Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
The Heritage of the Righteous and the Calamity of the Wicked
A Psalm of David.
37 Do(A) not fret because of evildoers,
Nor be envious of the workers of iniquity.
2 For they shall soon be cut down (B)like the grass,
And wither as the green herb.
3 Trust in the Lord, and do good;
Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.
4 (C)Delight yourself also in the Lord,
And He shall give you the desires of your (D)heart.
5 (E)Commit[a] your way to the Lord,
Trust also in Him,
And He shall bring it to pass.
6 (F)He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light,
And your justice as the noonday.
7 Rest in the Lord, (G)and wait patiently for Him;
Do not fret because of him who (H)prospers in his way,
Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass.
8 (I)Cease from anger, and forsake wrath;
(J)Do not fret—it only causes harm.
9 For evildoers shall be [b]cut off;
But those who wait on the Lord,
They shall (K)inherit the earth.
10 For (L)yet a little while and the wicked shall be no more;
Indeed, (M)you will look carefully for his place,
But it shall be no more.
11 (N)But the meek shall inherit the earth,
And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.
12 The wicked plots against the just,
(O)And gnashes at him with his teeth.
13 (P)The Lord laughs at him,
For He sees that (Q)his day is coming.
14 The wicked have drawn the sword
And have bent their bow,
To cast down the poor and needy,
To slay those who are of upright conduct.
15 Their sword shall enter their own heart,
And their bows shall be broken.
16 (R)A little that a righteous man has
Is better than the riches of many wicked.
17 For the arms of the wicked shall be broken,
But the Lord upholds the righteous.
Ruth’s Redemption Assured
3 Then Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, “My daughter, (A)shall I not seek (B)security[a] for you, that it may be well with you? 2 Now Boaz, (C)whose young women you were with, is he not our relative? In fact, he is winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor. 3 Therefore wash yourself and (D)anoint yourself, put on your best garment and go down to the threshing floor; but do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking. 4 Then it shall be, when he lies down, that you shall notice the place where he lies; and you shall go in, uncover his feet, and lie down; and he will tell you what you should do.”
5 And she said to her, “All that you say to me I will do.”
6 So she went down to the threshing floor and did according to all that her mother-in-law instructed her. 7 And after Boaz had eaten and drunk, and (E)his heart was cheerful, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain; and she came softly, uncovered his feet, and lay down.
8 Now it happened at midnight that the man was startled, and turned himself; and there, a woman was lying at his feet. 9 And he said, “Who are you?”
So she answered, “I am Ruth, your maidservant. (F)Take[b] your maidservant under your wing, for you are (G)a [c]close relative.”
10 Then he said, (H)“Blessed are you of the Lord, my daughter! For you have shown more kindness at the end than (I)at the beginning, in that you did not go after young men, whether poor or rich. 11 And now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you all that you request, for all the people of my town know that you are a (J)virtuous woman. 12 Now it is true that I am a (K)close relative; however, (L)there is a relative closer than I. 13 Stay this night, and in the morning it shall be that if he will (M)perform the duty of a close relative for you—good; let him do it. But if he does not want to perform the duty for you, then I will perform the duty for you, (N)as the Lord lives! Lie down until morning.”
Descendants of Boaz and Ruth(A)
13 So Boaz (B)took Ruth and she became his wife; and when he went in to her, (C)the Lord gave her conception, and she bore a son. 14 Then (D)the women said to Naomi, “Blessed be the Lord, who has not left you this day without a [a]close relative; and may his name be famous in Israel! 15 And may he be to you a restorer of life and a [b]nourisher of your old age; for your daughter-in-law, who loves you, who is (E)better to you than seven sons, has borne him.” 16 Then Naomi took the child and laid him on her bosom, and became a nurse to him. 17 (F)Also the neighbor women gave him a name, saying, “There is a son born to Naomi.” And they called his name Obed. He is the father of Jesse, the father of David.
18 (G)Now this is the genealogy of Perez: (H)Perez begot Hezron; 19 Hezron begot Ram, and Ram begot Amminadab; 20 Amminadab begot (I)Nahshon, and Nahshon begot (J)Salmon;[c] 21 Salmon begot Boaz, and Boaz begot Obed; 22 Obed begot Jesse, and Jesse begot (K)David.
Jesus Heals a Great Multitude(A)
17 And He came down with them and stood on a level place with a crowd of His disciples (B)and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem, and from the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear Him and be healed of their diseases, 18 as well as those who were tormented with unclean spirits. And they were healed. 19 And the whole multitude (C)sought to (D)touch Him, for (E)power went out from Him and healed them all.
The Beatitudes(F)
20 Then He lifted up His eyes toward His disciples, and said:
(G)“Blessed are you poor,
For yours is the kingdom of God.
21 (H)Blessed are you who hunger now,
For you shall be (I)filled.[a]
(J)Blessed are you who weep now,
For you shall (K)laugh.
22 (L)Blessed are you when men hate you,
And when they (M)exclude you,
And revile you, and cast out your name as evil,
For the Son of Man’s sake.
23 (N)Rejoice in that day and leap for joy!
For indeed your reward is great in heaven,
For (O)in like manner their fathers did to the prophets.
Jesus Pronounces Woes
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.