Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Praise God Who Helps the Weak
146 Praise the Lord!
My ·whole being [soul; life], praise the Lord.
2 I will praise the Lord ·all [L with] my life;
I will ·sing praises [make a psalm] to my God as long as I live.
3 Do not put your ·trust [confidence] in princes
or other people, who cannot ·save you [give you victory; 118:8–9].
4 ·When people die [L Their spirit goes out], they ·are buried [L return to the ground].
·Then all of [L On that day] their plans ·come to an end [perish].
5 ·Happy [Blessed] are those who are helped by the God of Jacob [C another name for Israel].
Their hope is in the Lord their God.
6 He made heaven and earth,
the sea and everything in it [Gen. 1].
He ·remains [keeps; observes; guards] ·loyal [faithfulness; truth] forever.
7 He does ·what is fair [justice] for those who have been ·wronged [oppressed; exploited].
He gives food to the hungry.
The Lord sets the prisoners free.
8 The Lord ·gives sight to [opens the eyes of] the blind.
The Lord lifts up people who are ·in trouble [bowed down; 145:14].
The Lord loves ·those who do right [the righteous].
9 The Lord ·protects [guards] the ·foreigners [sojourners].
He ·defends [supports] the orphans and widows [C the socially vulnerable],
but he ·blocks [frustrates] the way of the wicked.
10 The Lord will ·be King [reign] forever [47:2; 93:1; 96:10; 97:1; 98:6; 99:1; Rev. 19:6].
·Jerusalem [L Zion; C the location of the Temple], your God is everlasting.
Praise the Lord!
10 Then Ruth bowed low with her face to the ground and said to him, “I am ·not an Israelite [L a foreigner]. Why have ·you been so kind to notice me [L I found favor/grace in your eyes]?”
11 Boaz answered her, “I ·know [have been fully informed] about all ·the help you have given [that you have done for] your mother-in-law after your husband died. You left your father and mother and your ·own country [native land] to come to a ·nation [people] where you did not know anyone. 12 May the Lord reward you for all you have done. May your wages be paid in full by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come for shelter [C like a protective mother bird].”
13 Then Ruth said, “·I hope I can continue to please you [May I continue to find grace/favor in your eyes; or I have found favor/grace in your eyes], ·sir [my lord]. [L Because] You have ·said kind and encouraging words to [L comforted and spoken to the heart of] me, your servant, though I am not one of your servants.”
14 At mealtime Boaz told Ruth, “Come here. Eat some of our bread and dip it in ·our sauce [the vinegar/wine-vinegar].”
So Ruth sat down beside the ·workers [reapers; harvesters]. Boaz ·handed [offered; served] her some roasted grain, and she ate until she was ·full [satisfied]; she even had some food left over.
The Good Samaritan(A)
25 Then an expert on the law stood up to test Jesus, saying, “Teacher, what must I do to ·get life forever [L inherit eternal life]?”
26 Jesus said, “What is written in the law? ·What do you read there [or How do you interpret it]?”
27 The man answered, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind [Deut. 6:5].” Also, “Love your neighbor as you love yourself [Lev. 19:18].”
28 Jesus said to him, “Your answer is right. Do this and you will live.”
29 But the man, wanting to ·show the importance of his question [or justify his question; or justify himself/his own actions], said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
30 Jesus answered, “As a man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho [C a dangerous 17-mile trek through desolate territory], some robbers attacked him. They tore off his clothes, beat him, and left him lying there, almost dead. 31 ·It happened that [or By chance] a priest was going down that road. When he saw the man, he ·walked [passed] by on the other side. 32 ·Next [L Likewise; So too], a Levite [C Levites were members of the tribe of Levi who helped the priests in the temple; 1 Chr. 23:24–32] came there, and ·after he went over and looked at the man [L seeing him], he ·walked [passed] by on the other side of the road. 33 Then a Samaritan [C a people disliked by the Jews because they were only part Jewish and worshiped differently] traveling down the road came to where the hurt man was. When he saw the man, he felt ·very sorry [compassion] for him. 34 The Samaritan went to him, poured olive oil and wine on his wounds [C to soothe and clean them], and bandaged them. Then he put the hurt man on his own ·donkey [L animal] and took him to an inn where he cared for him. 35 The next day, the Samaritan brought out two ·coins [L denarii; C each equivalent to a day’s wage], gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of this man. If you spend more money on him, I will pay it back to you when I come again.’”
36 Then Jesus said, “Which one of these three men do you think was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by the robbers?”
37 The expert on the law answered, “The one who showed him mercy.”
Jesus said to him, “Then go and do ·what he did [the same; likewise].”
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