Today’s
Reading : Ruth 3 – 4 and Acts 23 (KJV)
Ruth 3
Rth 3:1 Then Naomi her mother-in-law said unto her,
My daughter, shall I not seek rest for thee, that it may be well with thee?
Rth 3:2 And now is
not Boaz of our kindred, with whose maidens thou wast?
Behold, he winnoweth barley tonight in the threshingfloor.
Rth 3:3 Wash thyself therefore, and anoint thee, and
put thy raiment upon thee, and get thee down to the floor: but make not thyself known unto the man, until he
shall have done eating and drinking.
Rth 3:4 And it shall be, when he lieth
down, that thou shalt mark the place where he shall
lie, and thou shalt go in, and uncover his feet, and
lay thee down; and he will tell thee what thou shalt
do.
Rth 3:5 And she said unto her, All that thou sayest unto me I will do.
Rth 3:6 And she went down unto the floor, and did
according to all that her mother-in-law bade her.
Rth 3:7 And when Boaz had eaten and drunk, and his
heart was merry, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of corn: and she
came softly, and uncovered his feet, and laid her down.
Rth 3:8 And it came to pass at midnight, that the man
was afraid, and turned himself: and, behold, a woman lay at his feet.
Rth 3:9 And he said, Who art
thou? And she answered, I am Ruth thine handmaid: spread therefore thy skirt over thine handmaid; for thou art
a near kinsman.
Rth 3:10 And he said, Blessed be thou of the LORD, my daughter: for thou hast showed more kindness in the latter
end than at the beginning, inasmuch as thou followedst
not young men, whether poor or rich.
Rth 3:11 And now, my daughter, fear not; I will do to
thee all that thou requirest: for all the city of my
people doth know that thou art a
virtuous woman.
Rth 3:12 And now it is true that I am thy
near kinsman: howbeit there is a kinsman nearer than I.
Rth 3:13 Tarry this night, and it shall be in the
morning, that if he will perform unto
thee the part of a kinsman, well; let him do the kinsman's part: but if he will
not do the part of a kinsman to thee, then will I do the part of a kinsman to
thee, as the LORD liveth:
lie down until the morning.
Rth 3:14 And she lay at his feet until the morning:
and she rose up before one could know another. And he said, Let it not be known
that a woman came into the floor.
Rth 3:15 Also he said, Bring the veil that thou hast
upon thee, and hold it. And when she held it, he measured six measures of barley, and laid it on her: and she went into the city.
Rth 3:16 And when she came to her mother-in-law, she
said, Who art thou, my daughter? And she
told her all that the man had done to her.
Rth 3:17 And she said, These six measures of barley gave he me; for he said to me,
Go not empty unto thy mother-in-law.
Rth 3:18 Then said she, Sit still, my daughter, until
thou know how the matter will fall: for the man will not be in rest, until he
have finished the thing this day.
Ruth 4
Rth 4:1 Then went Boaz up to the gate, and sat him
down there: and, behold, the kinsman of whom Boaz spoke came by; unto whom he
said, Ho, such a one! turn aside, sit down here. And he turned aside, and sat
down.
Rth 4:2 And he took ten men of the elders of the
city, and said, Sit ye down here. And they sat down.
Rth 4:3 And he said unto the kinsman, Naomi, that is
come again out of the country of Moab, selleth a
parcel of land, which was our brother Elimelech's:
Rth 4:4 And I thought to advertise thee, saying, Buy it before the inhabitants, and before the elders
of my people. If thou wilt redeem it,
redeem it: but if thou wilt not redeem it, then
tell me, that I may know: for there is none to redeem it
beside thee; and I am after thee. And he
said, I will redeem it.
Rth 4:5 Then said Boaz, What day thou buyest the field of the hand of Naomi, thou must buy it also of Ruth the Moabitess,
the wife of the dead, to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance.
Rth 4:6 And the kinsman said, I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I mar mine own inheritance:
redeem thou my right to thyself; for I cannot redeem it.
Rth 4:7 Now this was
the manner
in former time in Israel concerning redeeming and concerning changing, for to
confirm all things; a man plucked off his shoe, and gave it to his neighbour: and this was a testimony in Israel.
Rth 4:8 Therefore the kinsman said unto Boaz, Buy it for thee. So he drew off his shoe.
Rth 4:9 And Boaz said unto the elders, and unto all the people, Ye are witnesses this day, that I have bought all
that was Elimelech's,
and all that was Chilion's
and Mahlon's, of the hand of Naomi.
Rth 4:10 Moreover Ruth the Moabitess,
the wife of Mahlon, have I purchased to be my wife,
to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance, that the name of the
dead be not cut off from among his brethren, and from the gate of his place: ye
are witnesses this day.
Rth 4:11 And all the people that were in the gate, and the elders, said, We are
witnesses. The LORD make the woman that is come into thine
house like Rachel and like Leah, which two did build the house of Israel: and
do thou worthily in Ephratah, and be famous in
Bethlehem:
Rth 4:12 And let thy house be like the house of Pharez, whom Tamar bore unto Judah, of the seed which the
LORD shall give thee of this young woman.
Rth 4:13 So Boaz took Ruth, and she was his wife: and
when he went in unto her, the LORD gave her conception, and she bore a son.
Rth 4:14 And the women said unto Naomi, Blessed be the LORD, which hath not left thee this day
without a kinsman, that his name may be famous in Israel.
