Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
20 The Lord rewarded me for doing what is right.
He was good to me because I am innocent.
21 The Lord did this because I have obeyed him.
I have not turned against my God.
22 I always remembered his laws.
I never rejected his rules.
23 He knows I did nothing that was wrong.
I have kept myself from sinning.
24 So the Lord rewarded me for doing what is right.
He could see that I am innocent.
25 Lord, you are faithful to those who are faithful.
You are good to those who are good.
26 You never do wrong to those who have done no wrong.
But you outsmart the wicked, no matter how clever they are.
27 You help those who are humble,
but you humiliate the proud.
28 Lord, you provide the flame for my lamp.
You, God, turn the darkness around me into light.
29 With your help I can defeat an army.
If my God is with me, I can climb over enemy walls.
30 God’s way is perfect.
The Lord’s promise always proves to be true.
He protects those who trust in him.
15 Then Ruth got up and went back to work.
Then Boaz told his servants, “Let Ruth gather even around the piles of grain. Don’t stop her. 16 And make her work easier by dropping some full heads of grain for her. Let her gather that grain. Don’t tell her to stop.”
Naomi Hears About Boaz
17 Ruth worked in the fields until evening. Then she separated the grain from the chaff. There was about one-half bushel[a] of barley. 18 Ruth carried the grain into town to show her mother-in-law what she had gathered. She also gave her the food that was left from lunch.
19 Her mother-in-law asked her, “Where did you gather all this grain? Where did you work? Bless the man who noticed you.”
Then Ruth told her who she had worked with. She said, “The man I worked with today is a man named Boaz.”
20 Naomi told her daughter-in-law, “The Lord bless him! He has continued showing his kindness to the living as well as the dead.” Then Naomi told her daughter-in-law, “Boaz is one of our relatives. He is one of our protectors.[b]”
21 Then Ruth said, “Boaz also told me to come back and continue working. He said that I should work closely with his servants until the harvest is finished.”
22 Then Naomi said to her daughter-in-law Ruth, “It is good for you to continue working with his women servants. If you work in another field, some man might hurt you.” 23 So Ruth continued working closely with the women servants of Boaz. She gathered grain until the barley harvest was finished. She also worked there through the end of the wheat harvest. Ruth continued living with her mother-in-law Naomi.
17 If someone does you wrong, don’t try to pay them back by hurting them. Try to do what everyone thinks is right. 18 Do the best you can to live in peace with everyone. 19 My friends, don’t try to punish anyone who does wrong to you. Wait for God to punish them with his anger. In the Scriptures the Lord says,
“I am the one who punishes;
I will pay people back.”(A)
20 But you should do this:
“If you have enemies who are hungry,
give them something to eat.
If you have enemies who are thirsty,
give them something to drink.
In doing this you will make them feel ashamed.[a]” (B)
21 Don’t let evil defeat you, but defeat evil by doing good.
Loving Others Is the Only Law
8 You should owe nothing to anyone, except that you will always owe love to each other. The person who loves others has done all that the law commands. 9 The law says, “You must not commit adultery, you must not murder anyone, you must not steal, you must not want what belongs to someone else.”[a] All these commands and all other commands are really only one rule: “Love your neighbor[b] the same as you love yourself.”[c] 10 Love doesn’t hurt others. So loving is the same as obeying all the law.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International