Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
A song by Solomon for going up to worship.
127 If the Lord does not build the house,
it is useless for the builders to work on it.
If the Lord does not protect a city,
it is useless for the guard to stay alert.
2 It is useless to work hard for the food you eat
by getting up early and going to bed late.
The Lord gives ⌞food⌟ to those he loves while they sleep.
3 Children are an inheritance from the Lord.
They are a reward from him.
4 The children born to a man when he is young
are like arrows in the hand of a warrior.
5 Blessed is the man who has filled his quiver with them.
He will not be put to shame
when he speaks with his enemies in the city gate.
11 All the people who were at the gate, including the leaders, said, “We are witnesses. May the Lord make this wife, who is coming into your home, like Rachel and Leah, both of whom built our family of Israel. So show your strength of character in Ephrathah and make a name for yourself in Bethlehem. 12 Also, from the descendant whom the Lord will give you from this young woman, may your family become like the family of Perez, the son whom Tamar gave birth to for Judah.”
Ruth Gives Birth to David’s Ancestor
13 Then Boaz took Ruth home, and she became his wife. He slept with her, and the Lord gave her the ability to become pregnant. So she gave birth to a son.
14 The women said to Naomi, “Praise the Lord, who has remembered today to give you someone who will take care of you. The child’s name will be famous in Israel. 15 He will bring you a new life and support you in your old age. Your daughter-in-law who loves you is better to you than seven sons, because she has given birth.”
16 Naomi took the child, held him on her lap, and became his guardian.
17 The women in the neighborhood said, “Naomi has a son.” So they gave him the name Obed.
He became the father of Jesse, who was the father of David.
15 Because Christ offered himself to God, he is able to bring a new promise from God. Through his death he paid the price to set people free from the sins they committed under the first promise. He did this so that those who are called can be guaranteed an inheritance that will last forever.
16 In order for a will to take effect, it must be shown that the one who made it has died. 17 A will is used only after a person is dead because it goes into effect only when a person dies.
18 That is why even the first promise was made with blood. 19 As Scripture tells us, Moses told all the people every commandment. Then he took the blood of calves and goats together with some water, red yarn, and hyssop and sprinkled the scroll and all the people. 20 He said, “Here is the blood that seals the promise God has made to you.” 21 In the same way, Moses sprinkled blood on the tent and on everything used in worship. 22 As Moses’ Teachings tell us, blood was used to cleanse almost everything, because if no blood is shed, no sins can be forgiven.
23 The copies of the things in heaven had to be cleansed by these sacrifices. But the heavenly things themselves had to be cleansed by better sacrifices. 24 Christ didn’t go into a holy place made by human hands. He didn’t go into a model of the real thing. Instead, he went into heaven to appear in God’s presence on our behalf.
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