RUTH 1

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Naomi Widowed  1:1 In the days when the judges ruled there was a famine in the land, and a man of Bethlehem in Judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons. 2 The name of the man was Elimelech and the name of his wife Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They went into the country of Moab and remained there. 3 But Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, died, and she was left with her two sons. 4 These took Moabite wives; the name of the one was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth. They lived there about ten years, 5 and both Mahlon and Chilion died, so that the woman was left without her two sons and her husband. Ruth’s Loyalty to Naomi6 Then she arose with her daughters-in-law to return from the country of Moab, for she had heard in the fields of Moab that the Lord had visited his people and given them food. 7 So she set out from the place where she was with her two daughters-in-law, and they went on the way to return to the land of Judah. 8 But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go, return each of you to her mother’s house. May the Lord deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me. 9 The Lord grant that you may find rest, each of you in the house of her husband!” Then she kissed them, and they lifted up their voices and wept. 10 And they said to her, “No, we will return with you to your people.” 11 But Naomi said, “Turn back, my daughters; why will you go with me? Have I yet sons in my womb that they may become your husbands? 12 Turn back, my daughters; go your way, for I am too old to have a husband. If I should say I have hope, even if I should have a husband this night and should bear sons, 13 would you therefore wait till they were grown? Would you therefore refrain from marrying? No, my daughters, for it is exceedingly bitter to me for your sake that the hand of the Lord has gone out against me.” 14 Then they lifted up their voices and wept again. And Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her.
    15 And she said, “See, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law.” 16 But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God. 17 Where you die I will die, and there will I be buried. May the Lord do so to me and more also if anything but death parts me from you.” 18 And when Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more. Naomi and Ruth Return19 So the two of them went on until they came to Bethlehem. And when they came to Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them. And the women said, “Is this Naomi?” 20 She said to them, “Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. 21 I went away full, and the Lord has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi, when the Lord has testified against me and the Almighty has brought calamity upon me?”
    22 So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabite her daughter-in-law with her, who returned from the country of Moab. And they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest.

RUTH 2

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Ruth Meets Boaz  2:1 Now Naomi had a relative of her husband’s, a worthy man of the clan of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz. 2 And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, “Let me go to the field and glean among the ears of grain after him in whose sight I shall find favor.” And she said to her, “Go, my daughter.” 3 So she set out and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers, and she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the clan of Elimelech. 4 And behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem. And he said to the reapers, “The Lord be with you!” And they answered, “The Lord bless you.” 5 Then Boaz said to his young man who was in charge of the reapers, “Whose young woman is this?” 6 And the servant who was in charge of the reapers answered, “She is the young Moabite woman, who came back with Naomi from the country of Moab. 7 She said, ‘Please let me glean and gather among the sheaves after the reapers.’ So she came, and she has continued from early morning until now, except for a short rest.”
    8 Then Boaz said to Ruth, “Now, listen, my daughter, do not go to glean in another field or leave this one, but keep close to my young women. 9 Let your eyes be on the field that they are reaping, and go after them. Have I not charged the young men not to touch you? And when you are thirsty, go to the vessels and drink what the young men have drawn.” 10 Then she fell on her face, bowing to the ground, and said to him, “Why have I found favor in your eyes, that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?” 11 But Boaz answered her, “All that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband has been fully told to me, and how you left your father and mother and your native land and came to a people that you did not know before. 12 The Lord repay you for what you have done, and a full reward be given you by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge!” 13 Then she said, “I have found favor in your eyes, my lord, for you have comforted me and spoken kindly to your servant, though I am not one of your servants.”
    14 And at mealtime Boaz said to her, “Come here and eat some bread and dip your morsel in the wine.” So she sat beside the reapers, and he passed to her roasted grain. And she ate until she was satisfied, and she had some left over. 15 When she rose to glean, Boaz instructed his young men, saying, “Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not reproach her. 16 And also pull out some from the bundles for her and leave it for her to glean, and do not rebuke her.”
    17 So she gleaned in the field until evening. Then she beat out what she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah of barley. 18 And she took it up and went into the city. Her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned. She also brought out and gave her what food she had left over after being satisfied. 19 And her mother-in-law said to her, “Where did you glean today? And where have you worked? Blessed be the man who took notice of you.” So she told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked and said, “The man’s name with whom I worked today is Boaz.” 20 And Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “May he be blessed by the Lord, whose kindness has not forsaken the living or the dead!” Naomi also said to her, “The man is a close relative of ours, one of our redeemers.” 21 And Ruth the Moabite said, “Besides, he said to me, ‘You shall keep close by my young men until they have finished all my harvest.’” 22 And Naomi said to Ruth, her daughter-in-law, “It is good, my daughter, that you go out with his young women, lest in another field you be assaulted.” 23 So she kept close to the young women of Boaz, gleaning until the end of the barley and wheat harvests. And she lived with her mother-in-law.

