Ruth 2; Acts 27; Jeremiah 37; Psalm 10

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Ruth 2

Ruth Meets Boaz

Now Naomi had ta relative of her husband’s, a worthy man of the clan of Elimelech, whose name was uBoaz. And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, Let me go to the field and vglean among the ears of grain after him win whose sight I shall find favor. And she said to her, Go, my daughter. 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. And behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem. And he said to the reapers, xThe Lord be with you! And they answered, The Lord bless you. Then Boaz said to his young man who was in charge of the reapers, Whose young woman is this? And the servant who was in charge of the reapers answered, She is the young Moabite woman, ywho came back with Naomi from the country of Moab. 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.1

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. 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 zshe fell on her face, bowing to the ground, and said to him, Why have I found favor in your eyes, that you should atake notice of me, since I am a foreigner? 11 But Boaz answered her, bAll 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 cThe 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, dI 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 eshe 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 ephah2 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 fafter 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 gwho 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, hMay he be blessed by the Lord, whose kindness has not forsaken ithe living or the dead! Naomi also said to her, The man is a close relative of ours, one of jour 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.


Acts 27

Paul Sails for Rome

And when it was decided athat bwe should sail for Italy, they delivered Paul and some other prisoners to a centurion of the Augustan cCohort named Julius. And embarking in a ship of Adramyttium, which was about to sail to the ports along the coast of Asia, we put to sea, accompanied by dAristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica. The next day we put in at Sidon. And eJulius ftreated Paul kindly and ggave him leave to go to his friends and be cared for. And putting out to sea from there we sailed under the lee of Cyprus, because the winds were against us. And when we had sailed across the open sea along the coast of Cilicia and Pamphylia, we came to Myra in Lycia. There the centurion found ha ship of Alexandria sailing for Italy and put us on board. We sailed slowly for a number of days and arrived with difficulty off Cnidus, and as the wind did not allow us to go farther, we sailed under the lee of Crete off Salmone. Coasting along it with difficulty, we came to a place called Fair Havens, near which was the city of Lasea.

Since much time had passed, and the voyage was now dangerous because even ithe Fast1 was already over, Paul advised them, 10 saying, Sirs, I perceive that the voyage will be with jinjury and much loss, not only of the cargo and the ship, but also of our lives. 11 But the centurion paid more attention to kthe pilot and to the owner of the ship than to what Paul said. 12 And because the harbor was not suitable to spend the winter in, the majority decided to put out to sea from there, on the chance that somehow they could reach Phoenix, a harbor of Crete, facing both southwest and northwest, and spend the winter there.

The Storm at Sea

13 Now when the south wind blew gently, supposing that they had obtained their purpose, they weighed anchor and sailed along Crete, close to the shore. 14 But soon a tempestuous wind, called the northeaster, lstruck down from the land. 15 And when the ship was caught and could not face the wind, we gave way to it and were driven along. 16 Running under the lee of a small island called Cauda,2 we managed with difficulty to secure the ship’s boat. 17 After hoisting it up, they used supports to undergird the ship. Then, fearing that they would mrun aground on the Syrtis, they lowered the gear,3 and thus they were driven along. 18 Since we were violently storm-tossed, they began the next day nto jettison the cargo. 19 And on the third day they threw the ship’s tackle overboard with their own hands. 20 When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and no small tempest lay on us, all hope of our being saved was at last abandoned.

21 Since they had been without food for a long time, Paul stood up among them and said, Men, oyou should have listened to me and not have set sail from Crete and incurred this oinjury and loss. 22 Yet now I urge you to ptake heart, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. 23 For this very night qthere rstood before me san angel of the God tto whom I belong and uwhom I worship, 24 and he said, Do not be afraid, Paul; vyou must stand before Caesar. And behold, wGod has granted you all those who sail with you. 25 So take heart, men, for I have faith in God that it will be exactly as I have been told. 26 But xwe must yrun aground on some island.

27 When the fourteenth night had come, as we were being driven across the Adriatic Sea, about midnight the sailors suspected that they were nearing land. 28 So they took a sounding and found twenty fathoms.4 A little farther on they took a sounding again and found fifteen fathoms.5 29 And fearing that we might zrun on the rocks, they let down four anchors from the stern and prayed for day to come. 30 And as the sailors were seeking to escape from the ship, and had lowered athe ship’s boat into the sea under pretense of laying out anchors from the bow, 31 Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, Unless these men stay in the ship, you cannot be saved. 32 Then the soldiers cut away the ropes of the ship’s boat and let it go.

33 As day was about to dawn, Paul urged them all to take some food, saying, Today is the fourteenth day that you have continued in suspense and without food, having taken nothing. 34 Therefore I urge you to take some food. For it will give you strength,6 for bnot a hair is to perish from the head of any of you. 35 And when he had said these things, he took bread, and cgiving thanks to God in the presence of all he broke it and began to eat. 36 Then they all dwere encouraged and ate some food themselves. 37 (We were in all 2767 epersons in the ship.) 38 And when they had eaten enough, they lightened the ship, fthrowing out the wheat into the sea.

