Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Ruth and Boaz at the Threshing Floor

3 Then Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, “My daughter, should I not seek ^(A)rest for you, that it may be well with you? ² Is not Boaz ^(B)our relative, ^(C)with whose young women you were? See, he is winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor. ^3 (D)Wash therefore and anoint yourself, and put on your cloak and go down to the threshing floor, but do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking. ⁴ But when he lies down, observe the place where he lies. Then go and uncover his feet and lie down, and he will tell you what to do.” ⁵ And she replied, “All that you say I will do.”

⁶ So she went down to the threshing floor and did just as her mother-in-law had commanded her. ⁷ And when Boaz had eaten and drunk, and ^(E)his heart was merry, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain. Then she came softly and uncovered his feet and lay down.

¹⁷ “But ^(A)as the time of the promise drew near, which God had granted to Abraham, ^(B)the people increased and multiplied in Egypt ¹⁸ until there arose over Egypt another king ^(C)who did not know Joseph. ^19 (D)He dealt shrewdly with our race and forced our fathers to expose their infants, ^(E)so that they would not be kept alive. ^20 (F)At this time Moses was born; and he was beautiful in God's sight. And he was brought up for three months in his father's house, ²¹ and ^(G)when he was exposed, Pharaoh's daughter adopted him and brought him up as her own son. ²² And Moses ^(H)was instructed in ^(I)all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was ^(J)mighty in his words and deeds.

²³ “When he was forty years old, it came into his heart ^(K)to visit his brothers, the children of Israel. ²⁴ And seeing one of them being wronged, he defended the oppressed man and avenged him by striking down the Egyptian. ²⁵ He supposed that his brothers would understand that God was giving them salvation by his hand, but they did not understand. ^26 (L)And on the following day he appeared to them as they were quarreling and tried to reconcile them, saying, ‘Men, you are brothers. Why do you wrong each other?’ ²⁷ But the man who was wronging his neighbor thrust him aside, saying, ^(M)‘Who made you a ruler and a judge over us? ²⁸ Do you want to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?’ ²⁹ At this retort ^(N)Moses fled and became an exile in the land of Midian, ^(O)where he became the father of two sons.