Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Naomi’s Plan for Ruth’s Marriage

3 Naomi, Ruth’s mother-in-law, said to her, “My daughter, shouldn’t I try to look for a home that would be good for you? ² Isn’t Boaz, whose young women you’ve been working with, our relative? He will be separating the barley from its husks on the threshing floor ^[a] tonight. ³ Freshen up, put on some perfume, dress up, and go down to the threshing floor. Don’t let him know that you’re there until he’s finished eating and drinking. ⁴ When he lies down, notice the place where he is lying. Then uncover his feet, and lie down there. He will make it clear what you must do.”

⁵ Ruth answered her, “I will do whatever you say.”

Ruth at the Feet of Boaz

⁶ Ruth went to the threshing floor and did exactly as her mother-in-law had directed her. ⁷ Boaz had eaten and drunk to his heart’s content, so he went and lay at the edge of a pile of grain. Then she went over to him secretly, uncovered his feet, and lay down.

¹⁷ “When the time that God had promised to Abraham had almost come, the number of our people in Egypt had grown very large. ¹⁸ Then a different king, who knew nothing about Joseph, began to rule in Egypt. ¹⁹ This king was shrewd in the way he took advantage of our people. He mistreated our ancestors. He made them abandon their newborn babies outdoors, where they would die.

²⁰ “At that time Moses was born, and he was a very beautiful child. His parents took care of him for three months. ²¹ When Moses was abandoned outdoors, Pharaoh’s daughter adopted him and raised him as her son. ²² So Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and became a great man in what he said and did. ²³ When he was 40 years old, he decided to visit his own people, the Israelites. ²⁴ When he saw an Israelite man being treated unfairly by an Egyptian, he defended the Israelite. He took revenge by killing the Egyptian. ²⁵ Moses thought his own people would understand that God was going to use him to give them freedom. But they didn’t understand. ²⁶ The next day Moses saw two Israelites fighting, and he tried to make peace between them. He said to them, ‘Men, you are brothers. Why are you treating each other unfairly?’

²⁷ “But one of the men pushed Moses aside. He asked Moses, ‘Who made you our ruler and judge? ²⁸ Do you want to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?’ ²⁹ After he said that, Moses quickly left Egypt and lived in Midian as a foreigner. In Midian he fathered two sons.