the Fourth Week after Easter
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Bible Reading Plan
Daily Bible Reading
May 18 - Bible-in-a-Year
niv
Ruth 1-2
Chapter 1
Naomi Loses Her Husband and Sons
1 In the days when the judges ruled,[a](a) there was a famine in the land.(b) So a man from Bethlehem in Judah,(c) together with his wife and two sons, went to live for a while(d) in the country of Moab.(e) 2 The man's name was Elimelek,(f) his wife's name was Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Kilion.(g) They were Ephrathites(h) from Bethlehem,(i) Judah. And they went to Moab and lived there.
3 Now Elimelek, Naomi's husband, died, and she was left with her two sons. 4 They married Moabite women,(j) one named Orpah and the other Ruth.(k) After they had lived there about ten years, 5 both Mahlon and Kilion(l) also died,(m) and Naomi was left without her two sons and her husband.
Naomi and Ruth Return to Bethlehem
6 When Naomi heard in Moab(n) that the Lord had come to the aid of his people(o) by providing food(p) for them, she and her daughters-in-law(q) prepared to return home from there. 7 With her two daughters-in-law she left the place where she had been living and set out on the road that would take them back to the land of Judah.
8 Then Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, "Go back, each of you, to your mother's home.(r) May the Lord show you kindness,(s) as you have shown kindness to your dead husbands(t) and to me. 9 May the Lord grant that each of you will find rest(u) in the home of another husband."
Then she kissed(v) them goodbye and they wept aloud(w) 10 and said to her, "We will go back with you to your people."
11 But Naomi said, "Return home, my daughters. Why would you come with me? Am I going to have any more sons, who could become your husbands?(x) 12 Return home, my daughters; I am too old to have another husband. Even if I thought there was still hope for me—even if I had a husband tonight and then gave birth to sons— 13 would you wait until they grew up?(y) Would you remain unmarried for them? No, my daughters. It is more bitter(z) for me than for you, because the Lord 's hand has turned against me!(aa)"
14 At this they wept(ab) aloud again. Then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law(ac) goodbye,(ad) but Ruth clung to her.(ae)
15 "Look," said Naomi, "your sister-in-law(af) is going back to her people and her gods.(ag) Go back with her."
16 But Ruth replied, "Don't urge me to leave you(ah) or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go,(ai) and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people(aj) and your God my God.(ak) 17 Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely,(al) if even death separates you and me."(am) 18 When Naomi realized that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped urging her.(an)
19 So the two women went on until they came to Bethlehem.(ao) When they arrived in Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred(ap) because of them, and the women exclaimed, "Can this be Naomi?"
20 "Don't call me Naomi,[b]" she told them. "Call me Mara,[c] because the Almighty[d](aq) has made my life very bitter.(ar) 21 I went away full, but the Lord has brought me back empty.(as) Why call me Naomi? The Lord has afflicted[e] me;(at) the Almighty has brought misfortune upon me."
22 So Naomi returned from Moab accompanied by Ruth the Moabite,(au) her daughter-in-law,(av) arriving in Bethlehem as the barley harvest(aw) was beginning.(ax)
Chapter 2
Ruth Meets Boaz in the Grain Field
1 Now Naomi had a relative(a) on her husband's side, a man of standing(b) from the clan of Elimelek,(c) whose name was Boaz.(d)
2 And Ruth the Moabite(e) said to Naomi, "Let me go to the fields and pick up the leftover grain(f) behind anyone in whose eyes I find favor.(g)"
Naomi said to her, "Go ahead, my daughter." 3 So she went out, entered a field and began to glean behind the harvesters.(h) As it turned out, she was working in a field belonging to Boaz, who was from the clan of Elimelek.(i)
4 Just then Boaz arrived from Bethlehem and greeted the harvesters, "The Lord be with you!(j)"
"The Lord bless you!(k)" they answered.
5 Boaz asked the overseer of his harvesters, "Who does that young woman belong to?"
6 The overseer replied, "She is the Moabite(l) who came back from Moab with Naomi. 7 She said, ‘Please let me glean and gather among the sheaves(m) behind the harvesters.' She came into the field and has remained here from morning till now, except for a short rest(n) in the shelter."
8 So Boaz said to Ruth, "My daughter, listen to me. Don't go and glean in another field and don't go away from here. Stay here with the women who work for me. 9 Watch the field where the men are harvesting, and follow along after the women. I have told the men not to lay a hand on you. And whenever you are thirsty, go and get a drink from the water jars the men have filled."
10 At this, she bowed down with her face to the ground.(o) She asked him, "Why have I found such favor in your eyes that you notice me(p)—a foreigner?(q)"
11 Boaz replied, "I've been told all about what you have done for your mother-in-law(r) since the death of your husband(s)—how you left your father and mother and your homeland and came to live with a people you did not know(t) before.(u) 12 May the Lord repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the Lord ,(v) the God of Israel,(w) under whose wings(x) you have come to take refuge.(y)"
13 "May I continue to find favor in your eyes,(z) my lord," she said. "You have put me at ease by speaking kindly to your servant—though I do not have the standing of one of your servants."
14 At mealtime Boaz said to her, "Come over here. Have some bread(aa) and dip it in the wine vinegar."
When she sat down with the harvesters,(ab) he offered her some roasted grain.(ac) She ate all she wanted and had some left over.(ad) 15 As she got up to glean, Boaz gave orders to his men, "Let her gather among the sheaves(ae) and don't reprimand her. 16 Even pull out some stalks for her from the bundles and leave them for her to pick up, and don't rebuke(af) her."
