startled awake and turned over in surprise to see a woman lying at his feet.
9 He asked her, “Who are you?”
She answered, “I’m only Ruth, your servant. Spread the edge[b] of your garment over your servant, because you are my related redeemer.”
10 He replied, “May you be blessed by the Lord, my daughter. You’ve added to the gracious love you’ve already demonstrated[c] by not pursuing younger men, whether rich or poor. 11 Don’t be afraid, my daughter. I’ll do for you everything that you have asked, since all of my people in town are aware that you’re a virtuous[d] woman. 12 It’s true that I’m your related redeemer, but there is another related redeemer even closer than I. 13 Stay the night, and if he fulfills his duty as your related redeemer in the morning, that will be acceptable. But if he isn’t inclined to do so,[e] then, as the Lord lives, I will act as your related redeemer myself. So lie down until morning.”
14 So she lay down at his feet until dawn approached, then got up while it was still difficult for anyone to be recognized. Then he told her, “It shouldn’t be known that a woman has come to the threshing floor.” 15 So he said, “Take your cloak and hold it out.” She did so, and he measured out six units[f] of barley and placed them in a sack[g] on her. Then she left for town.
Naomi’s Response to Ruth
16 When Ruth[h] returned to her mother-in-law, Naomi[i] asked her, “How did it go, my daughter?”
Then she related everything that the man had done for her. 17 Ruth[j] also said, “He gave me these six units[k] of barley and told me, ‘Don’t go back to your mother-in-law empty-handed.’”[l]
18 Naomi[m] replied, “Be patient, my daughter, until you learn how this works out, because the man won’t rest until he finishes everything today.”
The New Commandment
31 After Judas[a] had gone out, Jesus said, “The Son of Man is now glorified, and God has been glorified by him. 32 If God has been glorified by him,[b] God himself also will glorify the Son of Man,[c] and he will do so[d] quickly. 33 Little children, I’m with you only a little longer. You will look for me, but what I told the Jewish leaders[e] I now tell you, ‘Where I’m going, you cannot come.’ 34 I’m giving you a new commandment…to love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. 35 This is how everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
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