PROVERBS 24

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24:1

Be not envious of evil men,

nor desire to be with them, 2

for their hearts devise violence,

and their lips talk of trouble.
3

By wisdom a house is built,

and by understanding it is established; 4

by knowledge the rooms are filled

with all precious and pleasant riches. 5

A wise man is full of strength,

and a man of knowledge enhances his might, 6

for by wise guidance you can wage your war,

and in abundance of counselors there is victory. 7

Wisdom is too high for a fool;

in the gate he does not open his mouth.
8

Whoever plans to do evil

will be called a schemer. 9

The devising of folly is sin,

and the scoffer is an abomination to mankind.
10

If you faint in the day of adversity,

your strength is small. 11

Rescue those who are being taken away to death;

hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter. 12

If you say, “Behold, we did not know this,”

does not he who weighs the heart perceive it?

Does not he who keeps watch over your soul know it,

and will he not repay man according to his work?
13

My son, eat honey, for it is good,

and the drippings of the honeycomb are sweet to your taste. 14

Know that wisdom is such to your soul;

if you find it, there will be a future,

and your hope will not be cut off.
15

Lie not in wait as a wicked man against the dwelling of the righteous;

do no violence to his home; 16

for the righteous falls seven times and rises again,

but the wicked stumble in times of calamity.
17

Do not rejoice when your enemy falls,

and let not your heart be glad when he stumbles, 18

lest the Lord see it and be displeased,

and turn away his anger from him.
19

Fret not yourself because of evildoers,

and be not envious of the wicked, 20

for the evil man has no future;

the lamp of the wicked will be put out.
21

My son, fear the Lord and the king,

and do not join with those who do otherwise, 22

for disaster will arise suddenly from them,

and who knows the ruin that will come from them both? More Sayings of the Wise23 These also are sayings of the wise.

Partiality in judging is not good. 24

Whoever says to the wicked, “You are in the right,”

will be cursed by peoples, abhorred by nations, 25

but those who rebuke the wicked will have delight,

and a good blessing will come upon them. 26

Whoever gives an honest answer

kisses the lips.
27

Prepare your work outside;

get everything ready for yourself in the field,

and after that build your house.
28

Be not a witness against your neighbor without cause,

and do not deceive with your lips. 29

Do not say, “I will do to him as he has done to me;

I will pay the man back for what he has done.”
30

I passed by the field of a sluggard,

by the vineyard of a man lacking sense, 31

and behold, it was all overgrown with thorns;

the ground was covered with nettles,

and its stone wall was broken down. 32

Then I saw and considered it;

I looked and received instruction. 33

A little sleep, a little slumber,

a little folding of the hands to rest, 34

and poverty will come upon you like a robber,

and want like an armed man.

PSALM 49

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Why Should I Fear in Times of Trouble?To the choirmaster. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah.
49:1

Hear this, all peoples!

Give ear, all inhabitants of the world, 2

both low and high,

rich and poor together! 3

My mouth shall speak wisdom;

the meditation of my heart shall be understanding. 4

I will incline my ear to a proverb;

I will solve my riddle to the music of the lyre.
5

Why should I fear in times of trouble,

when the iniquity of those who cheat me surrounds me, 6

those who trust in their wealth

and boast of the abundance of their riches? 7

Truly no man can ransom another,

or give to God the price of his life, 8

for the ransom of their life is costly

and can never suffice, 9

that he should live on forever

and never see the pit.
10

For he sees that even the wise die;

the fool and the stupid alike must perish

and leave their wealth to others. 11

Their graves are their homes forever,

their dwelling places to all generations,

though they called lands by their own names. 12

Man in his pomp will not remain;

he is like the beasts that perish.
13

This is the path of those who have foolish confidence;

yet after them people approve of their boasts. Selah 14

Like sheep they are appointed for Sheol;

death shall be their shepherd,

and the upright shall rule over them in the morning.

Their form shall be consumed in Sheol, with no place to dwell. 15

But God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol,

for he will receive me. Selah
16

Be not afraid when a man becomes rich,

when the glory of his house increases. 17

For when he dies he will carry nothing away;

his glory will not go down after him. 18

For though, while he lives, he counts himself blessed

—and though you get praise when you do well for yourself— 19

his soul will go to the generation of his fathers,

who will never again see light. 20

Man in his pomp yet without understanding is like the beasts that perish.