17 So Ruth gleaned in the field until evening. Then she threshed(ag) the barley she had gathered, and it amounted to about an ephah.[a](ah) 18 She carried it back to town, and her mother-in-law saw how much she had gathered. Ruth also brought out and gave her what she had left over(ai) after she had eaten enough.
19 Her mother-in-law asked her, "Where did you glean today? Where did you work? Blessed be the man who took notice of you!(aj)"
Then Ruth told her mother-in-law about the one at whose place she had been working. "The name of the man I worked with today is Boaz," she said.
20 "The Lord bless him!(ak)" Naomi said to her daughter-in-law.(al) "He has not stopped showing his kindness(am) to the living and the dead." She added, "That man is our close relative;(an) he is one of our guardian-redeemers.[b](ao)"
21 Then Ruth the Moabite(ap) said, "He even said to me, ‘Stay with my workers until they finish harvesting all my grain.'"
22 Naomi said to Ruth her daughter-in-law, "It will be good for you, my daughter, to go with the women who work for him, because in someone else's field you might be harmed."
23 So Ruth stayed close to the women of Boaz to glean until the barley(aq) and wheat harvests(ar) were finished. And she lived with her mother-in-law.
Psalms 47
Chapter 47
Psalm 47[a]
For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. A psalm.
1 Clap your hands,(a) all you nations;
shout to God with cries of joy.(b)
2 For the
Lord
Most High(c) is awesome,(d)
the great King(e) over all the earth.
3 He subdued(f) nations under us,
peoples under our feet.
4 He chose our inheritance(g) for us,
the pride of Jacob,(h) whom he loved.[b]
5 God has ascended(i) amid shouts of joy,(j)
the
Lord
amid the sounding of trumpets.(k)
6 Sing praises(l) to God, sing praises;
sing praises to our King, sing praises.
7 For God is the King of all the earth;(m)
sing to him a psalm(n) of praise.
8 God reigns(o) over the nations;
God is seated on his holy throne.(p)
9 The nobles of the nations assemble
as the people of the God of Abraham,
for the kings[c] of the earth belong to God;(q)
he is greatly exalted.(r)
Acts 25
Chapter 25
Paul's Trial Before Festus
1 Three days after arriving in the province, Festus(a) went up from Caesarea(b) to Jerusalem, 2 where the chief priests and the Jewish leaders appeared before him and presented the charges against Paul.(c) 3 They requested Festus, as a favor to them, to have Paul transferred to Jerusalem, for they were preparing an ambush to kill him along the way.(d) 4 Festus answered, "Paul is being held(e) at Caesarea,(f) and I myself am going there soon. 5 Let some of your leaders come with me, and if the man has done anything wrong, they can press charges against him there."
6 After spending eight or ten days with them, Festus went down to Caesarea. The next day he convened the court(g) and ordered that Paul be brought before him.(h) 7 When Paul came in, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him. They brought many serious charges against him,(i) but they could not prove them.(j)
8 Then Paul made his defense: "I have done nothing wrong against the Jewish law or against the temple(k) or against Caesar."
9 Festus, wishing to do the Jews a favor,(l) said to Paul, "Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and stand trial before me there on these charges?"(m)
10 Paul answered: "I am now standing before Caesar's court, where I ought to be tried. I have not done any wrong to the Jews,(n) as you yourself know very well. 11 If, however, I am guilty of doing anything deserving death, I do not refuse to die. But if the charges brought against me by these Jews are not true, no one has the right to hand me over to them. I appeal to Caesar!"(o)
12 After Festus had conferred with his council, he declared: "You have appealed to Caesar. To Caesar you will go!"
Festus Consults King Agrippa
13 A few days later King Agrippa and Bernice arrived at Caesarea(p) to pay their respects to Festus. 14 Since they were spending many days there, Festus discussed Paul's case with the king. He said: "There is a man here whom Felix left as a prisoner.(q) 15 When I went to Jerusalem, the chief priests and the elders of the Jews brought charges against him(r) and asked that he be condemned.
16 "I told them that it is not the Roman custom to hand over anyone before they have faced their accusers and have had an opportunity to defend themselves against the charges.(s) 17 When they came here with me, I did not delay the case, but convened the court the next day and ordered the man to be brought in.(t) 18 When his accusers got up to speak, they did not charge him with any of the crimes I had expected. 19 Instead, they had some points of dispute(u) with him about their own religion(v) and about a dead man named Jesus who Paul claimed was alive. 20 I was at a loss how to investigate such matters; so I asked if he would be willing to go to Jerusalem and stand trial there on these charges.(w) 21 But when Paul made his appeal to be held over for the Emperor's decision, I ordered him held until I could send him to Caesar."(x)
22 Then Agrippa said to Festus, "I would like to hear this man myself."
He replied, "Tomorrow you will hear him."(y)
Paul Before Agrippa(z)
23 The next day Agrippa and Bernice(aa) came with great pomp and entered the audience room with the high-ranking military officers and the prominent men of the city. At the command of Festus, Paul was brought in. 24 Festus said: "King Agrippa, and all who are present with us, you see this man! The whole Jewish community(ab) has petitioned me about him in Jerusalem and here in Caesarea, shouting that he ought not to live any longer.(ac) 25 I found he had done nothing deserving of death,(ad) but because he made his appeal to the Emperor(ae) I decided to send him to Rome. 26 But I have nothing definite to write to His Majesty about him. Therefore I have brought him before all of you, and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that as a result of this investigation I may have something to write. 27 For I think it is unreasonable to send a prisoner on to Rome without specifying the charges against him."
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