Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
20 The Eternal One responded to me according to my goodness;
I kept my hands clean, and He blessed me.
21 I kept the ways of the Eternal
and have not walked away from my True God in wickedness.
22 All His laws were there before me,
and I did not push His statutes away.
23 I was blameless before Him;
I kept myself from guilt and shame.
24 That’s why the Eternal has rewarded me for my right living;
He’s rewarded me because He saw my hands were clean.
25 You are loyal to those who are loyal;
with the innocent, You prove to be innocent;
26 With the clean, You prove to be clean;
and with the twisted, You make Yourself contrary.
27 For You rescue humble people,
but You bring the proud back in line.
28 You are the lamp who lights my way;
the Eternal, my God, lights up my darkness.
29 With Your help, I can conquer an army;
I can leap over walls with a helping hand from You.
30 Everything God does is perfect;
the promise of the Eternal rings true;
He stands as a shield for all who hide in Him.
15 When her meal was finished, she got back up and returned to work. Then Boaz pulled some of the young harvesters aside and gave them instructions about her.
Boaz: Let her pick up grain from among the sheaves. Do not reprimand or humiliate her for gleaning where it is usually forbidden. 16 Instead, periodically pick out a stalk or two from the sheaves that have already been bound, and leave them for her to gather for herself. Make sure that no one gives her a hard time.
17 So Ruth worked in the field all day until the sun had nearly set. When she finished picking up the leftover ears, she beat her gathered barley grains from the stalks with a stick. All that work resulted in over 20 quarts of grain. 18 Then she carried it back to the city where her mother-in-law saw how much she had gleaned. Ruth took out the leftover food from what she could not eat of her midday meal and gave it to Naomi.
Naomi (to Ruth): 19 Where did you go to work today? Where did you glean all this from? May God bless the person who gave you this kind of attention.
So Ruth told Naomi the story of all that had happened to her that day and on whose land she had worked.
Ruth: The man I worked with today is named Boaz.
Naomi: 20 May the Eternal bless this man. He has not given up showing His covenant love toward the living and the dead.
This man is closely related to us—he is a kinsman-redeemer of our family.
The kinsman-redeemer is the closest relative and has the responsibility to save his family members from any evil or hardship.
Ruth[a]: 21 That is not all he did. Boaz also instructed me to stay with his young workers for the remainder of his grain harvesting season.
Naomi: 22 It is best that you do as he says. Stay with his young women who bind the sheaves. They will keep you safe from the hostility and danger of working in another’s field.
23 So that is what Ruth did. She kept close to Boaz’s young female servants and picked up everything they dropped. She worked hard throughout the seven weeks of the wheat and barley seasons until the harvest was complete in early summer. And this whole time she lived at her mother-in-law’s home.
17 Do not retaliate with evil, regardless of the evil brought against you. Try to do what is good and right and honorable as agreed upon by all people. 18 If it is within your power, make peace with all people. 19 Again, my loved ones, do not seek revenge; instead, allow God’s wrath to make sure justice is served. Turn it over to Him. For the Scriptures say, “Revenge is Mine. I will settle all scores.”[a] 20 But consider this bit of wisdom: “If your enemy is hungry, give him something to eat. If he is thirsty, give him something to drink; because if you treat him kindly, it will be like heaping hot coals on top of his head.”[b] 21 Never let evil get the best of you; instead, overpower evil with the good.
8 Don’t owe anyone anything, with the exception of love to one another—that is a debt which never ends—because the person who loves others has fulfilled the law. 9 The commands given to you in the Scriptures—do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not take what is not yours, do not covet[a]—and any other command you have heard are summarized in God’s instruction: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”[b] 10 Does love hurt anyone? Absolutely not. In fact, love achieves everything the law requires.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.