The Shipwreck

39 Now when it was day, gthey did not recognize the land, but they noticed a bay with a beach, on which they planned if possible to run the ship ashore. 40 So they cast off the anchors and left them in the sea, at the same time loosening the ropes that tied the rudders. Then hoisting the foresail to the wind they made for the beach. 41 But striking a reef,8 hthey ran the vessel aground. The bow stuck and remained immovable, and the stern was being broken up by the surf. 42 iThe soldiers’ plan was to kill the prisoners, lest any should swim away and escape. 43 But the centurion, jwishing to save Paul, kept them from carrying out their plan. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and make for the land, 44 and the rest on planks or on pieces of the ship. And so it was that kall were brought safely to land.


Jeremiah 37

Jeremiah Warns Zedekiah

uZedekiah the son of Josiah, vwhom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made king in the land of Judah, reigned instead of wConiah the son of Jehoiakim. xBut neither he nor his servants nor the people of the land listened to the words of the Lord that he spoke through Jeremiah the prophet.

King Zedekiah sent yJehucal the son of zShelemiah, and aZephaniah the priest, the son of bMaaseiah, to Jeremiah the prophet, saying, Please cpray for us to the Lord our God. dNow Jeremiah was still going in and out among the people, efor he had not yet been put in prison. fThe army of Pharaoh had come out of Egypt. And when gthe Chaldeans who were besieging Jerusalem heard news about them, hthey withdrew from Jerusalem.

Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet: Thus says the Lord, God of Israel: Thus shall you say to the king of Judah who isent you to me to inquire of me, Behold, jPharaoh’s army that came to help you is about to kreturn to Egypt, to its own land. And lthe Chaldeans shall come back and fight against this city. lThey shall capture it and burn it with fire. Thus says the Lord, Do not deceive yourselves, saying, The Chaldeans will surely go away from us, for they will not go away. 10 mFor even if you should defeat the whole army of Chaldeans who are fighting against you, and there remained of them only wounded men, every man in his tent, they would rise up and lburn this city with fire.

Jeremiah Imprisoned

11 Now when nthe Chaldean army had withdrawn from Jerusalem at the approach of Pharaoh’s army, 12 Jeremiah set out from Jerusalem to go to othe land of Benjamin pto receive his portion there qamong the people. 13 When he was at rthe Benjamin Gate, a sentry there named Irijah the son of sShelemiah, son of Hananiah, seized Jeremiah the prophet, saying, tYou are deserting to the Chaldeans. 14 And Jeremiah said, It is a lie; I am not deserting to the Chaldeans. But Irijah would not listen to him, and seized Jeremiah and brought him to uthe officials. 15 And the officials were enraged at Jeremiah, and they beat him vand imprisoned him in the house of Jonathan the secretary, for it had been made a prison.

16 wWhen Jeremiah had come to the dungeon cells and remained there many days, 17 King Zedekiah sent for him and received him. The king questioned him xsecretly in his house and said, Is there any word from the Lord? Jeremiah said, There is. Then he said, yYou shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon. 18 Jeremiah also said to King Zedekiah, What wrong have I done to you or your servants or this people, vthat you have put me in prison? 19 zWhere are your prophets who prophesied to you, saying, The king of Babylon will not come against you and against this land? 20 Now hear, please, O my lord the king: alet my humble plea come before you and bdo not send me back to the house of Jonathan the secretary, lest I die there. 21 So King Zedekiah gave orders, and they committed Jeremiah to cthe court of the guard. And a loaf of bread was given him daily from the bakers’ street, duntil all the bread of the city was gone. So Jeremiah remained in cthe court of the guard.


Psalm 10

Why Do You Hide Yourself?

Why, O Lord, do you stand kfar away?

Why ldo you hide yourself in mtimes of trouble?

In arrogance the wicked hotly pursue the poor;

let them nbe caught in the schemes that they have devised.

For the wicked oboasts of the desires of his soul,

and the one greedy for gain pcurses1 and qrenounces the Lord.

In the pride of his face2 the wicked does not qseek him;3

all his thoughts are, rThere is no God.

His ways prosper at all times;

your judgments are on high, sout of his sight;

as for all his foes, he tpuffs at them.

He usays in his heart, I shall not be moved;

throughout all generations I vshall not meet adversity.

wHis mouth is filled with cursing and xdeceit and yoppression;

zunder his tongue are amischief and biniquity.

He sits in ambush in the villages;

in chiding places he murders the innocent.

His eyes stealthily watch for the helpless;

he lurks in ambush like da lion in his ethicket;

he flurks that he may seize the poor;

he seizes the poor when he draws him into his gnet.

10  The helpless are crushed, sink down,

and fall by his might.

11  He says in his heart, God has forgotten,

he has hhidden his face, he iwill never see it.

12  jArise, O Lord; O God, klift up your hand;

lforget not the afflicted.

13  Why does the wicked mrenounce God

and say in his heart, You will not ncall to account?

14  But you do see, for you onote mischief and vexation,

that you may take it into your hands;

to you the helpless pcommits himself;

you have been qthe helper of the fatherless.

15  rBreak the arm of the wicked and evildoer;

scall his wickedness to account till you find none.

16  tThe Lord is king forever and ever;

the unations perish from his land.

17  O Lord, you hear the desire of the afflicted;

you will vstrengthen their heart; you will incline your ear

18  to wdo justice to the fatherless and xthe oppressed,

so that yman who is of the earth may strike terror no more.