Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

⁸ About midnight Boaz woke up suddenly and rolled over. He was startled! There was a woman lying near his feet! ⁹ Boaz asked, “Who are you?”

She said, “I am Ruth, your servant girl. Spread your cover over me because you are the one who is to take care of me.”

¹⁰ Then Boaz said, “The Lord bless you, my daughter. Your kindness to me is greater than the kindness you showed to Naomi in the beginning. You didn’t look for a young man to marry, either rich or poor. ¹¹ Now, my daughter, don’t be afraid. I will do everything you ask. All the people in our town know you are a very good woman. ¹² And it is true, I am a relative who is to take care of you. But there is a man who is a closer relative to you than I. ¹³ But stay here tonight. In the morning we will see if he will take care of you. If he decides to take care of you, that is fine. If he refuses to take care of you, I myself will marry you. Then I will buy back Elimelech’s land for you. As surely as the Lord lives, I promise to do this. So lie here until morning.”

¹⁴ So Ruth lay near his feet until the morning. She rose while it was still too dark to be recognized. Boaz said to his servants, “Don’t tell anyone that the woman came here to the threshing floor.” ¹⁵ Then Boaz said to Ruth, “Bring me your shawl. Now, hold it open.”

So Ruth held her shawl open, and Boaz poured six portions of barley into it. Boaz then put it on her back, and she went to the city.

¹⁶ Ruth went to the home of her mother-in-law. And Naomi asked, “How did you do, my daughter?”

So Ruth told Naomi everything that Boaz did for her. ¹⁷ She said, “Boaz gave me these six portions of barley. He said, ‘You must not go home without a gift for your mother-in-law.’”

¹⁸ Naomi answered, “Ruth, my daughter, wait until you hear what happens. Boaz will not rest until he has finished doing what he should do this day.”

³¹ When Judas was gone, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man receives his glory. And God receives glory through him. ³² If God receives glory through him,^[a] then God will give glory to the Son through himself. And God will give him glory quickly.”

³³ Jesus said, “My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me. And what I told the Jews, I tell you now: Where I am going you cannot come.

³⁴ “I give you a new command: Love each other. You must love each other as I have loved you. ³⁵ All people will know that you are my followers if you love each other.”