Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
20 The Lord repaid[a] me for my godly deeds;[b]
he rewarded[c] my blameless behavior.[d]
21 For I have obeyed the Lord’s commands;[e]
I have not rebelled against my God.[f]
22 For I am aware of all his regulations,[g]
and I do not reject his rules.[h]
23 I was innocent before him,
and kept myself from sinning.[i]
24 The Lord rewarded me for my godly deeds;[j]
he took notice of my blameless behavior.[k]
25 You prove to be loyal[l] to one who is faithful;[m]
you prove to be trustworthy[n] to one who is innocent.[o]
26 You prove to be reliable[p] to one who is blameless,
but you prove to be deceptive[q] to one who is perverse.[r]
27 For you deliver oppressed[s] people,
but you bring down those who have a proud look.[t]
28 Indeed,[u] you light my lamp, Lord.[v]
My God[w] illuminates the darkness around me.[x]
29 Indeed,[y] with your help[z] I can charge against[aa] an army;[ab]
by my God’s power[ac] I can jump over a wall.[ad]
30 The one true God acts in a faithful manner;[ae]
the Lord’s promise[af] is reliable.[ag]
He is a shield to all who take shelter[ah] in him.
15 When she got up to gather grain, Boaz told[a] his male servants, “Let her gather grain even among[b] the bundles. Don’t chase her off![c] 16 Make sure you pull out[d] ears of grain for her and drop them so she can gather them up. Don’t tell her not to!”[e] 17 So she gathered grain in the field until evening. When she threshed[f] what she had gathered, it came to about thirty pounds[g] of barley.
Ruth Returns to Naomi
18 She carried it back to town, and her mother-in-law saw[h] how much grain[i] she had gathered. Then Ruth[j] gave her the roasted grain she had saved from mealtime.[k] 19 Her mother-in-law asked her,[l] “Where did you gather grain today? Where did you work? May the one who took notice of you be rewarded!”[m] So Ruth[n] told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked. She said, “The name of the man with whom I worked today is Boaz.” 20 Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “May he be rewarded by the Lord because he[o] has shown loyalty to the living on behalf of the dead!”[p] Then Naomi said to her, “This man is a close relative of ours; he is our guardian.”[q] 21 Ruth the Moabite replied, “He even[r] told me, ‘You may go along beside my servants[s] until they have finished gathering all my harvest!’”[t] 22 Naomi then said to her daughter-in-law Ruth, “It is good, my daughter, that you should go out to work with his female servants.[u] That way you will not be harmed, which could happen in another field.”[v] 23 So Ruth[w] worked beside[x] Boaz’s female servants, gathering grain until the end of the barley harvest as well as the wheat harvest.[y] After that she stayed home with her mother-in-law.[z]
17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil; consider what is good before all people.[a] 18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all people.[b] 19 Do not avenge yourselves, dear friends, but give place to God’s wrath,[c] for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay,”[d] says the Lord. 20 Rather, if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in doing this you will be heaping burning coals on his head.[e] 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Exhortation to Love Neighbors
8 Owe no one anything, except to love one another, for the one who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. 9 For the commandments,[a] “Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not covet,”[b] (and if there is any other commandment) are summed up in this, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”[c] 10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.
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