Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

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.

God Delivers Israel by Moses

¹⁷ “But when ^(A)the time of the promise drew near which God had sworn to Abraham, ^(B)the people grew and multiplied in Egypt ¹⁸ till another king ^(C)arose who did not know Joseph. ¹⁹ This man dealt treacherously with our people, and oppressed our forefathers, ^(D)making them expose their babies, so that they might not live. ^20 (E)At this time Moses was born, and ^(F)was well pleasing to God; and he was brought up in his father’s house for three months. ²¹ But ^(G)when he was set out, ^(H)Pharaoh’s daughter took him away and brought him up as her own son. ²² And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was ^(I)mighty in words and deeds.

^23 (J)“Now when he was forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren, the children of Israel. ²⁴ And seeing one of them suffer wrong, he defended and avenged him who was oppressed, and struck down the Egyptian. ²⁵ For he supposed that his brethren would have understood that God would deliver them by his hand, but they did not understand. ²⁶ And the next day he appeared to two of them as they were fighting, and tried to reconcile them, saying, ‘Men, you are brethren; why do you wrong one another?’ ²⁷ But he who did his neighbor wrong pushed him away, saying, ^(K)‘Who made you a ruler and a judge over us? ²⁸ Do you want to kill me as you did the Egyptian yesterday?’ ^29 (L)Then, at this saying, Moses fled and became a dweller in the land of Midian, where he ^(M)had two sons.