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Psalm 94

1  Lord God to whom vengeance belongs, ♦︎
   O God to whom vengeance belongs, shine out in majesty.
2  Rise up, O Judge of the earth; ♦︎
   give the arrogant their just deserts.
3  Lord, how long shall the wicked, ♦︎
   how long shall the wicked triumph?
4  How long shall the evildoers boast ♦︎
   and pour out such impudent words?
5  They crush your people, O Lord, ♦︎
   and afflict your heritage.
6  They murder the widow and the stranger; ♦︎
   the orphans they put to death.
7  And yet they say, ‘The Lord will not see, ♦︎
   neither shall the God of Jacob regard it.’
8  Consider, most stupid of people; ♦︎
   you fools, when will you understand?
9  He that planted the ear, shall he not hear? ♦︎
   He that formed the eye, shall he not see?
10  He who corrects the nations, shall he not punish? ♦︎
   He who teaches the peoples, does he lack knowledge?
11  The Lord knows every human thought, ♦︎
   that they are but a breath.
12  Blessed are those whom you chasten, O Lord, ♦︎
   whom you instruct from your law;
13  That you may give them rest in days of adversity, ♦︎
   until a pit is dug for the wicked.
14  For the Lord will not fail his people, ♦︎
   neither will he forsake his inheritance.
15  For justice shall return to the righteous, ♦︎
   and all that are true of heart shall follow it.
16  Who will rise up for me against the wicked? ♦︎
   Who will take my part against the evildoers?
17  If the Lord had not helped me, ♦︎
   my soul would soon have been put to silence.
18  And when I said, ‘My foot has slipped’, ♦︎
   your loving mercy, O Lord, upheld me.
19  In the multitude of cares that troubled my heart, ♦︎
   your comforts have refreshed my soul.
20  Will you have anything to do with the throne of wickedness, ♦︎
   which fashions evil through its law?
21  They gather together against the life of the righteous ♦︎
   and condemn the innocent to death.
22  But the Lord has become my stronghold ♦︎
   and my God the rock of my trust.
23  He will turn against them their own wickedness
      and silence them through their own malice; ♦︎
   the Lord our God will put them to silence.

14 So she lay at his feet until morning, but got up before one person could recognize another; for he said, ‘It must not be known that the woman came to the threshing-floor.’ ¹⁵Then he said, ‘Bring the cloak you are wearing and hold it out.’ So she held it, and he measured out six measures of barley, and put it on her back; then he went into the city. ¹⁶She came to her mother-in-law, who said, ‘How did things go with you,^* my daughter?’ Then she told her all that the man had done for her, ¹⁷saying, ‘He gave me these six measures of barley, for he said, “Do not go back to your mother-in-law empty-handed.” ’ ¹⁸She replied, ‘Wait, my daughter, until you learn how the matter turns out, for the man will not rest, but will settle the matter today.’

The Marriage of Boaz and Ruth

4No sooner had Boaz gone up to the gate and sat down there than the next-of-kin,^* of whom Boaz had spoken, came passing by. So Boaz said, ‘Come over, friend; sit down here.’ And he went over and sat down. ²Then Boaz took ten men of the elders of the city, and said, ‘Sit down here’; so they sat down. ³He then said to the next-of-kin,^* ‘Naomi, who has come back from the country of Moab, is selling the parcel of land that belonged to our kinsman Elimelech. ⁴So I thought I would tell you of it, and say: Buy it in the presence of those sitting here, and in the presence of the elders of my people. If you will redeem it, redeem it; but if you will not, tell me, so that I may know; for there is no one prior to you to redeem it, and I come after you.’ So he said, ‘I will redeem it.’ ⁵Then Boaz said, ‘The day you acquire the field from the hand of Naomi, you are also acquiring Ruth^* the Moabite, the widow of the dead man, to maintain the dead man’s name on his inheritance.’ ⁶At this, the next-of-kin^* said, ‘I cannot redeem it for myself without damaging my own inheritance. Take my right of redemption yourself, for I cannot redeem it.’

9 Let a widow be put on the list if she is not less than sixty years old and has been married only once;^{* 10}she must be well attested for her good works, as one who has brought up children, shown hospitality, washed the saints’ feet, helped the afflicted, and devoted herself to doing good in every way. ¹¹But refuse to put younger widows on the list; for when their sensual desires alienate them from Christ, they want to marry, ¹²and so they incur condemnation for having violated their first pledge. ¹³Besides that, they learn to be idle, gadding about from house to house; and they are not merely idle, but also gossips and busybodies, saying what they should not say. ¹⁴So I would have younger widows marry, bear children, and manage their households, so as to give the adversary no occasion to revile us. ¹⁵For some have already turned away to follow Satan. ¹⁶If any believing woman^* has relatives who are really widows, let her assist them; let the church not be burdened, so that it can assist those who are real widows.