Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

A song to sing as we climb.

Solomon wrote this song.

Every good thing comes from God^[a]

Boaz marries Ruth

4 In the morning, Boaz went to the gate of the town and he sat down there.^[a] Later, the family-redeemer that Boaz had talked about to Ruth came there. Boaz said to him, ‘Come here, my friend, and sit down.’ So the man went to sit with Boaz.

² Boaz chose ten of the town's leaders and he said to them, ‘Come and sit here.’ So they sat down. ³ Then Boaz said to the family-redeemer, ‘Naomi has returned from Moab. She wants to sell the piece of land that belonged to our relative, Elimelech. ⁴ I thought that I must tell you about this, in front of the leaders of our town. Tell us if you will buy this land from Naomi, so that all the people who sit here know what you decide. If you want to buy it, then you should buy it. If you do not want to buy it, then you must tell me. Then I will know what to do. You are the person who must decide. If you do not choose to buy the land, then I can buy it.’ The relative said, ‘I will buy it.’

⁵ Then Boaz said, ‘You should also know this: When you buy the land from Naomi, you also have to marry the Moabite woman, Ruth. She is the widow of Elimelech's son. She will give birth to your children and Elimelech's land will continue to belong to his family.’

⁶ When Boaz said that, the relative replied, ‘If that is true, I cannot buy the land. It would not belong to my own children when I die. You may buy the land instead of me. I cannot buy it myself.’^[b]

⁷ In Israel at this time, when somebody agreed to sell land, he removed his shoe. He gave it to the man who was buying the land. Then everyone could see that they both agreed. They could not change their minds.

⁸ So the relative said to Boaz, ‘You may buy the land.’ When he said that, he removed his shoe.

⁹ Boaz said to the town's leaders and to all the people there, ‘You have all seen today that I have bought the land from Naomi. I have bought all the land that belonged to Elimelech, Kilion and Mahlon. ¹⁰ I will also marry Ruth, who came here from Moab. She was Mahlon's wife. In that way, the land will still belong to his family. Ruth's descendants will still have his family's name. His family will continue to belong to this town where he lived. Today you have seen that this is what we have agreed together.’

⁶ At one time we were weak and we could not help ourselves. Then, at the right time, Christ died to save us. He died on behalf of people who have turned away from God. ⁷ Nobody will agree to die on behalf of another person, even if that person has done what is right. Maybe someone might be brave enough to die on behalf of a person who is very good. ⁸ But God has shown us how much he loves us. Even when we still did not obey God, Christ died on our behalf.

⁹ Because Christ died on the cross, God has accepted us as right with himself. So we certainly know that Christ will save us when God judges everyone. Because of Jesus, God will not be angry with us and punish us. ¹⁰ While we were still God's enemies, God's Son died on our behalf. As a result, we became God's friends. So, now that we are God's friends, his Son will certainly save us. Christ will save us because he is alive again. ¹¹ But that is not everything! We are very happy now because of what God has done for us. Our Lord Jesus Christ has made this possible. It is because of him that we have now become God's friends.