The King Rejoices in the Lord’s Strength
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.
1 O Lord, in your zstrength the king rejoices,
and in your asalvation how greatly he exults!
2 You have bgiven him his heart’s desire
and have not withheld the request of his lips. Selah
3 For you cmeet him with rich blessings;
you set da crown of efine gold upon his head.
4 He asked life of you; you fgave it to him,
glength of days forever and ever.
5 His hglory is great through your salvation;
isplendor and majesty you bestow on him.
6 For you make him most blessed forever;1
you make him glad with the jjoy of your presence.
7 For the king trusts in the Lord,
and through the steadfast love of the Most High he shall not be kmoved.
8 Your hand will lfind out all your enemies;
your right hand will find out those who hate you.
9 You will make them as ma blazing oven
when you appear.
The Lord will swallow them up in his nwrath,
and ofire will consume them.
10 You pwill destroy their qdescendants from the earth,
and their offspring from among the children of man.
11 Though they plan evil against you,
though they rdevise mischief, they will not succeed.
12 For you will put them sto flight;
you will taim at their faces with your bows.
13 Be exalted, O Lord, in your strength!
We will sing and praise your power.
Naomi Widowed
1 In the days awhen the judges ruled there was ba famine in the land, and a man of cBethlehem 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 dEphrathites 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 Naomi
6 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 ethe Lord had visited his people and fgiven 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 gdeal kindly with you, as you have dealt with hthe dead and with me. 9 The Lord grant that you may find irest, 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 jthat 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 kthe 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 lher 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. mYour people shall be my people, and your God my God. 17 Where you die I will die, and there will I be buried. nMay the Lord do so to me and more also if anything but death parts me from you.” 18 oAnd when Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more.
Naomi and Ruth Return
19 So the two of them went on until they came to Bethlehem. And when they came to Bethlehem, pthe whole town was stirred because of them. And the women said, “Is this Naomi?” 20 She said to them, “Do not call me Naomi;1 call me qMara,2 for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. 21 rI 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 sat the beginning of barley harvest.