Rth 4:15 And he shall be unto thee a restorer of thy life, and a nourisher
of thine old age: for thy daughter-in-law, which loveth thee, which is better to thee than seven sons, hath
born him.
Rth 4:16 And Naomi took the child, and laid it in her
bosom, and became nurse unto it.
Rth 4:17 And the women her neighbours gave it a name,
saying, There is a son born to Naomi; and they called his name Obed: he is the
father of Jesse, the father of David.
Rth 4:18 Now these are
the generations of Pharez: Pharez
begot Hezron,
Rth 4:19 And Hezron begot
Ram, and Ram begot Amminadab,
Rth 4:20 And Amminadab begot
Nahshon, and Nahshon begot
Salmon,
Rth 4:21 And Salmon begot Boaz, and Boaz begot Obed,
Rth 4:22 And Obed begot
Jesse, and Jesse begot David.
Acts 23
Act
23:1 And Paul, earnestly beholding the council, said,
Men and brethren, I have lived in all
good conscience before God unto this day.
Act 23:2 And the high priest Ananias commanded them
that stood by him to smite him on the mouth.
Act 23:3 Then said Paul unto him, God shall smite
thee, thou whited
wall: for sittest thou to judge me after the law, and
commandest me to be smitten contrary to the law?
Act 23:4 And they that stood by said, Revilest thou God's high priest?
Act 23:5 Then said Paul, I wist
not, brethren, that he was the high priest: for it is written, Thou shalt not speak evil of the ruler of thy people.
Act 23:6 But when Paul perceived that the one part
were Sadducees, and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a
Pharisee: of the hope and resurrection of the dead I am called in question.
Act 23:7 And when he had so said, there arose a
dissension between the Pharisees and the Sadducees: and the multitude was
divided.
Act 23:8 For the Sadducees say that there is no
resurrection, neither angel, nor spirit: but the Pharisees confess both.
Act 23:9 And there arose a great cry: and the scribes that were
of the Pharisees' part arose, and strove, saying, We find no evil in this man:
but if a spirit or an angel hath spoken to him, let us not fight against God.
Act 23:10 And when there arose a great dissension, the
chief captain, fearing lest Paul should have been pulled in pieces of them,
commanded the soldiers to go down, and to take him by force from among them,
and to bring him into the castle.
Act 23:11 And the night following the Lord stood by
him, and said, Be of good cheer, Paul: for as thou hast testified of me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome.
Act 23:12 And when it was day, certain of the Jews
banded together, and bound themselves under a curse, saying that they would
neither eat nor drink till they had killed Paul.
Act 23:13 And they were more than forty which had made
this conspiracy.
Act 23:14 And they came to the chief priests and
elders, and said, We have bound ourselves under a great curse, that we will eat
nothing until we have slain Paul.
Act 23:15 Now therefore ye with the council signify to
the chief captain that he bring him down unto you tomorrow, as though ye would
inquire something more perfectly concerning him: and we, or ever he come near,
are ready to kill him.
Act 23:16 And when Paul's sister's son heard of their
lying in wait, he went and entered into the castle, and told Paul.
Act 23:17 Then Paul called one of the centurions unto him, and said, Bring this young man unto the
chief captain: for he hath a certain thing to tell him.
Act 23:18 So he took him, and brought him to the chief captain, and said, Paul the
prisoner called me unto him, and prayed
me to bring this young man unto thee, who hath something to say unto thee.
Act 23:19 Then the chief captain took him by the hand,
and went with him aside privately, and
asked him, What is that thou hast to
tell me?
Act 23:20 And he said, The Jews have agreed to desire
thee that thou wouldest bring down Paul tomorrow into
the council, as though they would inquire somewhat of him more perfectly.
Act 23:21 But do not thou yield unto them: for there
lie in wait for him of them more than forty men, which have bound themselves
with an oath, that they will neither eat nor drink till they have killed him:
and now are they ready, looking for a promise from thee.
Act 23:22 So the chief captain then let the young man depart, and charged him, See thou
tell no man that thou hast showed these things to me.
Act 23:23 And he called unto him two centurions, saying, Make ready two hundred soldiers to
go to Caesarea, and horsemen threescore and ten, and spearmen two hundred, at
the third hour of the night;
Act 23:24 And provide them
beasts, that they may set Paul on, and bring him
safe unto Felix the governor.
Act 23:25 And he wrote a letter after this manner:
Act 23:26 Claudius Lysias
unto the most excellent governor Felix sendeth greeting.
Act 23:27 This man was taken of the Jews, and should
have been killed of them: then came I with an army, and rescued him, having
understood that he was a Roman.
Act 23:28 And when I would have known the cause
wherefore they accused him, I brought him forth into their council:
Act 23:29 Whom I perceived to be accused of questions
of their law, but to have nothing laid to his charge worthy of death or of
bonds.
Act 23:30 And when it was told me how that the Jews
laid wait for the man, I sent straightway to thee, and gave commandment to his
accusers also to say before thee what they
had against him. Farewell.
Act 23:31 Then the soldiers, as it was commanded them,
took Paul, and brought him by night to Antipatris.
Act 23:32 On the morrow they left the horsemen to go
with him, and returned to the castle:
Act 23:33 Who, when they came to Caesarea, and
delivered the epistle to the governor, presented Paul also before him.
Act 23:34 And when the governor had read the letter,
he asked of what province he was. And when he understood that he was of Cilicia;
Act 23:35 I will hear thee, said he, when thine accusers are also come. And he commanded him to be
kept in Herod's judgment hall.