Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
20 The Lord rewarded me
according to my righteousness;(A)
He repaid me
according to the cleanness of my hands.(B)
21 For I have kept the ways of the Lord
and have not turned from my God to wickedness.(C)
22 Indeed, I have kept all His ordinances in mind[a]
and have not disregarded His statutes.(D)
23 I was blameless toward Him(E)
and kept myself from sinning.
24 So the Lord repaid me
according to my righteousness,(F)
according to the cleanness of my hands in His sight.(G)
25 With the faithful
You prove Yourself faithful;
with the blameless man
You prove Yourself blameless;
26 with the pure
You prove Yourself pure,
but with the crooked
You prove Yourself shrewd.(H)
27 For You rescue an afflicted people,(I)
but You humble those with haughty eyes.(J)
28 Lord, You light my lamp;
my God illuminates my darkness.(K)
29 With You I can attack a barrier,[b]
and with my God I can leap over a wall.(L)
Ruth’s Appeal to Boaz
3 Ruth’s mother-in-law Naomi said to her, “My daughter, shouldn’t I find security for you, so that you will be taken care of? 2 Now isn’t Boaz our relative?(A) Haven’t you been working with his female servants? This evening he will be winnowing barley on the threshing floor. 3 Wash, put on perfumed oil, and wear your best clothes. Go down to the threshing floor, but don’t let the man know you are there until he has finished eating and drinking. 4 When he lies down, notice the place where he’s lying, go in and uncover his feet, and lie down. Then he will explain to you what you should do.”
5 So Ruth said to her, “I will do everything you say.”[a] 6 She went down to the threshing floor and did everything her mother-in-law had instructed her. 7 After Boaz ate, drank, and was in good spirits,[b] he went to lie down at the end of the pile of barley. Then she went in secretly, uncovered his feet, and lay down.
Moses, a Rejected Savior
17 “As the time was drawing near to fulfill the promise that God had made to Abraham, the people flourished and multiplied in Egypt(A) 18 until a different king who did not know Joseph ruled over Egypt.[a] 19 He dealt deceitfully with our race and oppressed our ancestors by making them leave their infants outside, so they wouldn’t survive.[b](B) 20 At this time Moses was born, and he was beautiful in God’s sight. He was cared for in his father’s home three months, 21 and when he was left outside, Pharaoh’s daughter adopted and raised him as her own son.(C) 22 So Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful in his speech and actions.(D)
23 “As he was approaching the age of 40, he decided[c] to visit his brothers, the Israelites. 24 When he saw one of them being mistreated, he came to his rescue and avenged the oppressed man by striking down the Egyptian. 25 He assumed his brothers would understand that God would give them deliverance through him, but they did not understand. 26 The next day he showed up while they were fighting and tried to reconcile them peacefully, saying, ‘Men, you are brothers. Why are you mistreating each other?’(E)
27 “But the one who was mistreating his neighbor pushed him[d] away, saying:
Who appointed you a ruler and a judge over us? 28 Do you want to kill me, the same way you killed the Egyptian yesterday?(F)[e]
29 “At this disclosure, Moses fled and became an exile in the land of Midian, where he fathered two sons.(G)
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