Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
5 Blessed is the one whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is on Yahweh as his God,
6 who made heaven and earth,
the sea and all that is in them,
the one who keeps faith[a] forever,
7 who executes justice for the oppressed,
who gives food for the hungry.
Yahweh sets prisoners free;
8 Yahweh opens the eyes of the blind;
Yahweh raises up those bowed down;
Yahweh loves the righteous;
9 Yahweh protects[b] the strangers.
He helps up the orphan and the widow,
but the way of the wicked he thwarts.[c]
10 Yahweh will reign forever,
Your God, O Zion, throughout all generations.[d]
Praise Yah.[e]
The Lineage of King David
13 So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife. And he went in to her, and Yahweh enabled her to conceive,[a] and she bore a son. 14 And the women said to Naomi, “Blessed be Yahweh who today did not leave you without a redeemer![b] And may his name be renowned in Israel! 15 He shall be for you a restorer of life and a sustainer in your old age, for your daughter-in-law who loves you, who is better for you than seven sons, has borne him.” 16 And Naomi took the child and she put him on her bosom and became his nurse. 17 And the women of the neighborhood gave him a name, saying, “A son has been born to Naomi.” And they called his name Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.
11 Because[a] all these things are being destroyed in this way, what sort of people must you be in holy behavior and godliness, 12 while[b] waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by[c] being burned up and the celestial bodies will melt as they[d] are consumed by heat! 13 But according to his promise, we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness resides.
Final Exhortations and Conclusion
14 Therefore, dear friends, because you[e] are waiting for these things, make every effort to be found at peace, spotless and unblemished in him. 15 And regard the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as also our dear brother Paul wrote to you, according to the wisdom that was given to him, 16 as he does also in all his[f][g] letters, speaking in them about these things, in which there are some things hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable distort to their own destruction, as they also do the rest of the scriptures. 17 Therefore, dear friends, because you[h] know this beforehand, guard yourselves so that you do not lose your own safe position because you[i] have been led away by the error of lawless persons. 18 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.
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