Sunday, September 22, 2024
Boaz Will Redeem Ruth
3 Then Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, “My daughter, shall I not seek [a]security for you, that it may be well with you? 2 Now is not Boaz our [b]kinsman, with whose maids you were? Behold, he winnows barley at the threshing floor tonight. 3 Wash yourself therefore, and anoint yourself and put on your best clothes, and go down to the threshing floor; but do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking. 4 It shall be when he lies down, that you shall [c]notice the place where he lies, and you shall go and uncover his feet and lie down; then he will tell you what you shall do.” 5 She said to her, “All that you say I will do.”
6 So she went down to the threshing floor and did according to all that her mother-in-law had commanded her. 7 When Boaz had eaten and drunk and his heart was merry, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain; and she came secretly, and uncovered his feet and lay down. 8 It happened in the middle of the night that the man was startled and [d]bent forward; and behold, a woman was lying at his feet. 9 He said, “Who are you?” And she answered, “I am Ruth your maid. So spread your covering over your maid, for you are a [e]close relative.” 10 Then he said, “May you be blessed of the Lord, my daughter. You have shown your last kindness to be better than the first by not going after young men, whether poor or rich. 11 Now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you whatever you [f]ask, for all my people in the [g]city know that you are a woman of excellence. 12 Now it is true I am a [h]close relative; however, there is a [i]relative closer than I. 13 Remain this night, and when morning comes, if he will [j]redeem you, good; let him redeem you. But if he does not wish to [k]redeem you, then I will redeem you, as the Lord lives. Lie down until morning.”
14 So she lay at his feet until morning and rose before one could recognize another; and he said, “Let it not be known that the woman came to the threshing floor.” 15 Again he said, “Give me the cloak that is on you and hold it.” So she held it, and he measured six measures of barley and laid it on her. Then [l]she went into the city. 16 When she came to her mother-in-law, she said, “[m]How did it go, my daughter?” And she told her all that the man had done for her. 17 She said, “These six measures of barley he gave to me, for he said, ‘Do not go to your mother-in-law empty-handed.’” 18 Then she said, “Wait, my daughter, until you know how the matter [n]turns out; for the man will not rest until he has [o]settled it today.”
Footnotes
- Ruth 3:1 Lit rest
- Ruth 3:2 Or acquaintance
- Ruth 3:4 Lit know
- Ruth 3:8 Lit twisted himself
- Ruth 3:9 Or redeemer
- Ruth 3:11 Lit say
- Ruth 3:11 Lit gate
- Ruth 3:12 Or redeemer
- Ruth 3:12 Or redeemer
- Ruth 3:13 Or act as close relative to
- Ruth 3:13 Or act as close relative to
- Ruth 3:15 So with many mss; M.T. he
- Ruth 3:16 Lit Who are you?
- Ruth 3:18 Lit falls
- Ruth 3:18 Lit finished the matter
Offering First Fruits
26 “Then it shall be, when you enter the land which the Lord your God gives you as an inheritance, and you possess it and live in it, 2 that you shall take some of the first of all the produce of the ground which you bring in from your land that the Lord your God gives you, and you shall put it in a basket and go to the place where the Lord your God chooses to establish His name. 3 You shall go to the priest who is in office at that time and say to him, ‘I declare this day to the Lord [a]my God that I have entered the land which the Lord swore to our fathers to give us.’ 4 Then the priest shall take the basket from your hand and set it down before the altar of the Lord your God. 5 You shall answer and say before the Lord your God, ‘My father was a [b]wandering Aramean, and he went down to Egypt and [c]sojourned there, few in number; but there he became a great, mighty and populous nation. 6 And the Egyptians treated us harshly and afflicted us, and imposed hard labor on us. 7 Then we cried to the Lord, the God of our fathers, and the Lord heard our voice and saw our affliction and our toil and our oppression; 8 and the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm and with great terror and with signs and wonders; 9 and He has brought us to this place and has given us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. 10 Now behold, I have brought the first of the produce of the ground which You, O Lord have given me.’ And you shall set it down before the Lord your God, and worship before the Lord your God; 11 and you and the Levite and the alien who is among you shall rejoice in all the good which the Lord your God has given you and your household.
12 “When you have finished [d]paying all the tithe of your increase in the third year, the year of tithing, then you shall give it to the Levite, to the stranger, to the [e]orphan and to the widow, that they may eat in your [f]towns and be satisfied. 13 You shall say before the Lord your God, ‘I have removed the sacred portion from my house, and also have given it to the Levite and the alien, the [g]orphan and the widow, according to all Your commandments which You have commanded me; I have not transgressed or forgotten any of Your commandments. 14 I have not eaten of it [h]while mourning, nor have I removed any of it while I was unclean, nor offered any of it to the dead. I have listened to the voice of the Lord my God; I have done according to all that You have commanded me. 15 Look down from Your holy habitation, from heaven, and bless Your people Israel, and the ground which You have given us, a land flowing with milk and honey, as You swore to our fathers.’
16 “This day the Lord your God commands you to do these statutes and ordinances. You shall therefore be careful to do them with all your heart and with all your soul. 17 You have today declared the Lord to be your God, and [i]that you would walk in His ways and keep His statutes, His commandments and His ordinances, and listen to His voice. 18 The Lord has today declared you to be His people, a treasured possession, as He promised you, and [j]that you should keep all His commandments; 19 and [k]that He will set you high above all nations which He has made, for praise, fame, and honor; and that you shall be a consecrated people to the Lord your God, as He has spoken.”
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 26:3 So with Gr; Heb your
- Deuteronomy 26:5 Or perishing
- Deuteronomy 26:5 Or lived as an alien
- Deuteronomy 26:12 Lit tithing
- Deuteronomy 26:12 Or fatherless
- Deuteronomy 26:12 Lit gates
- Deuteronomy 26:13 Or fatherless
- Deuteronomy 26:14 Lit while in my
- Deuteronomy 26:17 Lit to walk in
- Deuteronomy 26:18 Lit to keep all
- Deuteronomy 26:19 Lit to set you