Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Laboring and Prospering with the Lord

A Song of Ascents. Of Solomon.

¹¹ And all the people who were at the gate, and the elders, said, “We are witnesses. ^(A)The Lord make the woman who is coming to your house like Rachel and Leah, the two who ^(B)built the house of Israel; and may you prosper in ^(C)Ephrathah and be famous in ^(D)Bethlehem. ¹² May your house be like the house of ^(E)Perez, ^(F)whom Tamar bore to Judah, because of ^(G)the offspring which the Lord will give you from this young woman.”

Descendants of Boaz and Ruth^(H)

¹³ So Boaz ^(I)took Ruth and she became his wife; and when he went in to her, ^(J)the Lord gave her conception, and she bore a son. ¹⁴ Then ^(K)the women said to Naomi, “Blessed be the Lord, who has not left you this day without a ^[a]close relative; and may his name be famous in Israel! ¹⁵ And may he be to you a restorer of life and a ^[b]nourisher of your old age; for your daughter-in-law, who loves you, who is ^(L)better to you than seven sons, has borne him.” ¹⁶ Then Naomi took the child and laid him on her bosom, and became a nurse to him. ^17 (M)Also the neighbor women gave him a name, saying, “There is a son born to Naomi.” And they called his name Obed. He is the father of Jesse, the father of David.

¹⁵ And for this reason ^(A)He is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that ^(B)those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.

The Mediator’s Death Necessary

¹⁶ For where there is a testament, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. ¹⁷ For ^(C)a testament is in force after men are dead, since it has no power at all while the testator lives. ^18 (D)Therefore not even the first covenant was dedicated without blood. ¹⁹ For when Moses had spoken every ^[a]precept to all the people according to the law, ^(E)he took the blood of calves and goats, ^(F)with water, scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, ²⁰ saying, ^(G)“This is the ^(H)blood of the covenant which God has commanded you.” ²¹ Then likewise ^(I)he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle and all the vessels of the ministry. ²² And according to the law almost all things are ^[b]purified with blood, and ^(J)without shedding of blood there is no ^[c]remission.

Greatness of Christ’s Sacrifice

²³ Therefore it was necessary that ^(K)the copies of the things in the heavens should be ^[d]purified with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. ²⁴ For ^(L)Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are ^[e]copies of ^(M)the true, but into heaven itself, now ^(N)to appear in the presence of God for us;